have you tried
PRINTING.IE - IRISH ONLINE PRINTING SOLUTIONS - I used them for banner stands before and was impressed with their service. Don't know about their business card printing service but the prices look ok. They have a 10 day lead time on the cards so what they are most likely doing is loading up 50 business cards on to one plate and running them all off together. Although, they do say full colour on both sides so that could mean it's on a digital run. They also do the design as well (if you want) but you would be probably better off getting a graphic designer to do that part and have him send the files to the printer. Oh, you can get a sample pack from them to see what the previous print jobs look/feel like if I remember correctly.
Here's the questions you need to ask a printing company (which all determine the price):
- Ask for a price of 250, 500, 1000 (they might only start at 500. you'll notice the high price is in the first 500 but to double it, it's usually only a small percentage)
- What finish will be on the card, e.g. gloss, matt, etc?
- What weight will the paper be? Stay away from anything less than 300 gram. 350 gram is best. A lot of digital printers put out their stuff on 250-300 gram paper and you can notice it in the feel. 350 gram is a heavier paper and feels much better.
- is it a 2 colour, 4 colour (both litho printing) or full colour (digital printing) print run? Your graphic designer will need to know this.
- Output size dimensions.
If you have a logo and you get a graphic designer to design a business card for you... you can get it done for 50-100 yoyos. Printing of 500 cards should then cost around 100. Actually, it might be easier to find a graphic designer to do up the card and he can get it printed with his/her preferred supplier. It's like web designers and hosting in that way!!
I used to work in a graphic design and print shop so if I can be of further help, let me know.
Dave
