But then there are certain materials that may be hot one year and outdated the next. Plastic business cards seem to be all the rage right now, but who can tell if they will still be the trend two years from now.



So unless you are in a business that is equally fickle, it might make more sense to stick with a business card stock that has been time tested.

The idea of going with the plain white colored card may seem like a perfect solution, but there are a couple of materials you will want to avoid at nearly all cost. The cheapest of the plain type business cards is the one composed of pulp board, a material that feels very rough to the touch and is usually reserved for stock tickets, point-of-sale items and extremely cost-effective in-house printing jobs.

This is not the material you want to be printing your business cards on. It screams cheap. Cheap is the last thing you want your business card to convey.

A big improvement over the rough pulp board business card is the calendared card. Basically, this card has been compressed in order to give it a smoother surface and usually weighs a little more than its rougher counterpart. Keep in mind, however, that the calendared card is still the preferred stock of companies offering free business cards. You can therefore draw your own conclusions.

If you are a hairdresser or a taxi driver who is going to be handing out business cards in mass quantity, a coated card might be right for you. These card stocks usually come in a gloss or satin finish on one side only. The fully coated alternative – referred to as quality art board - will naturally cost you more.

Textured cards present another printing alternative that is not too expensive. The narrow ridges indented in the card stock tend to make the card feel thicker. It also gives the business card a very traditional look, which tends to suit lawyers and architects just fine.

Of course, company logos and text do not always stand out on such business cards. Not to mention that many printers now consider this material to be passé. This is what you were trying to avoid in the first place.