Business Card Production in InDesign
The purpose of this exercise is to assist you in the setup
and production of a business card. At the production stage
of the design process, the details of elements on the card should have
already been decided. The placement of graphics, type size and alignment,
and the color palette used in the graphics and type are all part of
the design process and need to be considered as part of the whole corporate
identity. Decisions made in the business card's design process form
the company’s image, and should be carefully examined before
committing to print.
The specifics of the production process vary depending
on the printing process used for reproduction. Deciding on a printer
is key to the production process. A different setup is used if the final
cards are printed: 1) on an inkjet printer, 2) on a laser printer — black
and white or color, 3) on an offset press, 4) on a digital press. It
is a combination of stock, color ways and quanity that determine the
best choice of printing process.
Inkjet
Printing under 250 is impractical, considering
the amount of time and money that will be invested, but if small quantities
are desired, an inkjet printer could be the best choice. Drawbacks are
a limited choice of inkjet compatible heavy stocks. Making clean and
even cuts is challenging without a commercial paper cutter. Office stores
like Staples or Office Depot will often cut your cards for around $1.00-$2.00
per cut.
Laser
The quality of black only and color laser
printers varies greatly, but what sets the laser printers apart from
inkjets is that they are less expensive to operate, they can handle heaver
weight paper than inkjet, they are considerably faster than inkjets,
and registration from page to page is likely more accurate. Most laser
printers will handle a smooth textured, 80 lb. cover weight. A typical
press run is 250-1000.
Offset
It was only a few years ago that business
cards were run on an offset press, and the only question was the size
of the press and whether it was a one-, two-, or four-color press. The
cheapest way to run cards was one- or two-color press on 80 lb. cover
stock. Typically run on an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet, four- or eight-up
in quantities of 1000 or more.
Digital Press
Beginning in the late 90s commercial printers began running business
cards and postcards on 4-color digital presses. Gang printing allows
printers to run dozens of job together. With online ordering systems
so that "brokers" and artists can upload their files, these
systems make for quick (5-7 day) turnaround with 4-color printing
on 14pt. card stock and UV coat. A typical press run is 1000 or more,
but within the last year, some printers have introduced short-run
(250) printing to their product offerings. The disadvantage to these
gang run jobs is that there is a very limited paper choice. |
