First impressions count – research shows that within the first few seconds of meeting, decisions will be made on who you are! Appearance affects how professional, trustworthy and powerful a person thinks you are. And it’s not just how you present yourself – Think of your business card as an extension of you.
In GSM we take a look at your business card. Interestingly, you don’t have to take out a small mortgage to create a good impression. Take, for example, the BJ Ball range of business cards. They range from the ordinary to the sublime!
The role of a BJ Ball Specification Rep is to promote the range of papers BJ Ball offers. What better way to do this than to create a suite of business cards. In this way we get to showcase six different paper stocks using different printing techniques and embellishments. Our account managers can distribute them individually or as a set, providing you with six different printed samples to show your client.
As always, we chose the paper stock first and then paired it with various printing techniques and embellishments. The range of paper stocks we selected highlights that you don’t always need an expensive paper to make you look good. And you don’t always have to print four colours. let’s take a look…
B
is for Brown – Kraftpak Kraft, 332gsm, to give an organic earthy look. This traditional packaging board is an affordable alternative which suits a one to two colour print job. For this business card we offset printed a double hit of PMS Warm Red in one pass, followed with a little indulgence of a gloss black foil and PMS Black.
J
is printed on Mohawk Via Felt, 270gsm, one of our specialty paper grades. We kept the print to a minimum, one colour PMS Black and added clear thermography for interest. For the following print run, we mixed it up by printing on Evergreen Environment, Raw Concrete, 270gsm. This worked equally well, lending the card a raw organic look with the added fleck of this recycled grade. 
B
the elegance of Notturno, Black, 450gsm, paired with a black foil really makes this card stand out from the crowd. We used a double hit of opaque white ink to print the text.
A
Stardream, Quartz, 285gsm, is another specialty grade from BJ Ball. The iridescent quality of the paper adds a real sparkle to the PMS286 Blue and the reversed-out text. We under-printed the blue with an opaque white to give better lift to the blue.
L
Eco100, 300gsm, is an affordable, 100% recycled grade that adds a nice earthy tone to the PMS355 green. For an added lift and contrast we used PMS802 neon green.
L
Yupo QJJ, 390gsm, is both recycled and waterproof so perfect when you’re out in the field. By printing it as a simple two colour job, using spot colour BJ Ball Orange PMS021 and PMS Black, the print savings cover the extra cost of this specialty grade.
The Weight of a Business Card
And just a note on weight… Have you noticed we selected papers grades ranging from 270 – 450gsm?! The weight of a business card has a subliminal effect of communicating quality. It says “I’m here, take note, I mean business”! If you’re looking for something weighty check out our latest digital paper grade for business cards – Multiloft.
Multiloft® is an innovative product designed for the production of ultra-thick, digitally printed pieces. Available in 5 colours, Multiloft® Encore sheets have a white print surface on the top side, and cohesive glue on the coloured reverse side. After printing, two sheets of Multiloft® Encore are assembled back to back. This is where the magic happens – the pressure from the guillotine (set at 300psi) seals the sheets together!
Take a look at this example of MultiLoft, Orange Fiz. Made with 2 Multiloft Encore sheets (317gsm) and 2 Multiloft inserts (270gsm) it has a total thickness of 1174gsm. That’s 1.5mm thick – now that’s a business card!
