Make gorgeous, full-color business cards

You don't have to spend a lot of money or order a huge quantity to get terrific looking business cards.

Use your favorite image editing application to lay out a single card. I use Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements), but others may also work. Set the document size to 2 x 3.5 inches, the size of a standard business card, and the resolution to 300 dpi. Add text and graphics and lay out the card exactly as you'd like. Rotate the card 90 degrees so it's vertical.

Open a new, blank document 4x6 inches and 300 dpi, the standard size of a photo print. Copy your card to the blank document. Duplicate it twice and line up the three images side-by-side to span the 6 inch width of the document, as shown at the right. Flatten the image and save it as a high-quality JPEG file.

Copy the file to a camera (flash) card or CD that can be read at the photo store or submit it online. I use Costco for printing and they accept all the different types of camera cards, as well as CDs. Costco charges 17 cents plus tax for a 4x6 print. The prints are on heavy photo paper and look beautiful. I asked what printer they use and was told they don't use a printer, but rather creates the prints photographically on photo paper. They look and feel just like photos, with either matte or glossy finish. Costco is convenient since I can order online and pick them up when I visit the store but there are many places on-line that do similar work and charge less.

Finally cut the cards to business card size. I added some cutting marks along the 1/2 inch white space at the top, but really didn't need it. Make a cutting template if you like.