Our Business Card Review Methodology
Business Card Review Process:
- We identified features of online business card printing companies that are most important to consumers when making a buying decision by broadly researching the business cards category as a whole.
- We identified several of the most prominent companies in the industry. For each company, we looked at their website to identify the basic features they offer. After that, we used their card creation tools extensively and ordered business cards from each company. By doing this, we were able to gather comprehensive information about each provider, as well as address quality issues through actual use of the product.
- We answered the important questions for each company and recorded them in a database. The goal of this database is to keep everything standard and allow our reviews to be comprehensive and fair.
- We reduced bias and human error by reviewing a company twice by two different people. Double-reviewing allows us to catch any errors made during the research process. Any discrepancies between the two reviews are identified by a third person, who then investigates and records the correct information. Our standards of quality are extremely high, and we do everything to ensure that we keep our information consistent and up to date.
- We published our reviews only after the information had been through several levels of quality control and approved. After all of the information has been verified, we decide what is appropriate to include in our reviews, assigned to a pro or con, or shown in our comparison grid.
- We made our publishing decisions from a consumer mindset, only including the information that will be useful to our visitors. This is also a several step process with various checkpoints for accuracy, and ensures that the most important and critical information is presented in a logical and useful way.
Business Card Ratings:
Design Tool Rating
This rating is based on the following:
First, does the reviewed company have a WYSIWYG Editor or Simple Editor? A WYSIWYG Editor lets you drag and drop images and text as well as let you edit directly onto the card. A Simple Editor gives you text fields with a preview screen showing your card.
WYSIWYG Editor should have the following:
- Advanced alignment/movement options
Options include aligning in relation to other objects, create layers and moving objects in small mathematical increments. - Option to snap text to grid
Snapping text to the grid means that you can push a button that will auto-align images and text boxes with the nearest grid lines, making spacing and placement of text/images more precise. - Grid projected on the template
You are able to show grid lines on your business card template to help you place text and images more precisely. - Cut (trim) and bleed lines shown on the template
The "cut" or "trim" line marks where the card will be cut. The "bleed" line shows you where to place your business card design. Sometimes, the cutters will cut above or below the cut line, meaning that if you have a design or image near the edges of your card, you must make sure it extends all the way to the bleed line. - Ability to lock individual objects
You are able to push a button that will "lock" your design and prevent images or text boxes from moving. - Ability to upload your own image for free
You should be able to easily upload your own image to your card for free in the editor.
Simple Editor should have the following:
- Ability to change template layouts, alignments and text justifications
A simple editor should give you multiple text/image layout options (i.e. horizontal card templates, vertical card templates, text and image re-alignment options). - Ability to add unlimited text fields
You should be able to add custom text fields in addition to the standard fields given (e.g. name, title, company, address, phone, email, fax number). - Ability to move or realign the text on the template
The editor should allow you to move text easily on your design template or change the layout/format of text. - Ability to upload your own image for free
You should be able to easily upload your own image to your card for free in the editor.
Card Quality Rating
This rating is based on the following:
- Card holds its shape when bent
We tested the cards by bending them into a U-shape with our thumbs and forefingers. The more durable the card, the harder it was to bend it out of shape. - Card does not crease when bent
We tested the cards by bending them into a U-shape with our thumbs and forefingers. Flimsy cards with poor quality card stock tended to show a crease line when bent. - Card is easy to write on
We took a typical office ballpoint pen and tried to write on the test cards. We recorded how easy it was to write on the cards as well as whether the ink got smudged easily or not. - Card feels sturdy (very high quality/thick card)
We tested this by feeling the cards and comparing the thickness of the cardstocks as well as the finishes. - Laminate on card (if laminated) does not come up at the edges
We tested the cards that had a premium Matte Laminate coating to see how easily the laminate peeled off the edges of the card. - Card displays sharp, clear print
We looked at the print quality of the text and images to help determine the rating. Points were deducted for blurry or fuzzy printing.