Category Archives: vistaprint

vistaprint canvas reviews

Vistaprint Canvas Reviews | Quality, Cost, Coupon? My (Real) Review

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vistaprint logo blueCoupons for Canvas Prints from Vistaprint.com – Not to be confused with their cheaper cousin, “mounted prints,” premium canvas prints from Vistaprint are a beautiful way to display your favorite photos as wall art. Use a coupon below for up to a 40% discount or free shipping:

Vistaprint Canvas: Customer Reviews

Before I get into my own review for Vistaprint canvas, you should know that there are over 100 customer reviews for canvas prints on vistaprint.com:

canvas prints reviews vistaprint

Just click on the star-rating to see how customers rate Vistaprint canvas prints in areas like: Ease of Design, Product Quality, and Product Value:

vistaprint canvas reviews customer

View product reviews at vistaprint.com

Ok, customer reviews of Vistaprint’s canvas prints are pretty positive. Now it’s time for me to design and order one myself!

Vistaprint Canvas Prints: Ok, Now My Review!

vistaprint canvas print samples

Canvas prints are a way to show off or preserve your best photos and memories. After a two-week trip up the California coastline I had no shortage of candidates to print on canvas to remember our trip and some of the breath-taking views that we saw.

*Tip: Don’t be tempted to go for the cheaper, mounted prints, which are categorized under “canvas prints” but essentially printed on thicker paper stock, not canvas! 

So, here’s a review of my own experience and the final product:

#1. Don’t Pay Full Price; Always Use a Coupon Towards Their Canvas Prints!

The Vistaprint.com website displays different pricing, depending on where you arrived from. For example, if you just type their URL in and go to the site, you’ll probably pay more than if you did a 20 second search for coupons.

There is always a promo code or coupon of some sort available that works site-wide, towards photo gifts, or specifically for canvas prints. For new customers you should consider the “20% off + Free shipping on $50+ promotion, and all customers should aim for at least a 25% discount off their regular price.

Simply clicking on a promotional link will usually apply the discount, and they usually notify you which promo code has been applied as soon as you arrive on their site from a promotional link or banner.

#2. Designing Your Canvas Print

First, have a large photo ready to upload, and choose a Size for Your Canvas Print. Vistaprint offers canvas prints in these sizes:

  • 8×12, 12×12, 12×16, 16×24, or 24×36

You can print your canvas horizontally or vertically, but unlike other products, there are no design templates for canvas with borders or text. (you upload the complete design)

For the most accurate results, design your image in CMYK color mode, instead of RGB. If you have a photo-editing program like Photoshop, it’s easy to save your image in this color mode. A few reviews complain that the image printed darker than expected, which is probably due to color mode.

You can upload your image from a number of sources including Facebook or your image library if you’re a returning customer. Beware: If you do upload a photo from Facebook, make sure it is big enough!  Printing of all kinds should be done at high resolution CMYK; I recommend at least 150 dpi or more. If you have the ability to work with a 300 dpi image, go with that. That means any image less than about 2500 pixels wide won’t work on any size canvas. 

After you upload your image, you’ll see a preview screen like this:

vistaprint canvas design

*Tip: Always upload a high resolution photo! After choosing one or more photos, I can’t stress enough the importance of using a high-resolution photo. These canvas prints are much larger than a common 5×7 prints and holiday cards, and you can’t get away with using small photos. 

If you are uploading a file from a phone or device, make sure that it’s the biggest version available. Any files showing a size less than 1mb are going to be too small.

Tip: Beware of the Safety line, and the sides of the canvas

Unlike designing and printing on a flat surface, (like posters) you have to account for your photo to wrap around the sides of the canvas. That big outer frame in the preview (shown with your photo at about 30% opacity)  is the part of your photo that will wrap around the edges or be trimmed away.

  • Never leave important parts of your photo to the margins (lighter) preview area: Anything displayed there will be wrapped around the sides of the canvas, and likely be wrapped around the sides.
  • Never leave white space in the margins of the preview area. If you do, you’ll likely get white space on the side(s) of your canvas! A number of negative reviews describe these white bands, and they are easily preventable!
  • If you see a small exclamation point / warning icon under your image in preview, click on it for a message. Most likely Vistaprint is telling you your image is not high enough resolution, and may print blurry, especially at the larger canvas sizes.

By clicking on the image, you’ll get a few simple design tools like crop, move, and rotate.

Final preview of your Canvas:

vistaprint premium canvas review

You’ll once again notice the glaring reason that angry people go online writing bad reviews for Vistaprint’s canvas: you can’t see the sides on the final preview. Also, even when you click “view larger” it’s hard to see minute details, or whether your image could be blurry. (resolution too small) 

At this point you should see a discounted price from the coupon

Without the use of a promo code or discount, Vistaprint’s canvases are relatively expensive. Companies like Shutterfly (get promo codes) and Snapfish (get promo codes here) and even art to frames (get coupons) have raised the bar on canvas quality, and the prices have really come down. The retail price of my 16×24″ canvas is $93, which is too expensive.

After applying a 20% off + free shipping promotion, the cost comes down to about $75, which is more competitive.

vistaprint canvas print

#3. Review: My canvas Shipped in 8 days, and looks really good!

As mentioned, the bar has been raised for custom-printed canvas online, so no major brands are printing poor quality. I notice that the photo is about a quarter inch or so off-center from the preview, which doesn’t matter for my landscape photo of the California coast. This might be an issue if you rely on text or people’s heads being near the edges of the canvas. Give yourself a little extra room to the edge so that you you have everything important with at least an inch or two of margin around the sides.

Print quality: The quality of the photo is really sharp! The colors look really vibrant, too. I uploaded my photo at 300 dpi, which means that the largest dimension of my file was a massive 7200 pixels wide! That’s a lot bigger than any Facebook or Instagram images, so be careful importing from there.

The canvas is wrapped around sides neatly and stapled for ‘a no frame’ look, which looks good on the wall. It also saves you from having to buy a nice 16×24″ frame for your print. The images are printed “full bleed,” which means that unless something went wrong during the design phase, you’ll see no white area at the edges.

Conclusion: Vistaprint is good, but not the best for printing on canvas

At the end of the day, I recommend Easy Canvas Prints (review, coupons) for the best combination of price & quality for custom printed canvas. Remember, just like Vistaprint, you should always use a coupon!

Tip: If you are not happy with your canvas for any reason, write an honest & helpful, negative review on vistaprint.com, and they will likely credit your account with the purchase amount. Hopefully this is not the case, as Vistaprint has adjusted their online design process to fix the white space issue that was creating problems and garnering poor reviews.

[yasr_overall_rating] – Review by Kevin M.

canvas design ideas

Ready to Print Your Photo on Canvas? Design Ideas & Inspiration

Here are some neat canvas design ideas on pinterest including designing a collage of canvas prints, as well as some nice black and white inspiration for canvas from Shutterfly.

Vistaprint: How To Assemble Your Banner Stand (H, L, X Stands)

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vistaprint logo squareHow to assemble Vistaprint banner stands: Banners are great for trade shows and presentations, and the stand comes with a convenient carrying case for easy transport.

We have exclusive coupons for all Vistaprint products, including banners, for a 25-50% discount and free shipping. OK, now, let’s talk about banner assembly! 

If you ordered a banner from Vistaprint you’re going to have to do the assembly at home. It’s a little confusing, but the good news is that we have instructional videos to show you exactly how to assemble your banner stand.

There are a few kinds of banners, so see below on how to assemble each type of stand:

H Banner Stand: Assembly Instructions

Here are video instructions for assembling the H banner stand:

The H banner stand is compatible with vertical banners in these sizes: 2.5×4′, 2.5×6′, and 2.5×8′

The H banner stand includes: 2 frames, 4 frame hooks, 1 base, 1 telescopic pole, and 1 extension pole.

L Banner Stand: Assembly Instructions

Here’s how to assemble the L banner stand:

The L banner stand is compatible with 2.5 x 4′, 2.5 x 6′, and 2.5 x 8′ banner sizes.

What’s included? The L banner stand includes a top banner frame, 3 extension poles, a top banner frame, and a top pole.

X Banner Stand: Assembly Instructions

Here’s how to put the X banner stand together:

The Vistaprint X banner stand is compatible with vertical banner sizes: 2.5′ x 8′, 2.5′ x 6′, and 2.5′ x 4′ (no extension poles needed). This banner stand size is great for trade shows, presentations, and indoor signage.

What’s included? The X banner stand includes a tripod base, 2 extension poles, and 2 hooked poles.

Ok, hopefully those videos make it clear on how to assemble your new Vistaprint banner and stand!

Vistaprint.com: Have You Ordered Yet? 

If you’re placing an order, check out our coupons for up to 50% off and free shipping at vistaprint.comm (Canada coupons here)

If you have already ordered a banner, but haven’t received it yet, we have info on cost and times for Vistaprint shipping, too.

Vistaprint Business Cards: Which Paper Stock Is Best For You?

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vistaprint logo blueVistaprint paper stock options for business cards: If you are printing business cards at Vistaprint, you’ll need to choose a card stock. But, which paper stock is best for your business cards?

Here’s a brief, helpful video to help you decide which paper stock to choose:

Best Paper Stock for Your Business Cards:

Get the Best Deal!

Regardless of which card stock you choose, here are the best deals for business cards:

  1. Premium Business Cards: 40% Off w/ code VPBC500
  2. Standard Business Cards: 500 for $10
  3. View all promotionsnew

Business Cards: Vistaprint’s Paper Stock Options

Vistaprint offers four signature paper stocks: glossy, matte, linen, and recycled matte. They also offer two ultra-thick papers: coated, and uncoated.

Here are your paper stock options:

Business Cards: Signature glossy

vistaprint business cards paper signature glossy

Vistaprint business cards paper stock: signature glossy

Signature glossy business cards have a really lustrous coating, shiny coating that reflects the light and is really eye catching. This really brings attention to any images or logos that are on your business cards.

Business Cards: Signature Matte Paper Stock

vistaprint business cards paper signature matte

Vistaprint business cards paper stock: signature matte

The signature matte is a simple but professional look. Matte has a dull finish, and doesn’t reflect the light and look shiny like Vistaprint’s glossy business cards. Matte is also great for instances when you need to write on the back of your business cards, which a lot of people find practical.

*Do you file your own taxes? Here’s a coupon for 20% off TurboTax! 

Business Cards: Signature Linen Paper Stock

Vistaprint business cards paper stock: signature linen

Vistaprint business cards paper stock: signature linen

Linen feels different than glossy and matte, and has a cross-woven nature that you feel as soon as you touch the business cards.  It’s also visually very impactful because you can see that there’s something different about the card stock.

If you’re in the design business, offer personal services, or sell crafts, you might want to consider this very personal, almost hand printed paper stock. Linen paper stock gives a feeling of intimacy and personal connection.

*Did you know you can get free samples from Vistaprint?

Business Cards: Signature Recycled Matte

vistaprint business cards signature recycled

Vistaprint business cards: signature recycled matte

Not only are Vistaprint’s signature recycled matte business cards made from 100% recycled paper, but even the paper mill where they are made uses only renewable energy.

*Have you seen their Kraft paper? It’s rough, recycled brown paper stock.

Business Cards: Ultra-Thick Coated Paper Stock

vistaprint ultra thick coated paper stock

Vistaprint ultra thick coated paper stock

Ultra-thick business cards are the thickest paper stock that Vistaprint offers, and they really make an impact with customers.

Business Cards: Ultra-Thick Uncoated

Vistaprint has an exclusive process that integrates a technology from the paper supplier to the post-printing process to achieve a printing quality that no other company can achieve on such thick paper.

Which Paper Stock Should You Choose for Your Business Cards?

Every business is different, and no one paper stock is best for everyone. Vistaprint believes that business cards have the ability to tell your business’ story, so how will you tell yours?
We recently tried out their business cards, and wrote a review here.

*Related: Vistaprint: How long does shipping take? 

my vistaprint postcards review

Vistaprint Postcards Review: Check Out My Postcards!

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vistaprint logo blueVistaprint Postcards – My Real Review + Today’s Best Coupon: If you are looking to use postcards as part of your marketing strategy, you might want to consider Vistaprint. They have some of the best pricing & highest quality custom postcards, and when you use a coupon you save significantly more.

Vistaprint Postcards for Marketing? Here’s My Review:

vistaprint postcards review coupon

I’m building an online shop to sell t-shirts and posters, and looking to stretch my advertising dollars wherever possible. So, I saw the recent promotion from Vistaprint offering 50 small (4×6) postcards at 25% off. This lowered the price to only $8 + shipping, so I had to give this a try!

Postcards for marketing: An important factor that led me to postcards in the first place is that I’m looking at a relatively small profit margin from any t-shirt sales that I make. If each sale nets $5 in profit, I have to be careful where I spend my money.

Postcards for Profit: The other use I’m getting out of these cheap little postcards is to print my artwork on them and resell them as small “prints.” The quality is good enough to do so, and while they only cost me a quarter each to print, I can resell them for $3 each. Not a bad profit margin!

*Tip: If you want to read more reviews, there are actually customer reviews under every popular product, including postcards, at Vistaprint.com. These aren’t filtered, either, as some of the reviews are negative.

50 Postcards for Under 20 Cents each!? Even Cheaper When You Buy More – My REVIEW

vistaprint postcards review

In the last few years there has been a mad rush to spend advertising money online through sites like Google Adwords and Facebook. This is certainly understandable, as never before has technology allowed you to target niches of people online so quickly and easily. So, is there still a place in the marketing world for the barbarous relic that we call the postcard? Of course!

So, before Igo on, here’s my review: These look great and have me really excited about their potential uses. The annoying thing was that none of their postcard sizes (small, standard, or oversized) corresponded to the proportions of my design, so I had to take some off the top.

I chose a matte finish to make these postcards look vintage (the glossy finish would spoil that effect) and I chose small, 4×6 size so that they could fit in a standard frame. (more on that below)

You can cut the cost per piece in half pretty quickly if you are ordering a large number, but for my purposes I’m estimating their cost at about a quarter each, including shipping, as I’m only printing 50. Ok, I have these great cheap postcards, now let’s put them to use!

Vistaprint: People Like Holding Things Like Postcards, Dollar Bills, & Coupons (And Baby Bunnies!)

Here we are in the 21st Century, but still not lost in a world of virtual reality, or even virtual currencies. Even though digital money makes more sense than costly paper and metal currency, we still use it. Not only that, but the value of gold and silver has risen steadily since the invention and popularity of the internet.

This is because there is still great value in things that are tangible. Even though a Google ad serves a valuable purpose, it is not tangible, and disappears into the ether the moment you click, or move on to a different page.You’d also think that with the wide-spread use of of smartphones we could stop chopping down trees to print coupons, right?

Nope, people use those annoying coupon mailers you get every month because they are tangible. You just can’t replace that quality. Try petting a photo of a baby bunny on your iPhone… See, it’s not the same as the real thing!

So, let’s see how we can use this old-fashioned marketing medium in today’s digital world.

Another review:

Vistaprint Postcards: Tack Them Up, Mail Them, or Hand Them Out

(Not to be confused with “smack it up, flip it, rub it down!” lyrics for “Do Me, Baby”) Since I’m only printing 50 postcards and investing about $15 here (including shipping), I can’t afford to festoon entire cities with my postcards. But, let’s see if I can make that meager $15 a good investment.

First, I’m going to tack one of these postcards on every free bulletin board in town. There’s one at Starbucks, the local library, pizza place, and hardware store, which happens to be next to a PetSmart. I figure a lot of people will see these postcards, so ideally the web address of my online store would be prominent on the front.

That may have been my first mistake, but I did print the back of the postcard for an extra $2.25 as well, (see below) prominently showing my URL. In this case, I figure if someone likes the design on my postcard enough to take it off the bulletin board and home with them, they are at least going to check out my website. At a cost of about a quarter per postcard (the same price I was paying for a click from Google) this isn’t a bad option.

vistaprint framed postcard

Idea: Consider framing & Selling The 4×6 or 5×7 Sized Vistaprint Postcards of Your Art, Designs, or Photos

The postcards I had printed through vistaprint.com are nice enough to frame, or sell on their own. There is no annoying Vistaprint logo on the back, (like Shutterfly has) so, as a customer these look more like “small prints” than “postcards. At a cost of a quarter each, you have nice room for a profit margin, even if you sell them for $1 each.

If you are at a trade show or event, you can frame one or more of these postcards, as they are a standard 4×6” size.

If you print your artwork on them, it’s almost like a little handbill like the ones they used to give out for concerts. Add a cheap black (wood?) 4×6” or 5×7” frame from your local Michael’s store, and the framed postcard might only be a total investment of $5 or so.

Their oversized postcards are at a 8×5 x 5.5 size, so while they are great as a “print”, framing them may be annoying at this non-standard size.

I’ll bet that as an artist or photographer you could easily resell a framed postcard of your art or photos for $10 each! I imagine if you are paying to have a little space as an artist in a market somewhere this is actually a pretty good option for selling your designs. Vistaprint lets you choose the finish of the postcards, so you can decide on matte or glossy during the design / checkout process.

If you don’t want to resell these postcards, then at least display one of the framed ones for people to look at.

A small “postcard” of your design(s) would be a welcome, low cost addition to any Etsy store as well. Maybe your full-size prints are $20, but these can be added to an order for $2 each. Or, have a lot of them printed, and sell them as “postcards” in groups of 6 or more.

vistaprint postcard back printed

Idea: Vistaprint Postcards as Leave Behinds

(that’s my attention-grabbing back of the postcards; you know, like everyone rallying for Chairman Meow?) I have a framed poster up at a local coffee shop, so I’m going to leave about 20 of these postcards on the little table next to where my artwork hangs, along with some of Vistaprint’s free business cards coupon. This way, people interested in my poster can take something tangible home with them to check out the URL. We all have short attention spans, so with a business card or postcard they won’t forget to go checkout my shop.

Once again, the postcards are about a quarter each, so I feel good that at least 1 in 20-30 people who takes one will buy something from my site. Actually, the investment looks better on paper for the cheap or free business cards, (only 3 cents each) so I can leave a hundred of those behind and feel even better. If you want to leave a stack of postcards somewhere, I suggest printing many more than 50 to bring the price per piece down. Otherwise, at 20 cents each your return on investment may be too low. Here’s some postcard design ideas on Pinterest.

Be sure to use a coupons or promo code towards postcards!

Never place an order at vistaprint.com without looking for a good coupon or promotional link! There is currently an ongoing marketing sale on Vistaprint’s coupon page that applies a 25% discount towards any postcard order. There is also a site-wide promotion for new customers that offers 20% off + free shipping on your first order. (free delivery requires a minimum order size) 

Vistaprint Flyers | Reviews, Flyer Marketing Ideas + Coupon

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vistaprint logo blueInexpensive Custom Flyers from Vistaprint: Marketing flyers are like the infantry of the marketing world; simply getting the job done without glamour. Whether you’re advertising a coupon for your beauty salon, an upcoming concert, or letting the neighborhood know about a new house for sale, flyers can get the job done. Here are the best Vistaprint flyer coupons available:

vistaprint flyers coupon

Inexpensive Marketing Flyers from Vistaprint: Spreading the Word

While technology has changed vastly in the last couple of decades, nothing has replaced the effectiveness of getting something into people’s hands. We’re still tactile learners and observers, and while we can ignore over 99% of banner ads online, we usually notice postcard-sized ads that are handed to us or appear in our mailbox.

That’s where flyers can help; they are an inexpensive, versatile form of marketing that has passed the test of time.

Vistaprint Flyers: 101 Marketing Uses:

vistaprint flyers real estate

Vistaprint real estate flyers

Should flyers be a part of your small business marketing plan? If you are a brick and mortar business  or restaurant owner, you’ve probably had to step up your marketing efforts in recent years. Not only do you need to focus on social media and customer reviews like never before, but if a site like Amazon sells similar products, you’re going to have to separate yourself from the crowd.

sample flyer design vistaprint

sample flyer design vistaprint

Here Are Vistaprint’s Flyer Sizes

There are 5 flyer sizes available including:

  • Quarter Page Flyers: At 5.47″ x 4.21″ this is the most popular size of flyers. Great for handouts, you can distribute these small flyers in high-volume
  • Half Page Flyers – (8.52″ x 5.47″) Great for special events, sales, coupons, this size of flyer can really attract attention
  • Long Flyers – (3.74″ x 8.27″) Use for menus, price lists, or promotional take-aways
  • Full Page Flyers – At 8.5″ x11″, these large flyers are the size of a standard cheet of paper. Leave these on the counter, or tack one up to a bulletin board

bed bath beyond flyer coupon

Infamous bed bath beyond flyer coupon

Some popular uses for flyers:

  • Flyer Coupons – Give potential customers an incentive to come to your store, and the satisfaction of saving money. A majority of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase if they have a coupon, so use flyers to create new customers, or bring back those who you haven’t seen in a while
  • Restaurant Special Promotions – Two words: happy hour. Ok, beyond that, flyers are a great way to advertise specials, events, and music at your restaurant or store
  • Realtor / Real Estate Flyers: A great way to for realtors to promote themselves and houses for sale or recent sales
  • Holiday or Seasonal Event Flyers – In December hundreds of people are wandering around town like Capitalist zombies, looking for a reason to part with their money. Use flyers to get on their radar, and get them excited about what you are offering this season
  • Community Event Flyers – You don’t have to be selling something to mail or give out Vistaprint flyers. Pass them out or leave a stack of them at schools, events, or even the public library. As Princess Anna once said, “Why have a ballroom with no balls?” Flyers help give balls to your marketing campaign!
  • Trade Show Flyers – Trade shows are a whirlwind couple of hours; make sure potential customers have something in their hands of yours when they leave so they don’t forget you
  • Advertise a Competition – Generate interest in your business with a competition or contest. *Tip: While a costume contest for Halloween is a fun idea for a restaurant, nix the idea of a pie-eating contest in your barber shop or funeral home. It’s just not in good taste
  • Promote a Party or Concert – Are the kids still having raves these days? How about sock-hops? Are those still cool? Whatever rhythmic ceremonial ritual you’re hosting, consider advertising it with Vistaprint flyers

vistaprint flyer coupon sale

OK, so which Coupon for Flyers is Best?

If you are considering placing an order for flyers at vistaprint.com, definitely take a couple of minutes to find the best available coupon or promo code. There is always a promotion that includes flyers, so consider site-wide promotions as well as flyer-specific coupons.

The best place to compare all coupons is at our Vistaprint coupon page.

vistaprint flyer sample

vistaprint event flyer sample

New Customer? Consider the Free Shipping Promotion for Your Flyers

Vistaprint reserves their best coupons for new customers, so look to get both a percentage discount and free shipping on your first order. You’ll probably have to meet a minimum order size for free delivery, but it’s usually only about $50. Most serious orders of flyers can easily exceed that.

Vistaprint Flyers: Bad Reviews?

In reading through the many reviews for Vistaprint flyers, there were two complaints that seemed to be most common:

  • Photo(s) are blurry – Make sure you use high resolution photos on your flyers. Photo’s taken with your own camera should be imported at full size; probably at least several hundred “k” in file size each, and very sharp
  • Photos are dark – While most customers report a product that looks the same as the preview, a number of reviews say that the images in the printed flyer are darker than expected. Not a bad idea to brighten your images slightly before uploading

Note: Customers who did post bad reviews of flyers on Vistaprint.com were offered a credit on their account for the entire purchase, giving them a second chance to get it right.

Related:

My Vistaprint Business Cards Review | Pretty Sweet!

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vistaprint logo squareReview of Vistaprint business cards – I’m in the middle of developing an online shop to sell my cat-related t-shirt designs, so I figured I’d invest about $20 to have business cards printed to advertise my online store.

The name I’m most familiar with for printing business cards is Vistaprint.com (coupons), so I decided to go with them. Here’s my review for business cards from Vistaprint:

Vistaprint Standard Business Cards: My Review

vistaprint business cards sample

I’ve ordered business cards through Vistaprint a couple of times before, but never to specifically promote a website or online store. In this case I wanted the cheapest business cards possible without looking or feeling cheap.

I went with their ongoing 500 business cards for $10 promotion because it only cost me $1 more than getting 250 business cards. ($8.99 with same coupon code)

By the way, they don’t seem to offer “free,” or economy business cards anymore, which is a good thing. Those used to have the Vistaprint logo on the back, and the paper felt cheap!

That’s a bad first impression to make with potential clients or customers. I sell t-shirts at my online shop, so I don’t want people thinking they are also cheaply printed!

1. First, Use a Design Template

Vistaprint offers design templates for all of their products, including business cards. TO be sure my design was the right resolution and in CMYK, I downloaded this template:

vistaprint business cards template

Anyway, in this case I used a 300 dpi version of one of my t-shirt designs, and formatted it for the vertical 3.5×2″ size of their Standard business cards. I also chose a matte finish, (included) as I wanted a vintage look. Glossy might be appropriate for certain designs or photos, but I usually go with matte.

*Their “Signature” business cards are printed on an adequate, 14 pt. paper, but you can upgrade to Premium or Signature with a heavier if you’d like. For my purposes I wanted the cheaper option, as I plan to just festoon these around the city.

I had no need to print on the back of the cards, so my order total was $9.99 for 500 standard business cards plus $5 shipping.

2. Be Sure to Use a Promo Code

If you click on a link for a specific promotion, the discount might be applied immediately, or, you have the option of entering a promo code at checkout like this:

business cards promo code

Enter Vistaprint promo code

3. You Can Consider Upgrades: (Brilliant Finishes) Metallic, Spot Gloss, Raised Print

Upgrades like foil, and spot gloss can really make features on your business card, like your logo, pop!

4. You’ll Have 4 Paper Stock Options

5. Here’s My Vistaprint Business Cards!

Wondering how long it takes Vistaprint to ship business cards? Their cheapest shipping option (economy) took exactly 8 days. (7 business days) They came in a neat little box, and I was excited to open it. (Need your cards fast? Check out the shipping speeds here) 

The business cards themselves look great, and the colors are just like the online preview. Once again, be sure to design in CMYK at high resolution (300 dpi). Here’s another photo of my business cards:

vistaprint business cards review

Some of the cards printed about 1/16 of an inch off-center, but they mention that your design should be in the “safety zone” as it might shift by a small amount horizontally or vertically.

These business cards are great! 5 stars for the $15 total price. If you want you can upgrade and spend more on Signature business cards or ultra-thick which cost a lot more.

My Review: 500 Vistaprint Business Cards

You can see the “premium business cards” pictured above that I had printed with one of my Chairman Meow designs. I wanted heavier paper, so I was willing to pay an extra $5 than the 500 for $10 deal. Here are a few highlights of my premium business cards:

  • Economy delivery took 7 days (free shipping not available)
  • The business cards have a matte finish, and the paper is nice and sturdy
  • The design is full-bleed, and was well centered
  • The color was true to the online preview
  • The total cost was about $20 for 500 business cards (with this coupon) 
  • Not using a design template? Remember to create your own design in CMYK!

*Tip: If you are on their site looking at the standard business cards, scroll down and you’ll see customer reviews. Consumer affairs is where you’ll find negative reviews, which are helpful to read, too

Ideas for Using Vistaprint Business Cards

Ok, so your on the fence about ordering 500 business cards? Business cards are like the Swiss Army knife of marketing, as they have so many potential uses for for many people. Here are a few ideas for getting your money’s worth:

1. Cheap Business Cards to Promote an Online Store / Shop / Blog

I used to imagine business cards as what people passed around at industry events, or left behind as contractors. However, if you have a website or online store or blog, they can be so much more!

They are great to hand out, and if you ship orders from an online store, be sure to drop a couple into each package that you ship.

If you do any online marketing whatsoever, you are probably familiar with paying for clicks on Google and Facebook. If you have a budget for this type of advertising, please consider supplementing it with business cards!

2. Business Cards are Like Online Clicks, But Cheaper

In my own online advertising experience, it’s costing me upwards of 50 cents per click to advertise my website to people categorized as “cat owners.”

That’s nothing compared to the $10+ per click a friend pays per click through Google for his basement waterproofing business. Yikes! 

Anyway, by paying for clicks I quickly realize that the math doesn’t work to my advantage. I’m only making $6 on the sale of a t-shirt, and the potential conversion rate from these paid clicks is pretty low. There’s just no way a high percentage of people are going to take out their wallet and buy a t-shirt, so I need to find a cheaper way to get people to my online store.

While I work on ways to bring this cost per click way down, I’m printing 500 business cards for some guerilla marketing. Vistaprint offers 500 business cards for $10 + $5 shipping, so the cost of each business card is about 5 cents each.

Like online clicks they deliver information for a brief moment with the hope of hooking a customer. While online advertising has many advantages, a business card is tangible, and doesn’t disappear into the ether once that moment has passed.

If you cross paths with your potential audience at any time, consider printing cheap business cards that get attention and send people to your online store or website!

For my shop, imagine how much more effective a little stack of business cards would be if left at a cat cafe, coffee shop, or pet store!

3. Cheap Business Cards for an Etsy Shop, CafePress Shop, Zazzle Store, eBay Store, or T-Shirt Store

If you have an online store, you’re probably trying to market your unique designs or products. This greatly increases the odds that you have some kind of design experience, or at least the ability to photograph your products close up.

Tip: Consider zooming in on your best design or product, add your URL, and print it on a business card? Make sure your image is really sharp and high-resolution!

These potentially catchy business cards can be stuck in lots of locations; either one at a time, or even fanned out or stacked in strategic places.

Example: I go to a dog park every other week, which is a very social environment. That would be a great place to hand out a business card. You’re not limited to dog products in that environment either. Maybe you just mention during conversation that you have a side-business, like an Etsy store, which would be a great time to whip it out. (a business card)

I have also propped up business cards on signs, wedged them into the side of bulletin boards, or any little corners where they might get noticed.

Idea: Not only can business cards help you hook potential new customers, but existing customers as well. I recommend including at least one business card in the packaging of all orders that you mail  out. Your customers might hold onto it, or even pass it on to a friend.

So Many Ideas for Using Business Cards

There are a number of great resources out there that list creative ideas for using business cards to market your store, but I’d just recommend the following in summary:

  • A catchy “hook“: a design featuring a head-turning product photo or example of your favorite design
  • No more than one one line of text or it will be too crowded
  • Your easy to remember domain name
  • Printing on the back of the business card may cost more
  • Try the 500 business cards promotion first at 3 cents per card
  • Similar offer from Vistaprint.ca here

Anyway, if you’re an entrepreneur of any sort, I do recommend Vistaprint’s business cards, as they are really cheap and great quality. I was really happy with the result, and it was a great investment of less than $20.