I just wanted to let everyone know that we had a pretty bad experience with Alltimeprint.com We ordered business cards from them one time and they turned out perfect. When we needed to order some new cards the color reproduction was way off from the originals. Alltimeprint sent some replacements but they had the exact same color reproduction problems. The customer service we've received has been incredibly poor, and they have essentially told us to go buy our business cards elsewhere!



The original card is at the bottom and the new ones (first order and then replacement order) are at the top. The cards have been ordered using identical specifications only the design has changed. The greens and the blues in both cards are supposed to be identical but color reproduction in the new cards seems to be way off.

A quote from an e-mail received from alltimeprint

"Since we are constantely producing card, the printing will be slightly differently different each time, so you shouldn't compare the cards this time with last time, you card is very difficult to make you did not even provided a Vector base artwork ( only photoshop)."

Apparently cheap prices mean inconsistent quality. I should have known better. Oh and their website says they accept photoshop .psd files (and the original order was a .psd file)

Anyways if anyone wants more details about our experience please don't hesitate to contact us.

Obviously

Cheers,
Rob

I too have had a poor experience with alltimeprint.com

I like my cards, but they are not easy to see - the color is too transparent. I contacted them and never heard back. I will never use them again.

I've heard good things about plasma design (I don't have their website handy right now, though).

sweet!

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Heres my latest version.

M.J.

Here are mine:


They are WHCC...I couldn't decide which images to use, so I got all of them!

And yes, we draw on our desks around here.

I know this thread was started forever ago, but now that we're re-sharing and I have cool business cards to share, I'm happy it's back, hehe.



WHCC Art Linen (ohhh nice texture, people comment on it all the time) with the ribbon I made my branding colors off around it (I mentioned that in another thread, haha). Definitely a time-consuming card to hot glue the ribbon on (well, maybe 20 seconds each?)-- but I LOVE the response I get when I hand them out.

Those are so cute!

I love your design!! very strong.

Thanks Ryel! I've had nothing but compliments on the job that Sarah (www.paperwhitespress.com) has done for us. They're a bit on the high end for cards, but totally worth every penny!!!

I loved looking through this. I hate my cards, I am so bored with them. They are boring. I wanted a clean look and it matched my OLD site and now I hate it a lot, and I have a ton of cards left. LOL. So I need to be handing them out like mad so I can buy new ones..

I love the idea of using different images on all the cards. I just ordered some from Millers a couple of weeks ago and really don't like them. They are extremely flimsy!! Below is my old card (legs on the RR track).. and my new one (guy/girl)

ordered these through PSPrint. I had to get a custom die cut for the window in front, but it's on file now, so I won't need to pay for that again. They are the same height as a standard biz card, but about 1/4 inch wider. The back contains my artist statement that's on my personal photography site. I figured i'd go totally away from the wedding and portrait thing. A few of these photos have my first try at the card with a local printer.

Wow Will, those look swank!!

Will,

They look very nice. How do you carry them? How many do you carry at a time?

-Bill

thank you brandi and bill

to be honest, i'm not the best "carry your cards everywhere" kind of guy. I do carry them at weddings and keep a bunch in my bag, and slip a few in my pocket. If I'm just bopping around town I usually don't think about it. But my town is pretty small so I'm not sure it would be anything new to anyone around here. When I'm in other places, I'll just put a few in my pocket. Maybe have my wife keep a few in her purse. I carry a man bag a lot for meeting and stuff and always have a bunch in there.

ETA: sorry, I have no idea how many are in my camera bag and my man bag (can't believe i just admitted that). But there's a bunch. When i'm just kicking around (and i remember) i usually will take maybe 10 or so. It just depends.

Cool. I understand about carrying cards. I have a hard case from Umbra that I use to carry my cards. I hate when the dent anywhere else. since I don't carry a wallet, I just keep my id and cc in their too.

You get points for thinking out of the box for your design.

-Bill

Will - those are stunning!

What kind of reaction do you get with them?

hey Bill, thanks. i really did want to do something that was a little different for the wedding and portrait industry.the string, BTW, is not always tied on the card. But if I've got some free time I'll do a few . It just depends.I've got a similar metal case, but unfortunately, my cards are just a hair too wide to fit in them, so I can't use it.But I do like the trade off.Thanks Aaron.I usually get a pretty good reaction. Again, I live in a pretty small area, but I do work in a pretty broad area. Pretty much all of Mississippi as well as Memphis and New Orleans. I also do a lot of gallery stuff, and that's what I wanted to really get across to portrait and wedding clients. That work comes to me mainly WOM anyway. No need for me to push it with a card. My main goal was to create some intrigue and have whoever sees the card want to find out more. Plus, I want to plant the seed of "artist" first. We can get to the wedding stuff later.The cards also serve as tags for my gallery stuff, so that's often why the string is involved. I tie it somehow to the frames of my work.Thank you all for your kind words. I really appreciate them all.

That's exactly what it does in my mind. I like your strategy!

Do you think planting "the seed of 'artist'" impacts the way your clients relate to you? Do you think they respect you more and trust you more because of it?

yes. no doubt about it. it has changed my business tremendously since I started focusing as much on personal work as portraits and weddings.

and having work in galleries simply reinforces it.

my clients now generally want something really funky and different. and they want me to push the boundaries

Thank you so much for sharing! This has my wheels turning. (Of course, my personal work is stuff like street photography - not everyone looks at that as art!)

Just curious...does your personal work intersect in any way with your portrait and wedding work, or is it completely different?

doesn't matter what everyone thinks. if it's from you, if it's genuine to you, if it moves you -- it is you. Art is truth. Be true to yourself, and there will be someone out there that sees it the same way.

So yes, in that respect, my personal work very much intersect with my paid work. I used to create images 100% in the way I thought my clients wanted them. So i really was faking. Because I wasn't moved by my own images. Slowly, I began to do things differently, and spent a lot of time defining what kind of images I responded to. And my work eased in that direction as well.

That being said, I've never done a gallery show that was all wedding images. But I might. Most of my personal stuff is more abstract and leans towards landscapes a bit. But I see my portraits and weddings drifting that way more and more.

I still do many of the standard shots. We all have to do those. And that's ok. But now I try to find ways to make even the most mundane paid gigs have a least a sliver of images that have some meaning to me and what I want to explore. Whereas before I just tried to make sure the shots were technically sound and relatively pretty.

People don't always buy those images, but more and more often they do. And if they don't, I certainly cover my tracks with the standard stuff.

So keep exploring Aaron. You can merge your personal work with paid stuff. Don't ever underestimate the images you think no one else will care about but you.

Thanks again for your thoughts, Will. What you're saying is in line with the direction I've been moving for some time now. I'm totally bookmarking this thread to read again!

By the way, before we're done hijacking this thread, do you know of any resources for learning about breaking into galleries getting work displayed in galleries? Uh, maybe I worded that wrong! I don't have anywhere near the body of work I want, but it's something I've wanted to shoot for (pun intended!).

Hi Aaron,

You are very welcome. I love any conversation that has to do with the art of what we do. I could chat like this for days (but I'm sure the rest of OSP would get quite bored of reading about it!) Photography is an art, but it's also a business. To me, they are very much equals. One does not fully function without the support of the other.

As to your question, galleries can be a pretty tough nut to crack. And they can be brutally honest about you and your work. But, to me, that's a good thing. It keeps you humble and keeps you pushing. One thing that can be really helpful is the Photographer's Market book. Tons of research available.

The first thing I would do before approaching galleries is to put together a unified body of work. You need to have a series of images that are tied together by a similar theme. Don't just approach with a bunch of random "pretty" pictures. Do your best to make a point with your images. While a gallery may not give you a one man show right off the bat (and that's pretty rare anyway) they want to know that possibility is there. It's often as much about your thoughts as your technique. Sometimes even more so.

Secondly, do your research. Most galleries don't appreciate it when you just walk in off the streets and say "hey, take a look at my work." So check submission guidelines (PM is a great book for that) before inquiring with a gallery. Also, make sure your style is a good fit for their style. No point submitted urnban grungy pics to a gallery that caters to a conservative flowers and sunsets audience, you know?

Galleries are most often in this to be a business. Always remember that. So it's important to recognize that "names" help them sell. If you're new, it's tougher to get in some of the more established galleries. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Getting accepted to a gallery can often come down to who you know. So continue to network in the circles where you'd like to work. And don't wait on them to call you. Be proactive and find spaces to produce your own shows.

Develop a strong collection of images. Show them. Make sure they are always as professional as you can possible make them -- both in content and presentation. Maybe start with smaller venues, and don't necessarily limit yourself to galleries. Find establishments that match the clientele you'd like to have in your portrait and wedding biz. Restaurants, specialty stores, schools, hospitals -- tons of possibilities. Submit to magazines. There are several fine art photography mags such as Lenswork, CameraArts, F-Stop Magazine, and Aperture. As you progress and show your work more and more, start to develop your style and voice, and people begin to recognize your name and your work it becomes a little easier and a little easier. But you still have to keep at it.

So get started. Get organized. And put yourself out there. It can be scary as hell, but it'll only make you better going forward.

Good luck. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

~wj

After posting my card, I felt it was missing that "un je ne sais quoi".

So here it is.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

M.J.

Is this a quote from American Psycho?????

+1 but everyone is different. I just don't like text over an image.

OMG. Just got my full sized Moo cards today. They are awesome. I've already placed another order.

Dude. You're a photographer. Where are the pics?!

Love that movie. Fits this thread perfectly.

Funnyyyyy.

You totally just about made coffee come outta my nose.

Two reasons, I say dude way too much. And I knew I was gonna catch flack for no photos. I also got the One Light DVD in the mail. I spent my evening watching that. Maybe I'll "One Light" me some business cards photos!

hehe! When I was a teenager I used to say "Dude" constantly. My Mother was like.." I am NOT a dude".. Hahaha. Funny. I say it on occasion still, but nowhere near like I did as a teenager.

I guess watching the one light DVD is a valid excuse.. But I'll be expecting some pics later

those are sick!

Dude, here's my cards. They have a really nice matte finish and feel and are quite thick.

Oooh those look good. I love the eye lash one! I also love how simple the back is. I need some of those.

Ya, they look really good. I just ordered two boxes this week. I'll post photos when they come in

I've been kicking around my logo, or some variation of it for about a year now. Finally went ahead and finished off the cards, and now working on all my other business forms and such... what do ya think?

I like it- very Napoleon Dynamite credit-ish!

I wanted to do the mini-moo cards with a picture of a stick of gum (because the mini-moos are just that size) and the text " I Chew-chew-chewse you" and then my info on the back. I can't find a stock photo of a stick of gum, though, and my scanner's broken. So I'm throwing that idea out there for anyone to take

Will, those are absolutely gorgeous!

ho-lee bad @$$ biz cards batman! nice!

right??!??!!
i can't believe this post was brought back from the depths of last year! i think i even tried to find it once and couldn't
those cards rock- and andrew's press print from the original response is still once of my favorites.

andrews are the bomb diggity!

dude these i like simple and stylish.

Thanks dude.


(This "dude" thing would be a lot funnier if wasn't how I actually talk once I get a drink into me )

those are really eye catching-- Awesome...thanks for sharing. Business cards are at the top of my list for things I need to get done asap.

Kate

This thread came at a perfect time for me! I'm just about to go for my first set of "real" business cards and all this info is great! I was considering overnightprints.com but am now looking at Moo too. Thanks everyone for sharing!

I posted photos of my cards a while back and I just got my new ones in today. here are the new ones. I'm going to redo my branding soon so these cards might change in the near future but I need to redo them. I really like these colors and will probably stay with them in any rebranding I do so maybe the cards won't change to much.

I use to add images to my cards but now I just have my name on the front and the wesite and phone number on the back. This is just me now but I think pictures on a business card makes them look cheap. Go for a more high end look. Like I said this is just what I think.



www.rickiford.com

Here are mine. I had them printed at overnight print with the rounded edges and UV coating.
Front:

Back: