UPrinting.com

Soon, I will be attending one of the biggest blogging conferences for women, BlogHer ’11. I desperately needed new business cards, good ones. When I first started my blog, I just printed cards myself on cardstock and cut them up. Then I finally ordered some from a company but the text looked pixelated and the ink smeared. I used a different company for my personal cards but their printing was very basic and almost looked like the ones homemade ones I made at first. I only wanted high-quality cards that would make a great first impression without costing a fortune. Was that too much to ask?

To narrow my search, I looked for companies that also offer non-standard sizes and shapes. That narrowed it down to two. Since I had once gotten custom greeting cards from UPrinting.com and was very happy with the quality and turnaround time, I decided to give them a try.

As you begin your order, there’s a handy dandy Instant Price Calculator on the left side. Before you get deep in the design process this tool allows you to input various options so you can make sure you stay within your budget. No hidden costs – I like it! I opted to add my own designs for both a front and back side.

I loved the selection of card options at UPrinting. They had the typical 2″ x 3.5″ but also offered a ‘slim’ version and a square size. The die-cut business cards could be in one of many shapes. Uprinting is the only company I know of that has the ‘leaf’ cut. I originally designed my graphics based on four rounded corners but, when I saw the ‘leaf’ cut, I had to get that card.

After I uploaded my images, I chose the option for a PDF proof which was no extra charge. A few hours later I received the proof with detailed notes about the colors, format, and placement of features. That proof also had trim lines overlaid on my images and it was very clear that the ‘leaf’ shape was COMPLETELY different than the rounded corners I had in mind when I designed it. As you view the proof there is an option right there for you to approve the proof for printing or to upload new images. Since I needed to actually change the shape, I had to cancel the order but that was no problem.

I then started again but this time with the ’rounded corners’ cut. I got the proof, saw the adjustments they made, decided to make more of my own, and uploaded the images again. Finally I clicked the dreaded ‘approve’ button. Once payment was made the order would begin processing (6 days). About a week later I received them and I couldn’t be happier. It was pretty tough to capture the wonderful quality of the cards but here it goes:

The text is clear, the colors are crisp and true to design, and I just think they are really pretty! I had to attend another event earlier this week and I was so proud to show off my cards. Well, I was a little too proud because I gave out about 30 of them to every person I met, including the engineer-guy and someone taking pictures. Hmm, if that continues my 250 are going to be gone in an hour at the conference!

Thank you UPrinting.com for sponsoring my business cards for BlogHer ’11.

As for the price, it was reasonable. It certainly cost more than ‘free’ cards for which you are only charged shipping. But you know what they say, “You get what you pay for.” I felt that the cost and the quality were on par for these cards.

I am definitely ordering my cards from here again when this bunch runs out!