The origin of the business cards is often debated, with some folks taking their origin back to 15th century China whereas others think that concept began in the 17th century in Europe. While the time of the origin may vary in different sources, the purpose was the same; to let common people know that a wealthy person was going to visit a certain place, street, or even someone’s home. Later on, with industrialization, those visiting cards were modified into trade cards, which people exchanged to promote and sell their trades. They have been used by businesses all around the world to create a professional first impression, the only difference is that now we use the term “business cards” for them. With everything going online in 2021, people ask if the questions like “what size are business cards? what design to choose?” and so on are still worth looking for. The answer is yes, and here we have listed the top reasons why it is so. Before we answer questions like what size are business cards, let’s quickly go over a couple of reasons why you should have business cards.
Top Reasons Why You Should Have Business Cards
Exchanging Contact Information In Real Life Is More Influential
What makes a business flourish is not just the right marketing or the manpower, but also the connections your business establishes with other people and industries. And no matter how revolutionized your company is you cannot create effective connections over email or text messages. Getting in touch with relevant people for your business and exchanging real-life solid contact information through business cards has a better impact on that person.
Business Cards Generate The Foremost Impression Of Your Business
To increase the number of potential customers and valuable connections, you must exert a long-lasting and charming first impression of your company on them. From a business networking point of view, business cards are one of the most effective ways of communicating your brand to others. The right designs and font size for business cards contribute a lot to making a memorable first impression on your competitors and partners.
Business Cards Help People Remember Your Brand
Business organizations get dozens of emails and digital connection requests per day, which is why they are most likely to forget your brand among many others. But that does not happen with the physical interaction, where your business card represents you and there are chances that you will be remembered even after you are no longer in contact with the person. Even when you own a small shop or a local business, giving out business cards with your products helps people remember your business. The more people recognize and recall your brand, the loyal the customers will be.
Business Cards Build Your Identity
When you are starting as a company, a brand, or a local business, your goal is to establish yourself in the market, using logos and goal statements, etc. What size are business cards that do not matter as long as they have your logo and the necessary information printed on them? Business cards with your contact information, company logo, and company description are enough to build your identity among the customers. Once you have a brand identity, people start to trust you and are most likely to buy from you, regardless of the products or services you provide.
Business Cards Make You Seem Efficient And Ready
When someone asks what you do or what your contact information is, and you start by writing down your contact number on a piece of paper. It would make you look unprofessional and they might not take your brand seriously or big enough to buy something from you. But if you take out a business card with an eloquent font and eye-catching design with all your credentials on it, you appear competent and professional.
Now that you’re aware of some of the reasons people keep business cards, let’s look at what size are business cards.
What Size Are Business Cards Across The World?
Let’s look at what size are business cards across the world. One thing that you would notice is common in pretty much every business card is the size. The standard sizes for business cards around the world are almost identical. If you are wondering what size are business cards in the US, it is:
- 3.5 x 2 in inches
- 89 x 51 in millimeters (mm)
- 8.9 x 5.1 in centimeters (cm)
If you are interested in knowing what size are business cards in other regions of the words, here is a list for what is the standard size of business cards for major countries:
- 3.5 x 2 inches in Canada (same as the US).
- 3.543 x 2.125 inches in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Malaysia.
- 3.582 x 2.165 inches in Japan.
- 3.54 x 2.165 inches in Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Vietnam, Taiwan, and India.
- 3.346 x 2.165 inches in Belgium, Portugal, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Turkey, France, Italy, and Ireland.
- 3.346 x 1.889 inches in Iran.
- 3.543 x 1.968 inches in Brazil, Bulgaria, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Czech Republic, and South Korea.
Let’s quickly go over what size our business cards are in pixels.
Business Card Size In Pixels
The pixel size for business cards depends mainly on the printing quality and requirement of the business cards. 3D printer business cards can be created in high resolution and great quality. There are two types of designs for creating business cards, one is pixel-based and the other is vector-based. For the pixel-based business cards, the business card photoshop size matters a lot. The size of business cards in pixels in the US and Canada is 1050 x 600, whereas, for the UK, it is 1005 x 651.
Understanding Parts And Sizes For Business Cards
The question about what size are business cards are not just about the main body of the card, rather there are three major parts of a business card in terms of size? The first portion is called the Bleed Area, where all the artwork and the colors of the background extend, to avoid any white lines when cutting the card. Then there is the second portion called the Trim or Cutline. The cutline is where the printer is aimed to cut and it may not trim the card precisely on that line, which is the reason the artwork is extended to the Bleed Area. The last part is known as the Safe Zone or Safe line, where all of your information and logos go. Anything such as the artwork, contact information, logos, and monograms extend outside of the safe zone while printing, they may be cut off in the final stage.
Things To Consider When Deciding Your Business Cards Design And Dimensions
Business cards have no doubt retained their importance even in this virtual era. People from all across the world are using business cards as an essential marketing tool. But before you choose a business card for your company, questions like what size are business cards, best printers for business cards and price of a box for business cards, etc. must pop into your head. Following are the important aspects you should consider before finalizing your business cards:
Thickness
Although nobody asks about the thickness of the business cards as much as they ask what size are business cards but knowing your options for each aspect is helpful. The thickness of the business cards is influenced by the type of paper stock you select from a variety of options. For most people, the thicker the card is, the more attractive it looks, but that is for you to decide what you want.
Big Or Small
you may think that what size are business cards are fixed for each country, but that is not exactly how it works. You can always choose a smaller or larger card for your business; they can be custom made. If you have a lot of information that needs to go on your business card, choosing a larger card is beneficial for you. People in fields of art, photography, and entrepreneurship tend to go with slightly larger card sizes so that their services and arts can be displayed as much as possible through the card. On the other hand, smaller business cards are easy to carry in your wallet and are more portable.
Classic Or Custom
The businesses that are just starting in the market, usually prefer the classic business cards, because they are easier to carry and have a professional look. But many companies who have made themselves recognizable in the market experiment with custom business cards. There are so many options in the custom cards, such as folding cards, lock, and key style cards, cards in the shape of different products, etc.
Horizontal Or Vertical
The decision about what orientation your business cards should have is entirely up to you, but as a general rule of thumb, business cards are mainly in a horizontal fashion. In the history of business cards, they had been using horizontal cards, which gives them a traditional and authentic look. Most of the banks, construction companies, property businesses, and law firms still stick with the horizontal orientation. The vertical business cards are trendy and are now being adopted by the newly emerging brands.
Design
What size are business cards would not matter to anyone you give them to, but the design will. People remember the brand by the design of their business cards in their hands. You should always consider choosing a design that has a catchy font, good color scheme, and attractive style.
Corners
For business cards, you have to choose between either rounded corners or square corners. While the round corner business cards are getting popular in this era, the traditional companies still stick with the square corner cards. Square corner business cards fit perfectly in your wallet but their edges may get crumbled which is not the case with the rounded corners. So, whichever option you choose, keep your company’s requirements in mind.
Choosing The Best Font Size For Business Cards
Two Kinds Of Business Card Fonts
There are two main types of fonts available for business cards; one is Sans-serif and the other one is known as Serif. The sans-serif font lacks the strokes or the finishing lines with each word. Due to this, the line width of anything written in the sans-serif font is less. Most modern companies prefer business cards with sans-serif font due to their minimalistic look and neatness. The serif font, on the other hand, gives a somewhat vintage look to the card information, with its grooves and small lines at the end of each letter. It is more like the textbook style and companies looking for authenticity in their representation go for this font.
Tips For Selecting The Best Font For Your Business Card
- If you are confused by which is the best font for business cards, one solution is to choose more than one font. Having two or three fonts for your card can be a good idea if they are not entirely different and match with the other font for the heading and the main body.
- For the companies or brands that have been in the market for decades, they should choose serif font, which gives a trustworthy and traditional feel to the card. Whereas, for the newly emerging companies and businesses in this era, sans-serif works well with their company profile.
- When you are deciding on the font for your business card, consult the printing service experts to know the best fonts for the nature of your business. For example, some fonts give the text a decent look but they may not look well with brands for children.
- Some fonts may not look good with your design and the color scheme of your card, so it is better to make a collective decision about each aspect so that everything from color, style, and design matches.
Fonts That Make Your Business Cards Stand Out
Apart from the question about what size are business cards, you also have to focus on the font size and style of the business cards. Some fonts make your cards stand out in the market, such as:
- Glasgow, an academic-looking font.
- Myriad Pro, arranged and professional.
- Jura, a balance between serif and sans-serif.
- Nevis, an attention-grabbing font.
- Code, rounded and neat.
