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Step 1
Buy quality business card paper. Nothing says cheap homemade business card like flimsy paper with perforation marks running around the edges. Purchase business card paper that has a smooth edge on the cards, not perforation. Also, ensure that the paper is heavy enough to not seem flimsy, at least 12 point or even 14 point paper. If you want your card's design to go all the way to the edge, you need to buy paper where there is space between the cards (usually 8 per sheet.)
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Step 2
Design your cards. Intricate designs with pinpoint precision can be created in desktop publishing programs like Adobe Pagemaker or Microsoft Publisher. For less detailed designs, a word processing program may be used. Only create color designs if you have access to a color printer.
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Step 3
Set your paper size at 2-by-3.5 inches for standard business card size. If your card will have graphics that run all the way to the edge, called bleeding, then set your margins to 2.125-by-3.625 inches and create your graphics so that they run to the edge of this size. That will produce an effect where the colors seem to run of the edge, or "bleed" off the edge of the business card.
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Step 4
Load your paper and print a single test sheet. Always print a single test sheet first to avoid wasting paper. What looks perfect on the screen may not be right when printed on paper.
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Step 5
Print your cards on your printer. If you have an inkjet printer, allow the cards some time to dry before separating them from the printed sheet.
