Print business cards at home or a shop?
Print at home when you need a few cards today or are testing a design: use perforated business card sheets made for your printer. Use a print shop for anything you'll hand to customers regularly, because shops print on thicker card (14–16 pt), trim cleanly to the edge and charge less per card once you order a few hundred.
Home vs print shop compared
| At home | Print shop | |
|---|---|---|
| Card thickness | Limited by your printer, usually up to about 80–110 lb cover (roughly 215–300 gsm) | 14–16 pt (roughly 300–350 gsm) is standard; thicker and special papers are available |
| Edges | Perforated edges you can feel, or white borders if you cut by hand | Clean trimmed edges, with colour right to the edge (full bleed) |
| Finish | Plain matte or whatever your sheets offer | Matte, gloss, soft-touch, rounded corners and more |
| Speed | Minutes | Same day at some local shops; several days for online orders with shipping |
| Cost | Cheap for 10–50 cards, but ink and sheets add up | Cheaper per card for larger runs such as 250 or 500 |
When printing at home makes sense
- You need a handful of cards for a meeting tomorrow.
- You're checking a new design on paper before ordering a big run.
- You give out very few cards and update your details often.
How to print business cards at home
- Buy perforated business card sheets that match your printer type (inkjet or laser). Most are letter or A4 sheets with 10 cards each.
- Download your card as a 300 DPI image and place it into the sheet maker's free template, which lines the cards up with the perforations.
- Print one test sheet on plain paper, hold it against a card sheet to the light, and adjust if the cards don't line up.
- Set the printer to its heaviest paper or card setting and the highest quality, then print.
- Avoid designs where colour runs to the edge; perforated sheets can leave a thin white line where they tear.
When to use a print shop
- You hand out cards every week, at a counter or at events.
- Your design has a background colour or photo that runs to the edge.
- You want thicker card, a special finish or a two-sided card that lines up exactly.
- You're ordering 100 or more, where the price per card drops a lot.
Set up the file once, use it for both
Every CatalogProFlow business card template is 3.5 × 2 in (or 85 × 55 mm) with bleed and a safe area built in. With Pro or a one-time unlock you get two PDFs from the Export menu: “PDF for a print shop” includes the bleed the shop needs, and “PDF to print yourself” is trimmed to the card size. A PNG download is free with an account and is what you'll place into a home card-sheet template. You can also order prints directly where our print partners offer business cards, or find a local shop.
Questions
- Can a normal printer print on card stock?
- Most home inkjet and laser printers handle light card, often up to about 80–110 lb cover (roughly 215–300 gsm). Check your printer's paper specifications; using a rear or manual feed tray helps with thick sheets.
- How many business cards fit on a letter or A4 sheet?
- Ten is the usual layout on perforated business card sheets: two columns of five standard cards.
- Do I have to pay to download my business card?
- A PNG download is free with an account. The print-ready PDF comes with Pro ($19/month) or a one-time $2.99 unlock for that design.
- What thickness should business cards be?
- 14–16 pt (roughly 300–350 gsm) is the standard at print shops and feels sturdy in the hand.