Business cards: a guide for pros
What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.
Offering business cards
You design and print business cards with clients' names, details and logos, offering choices in stock, finish and shape. Your value is accurate proofs, consistent reprints and cards that reflect the client's business.
What customers ask
- What paper and finish would look best for my business?
- Can I see a proof before you print?
- How do I reorder with the same design later?
- Can you print cards for my whole team with different names?
- What if a card has a mistake?
How to win the job
- On the first call, ask for the details that go on the card, the quantity, the stock, the finish and the deadline, and confirm each one in writing.
- Send the client a sample card in the stock and finish they are considering, so they can feel the paper before ordering.
- Check every spelling and phone number against the client's written details before you send the proof.
- Send a printed proof or an accurate digital proof, and get the client's written approval before the print run.
- Save the final print file with the stock and finish named, so any reprint matches the first run.
- Explain in the quote how mistakes are handled, including who pays for a reprint if the error is yours.
What to put on your profile
- Post photos of finished card sets, with the stock and finish noted.
- List the stocks and finishes you offer and the quantity ranges you produce.
- Describe your proof process and reprint process in plain steps.
Follow-up that helps the customer
- Remind the client to reorder before their stock runs low, using the saved print file.
- Offer a matching set for the client's staff when a new hire joins.
- Suggest a refresh of the design when the client's contact details or logo change.
Licenses and permits
Business card design and printing are usually not licensed. Keep your business registration current and check your state or local rules for any registration your work requires; keep records of the fonts and logos you use for each client.
Questions
Do I need a license to print cards?
Usually not. Check your state or local rules if you operate as a registered business, and keep your business registration current.
What if the client's logo is too small on the card?
Show the client a proof with the logo at the planned size, and offer a version that works at that size before the print run.
How long should I keep the print file?
Keep it for as long as the client may reorder, and note in the agreement how long you will store it.
Pro reviewers
Pros who offer business cards remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.
Edit history
- Oct 29, 2026: Drafted by infinibell to our content guidelines.
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