I am so sick of these doomsday headlines about the end of paper. I came across this from Inc. yesterday.

The Era of Business Cards Is Dead

For crying out loud. Really?

Has “the paper business card” really “lost its significance – and utility?”

It certainly hasn’t lost significance and I’d posit that the business card’s utility has changed. Its utility is its significance.

Business cards are no longer about sharing contact information.

They’re about sharing ideals.

Your business card tells the recipient about your style and your values. It can express opulence and optimism and efficiency and narcissism. Whether or not you’ve really thought about it, your business card says a lot about you. Whether you spend a dollar or more a piece on letterpress, triplex, silver foil, laser-engraved, die-cut works of art or less than a cent a piece on vistaprint specials*. Whether you use graphics or type to convey your details. Whether it’s light-on-dark or dark-on-light.

What do your business cards say about you?

Obviously, opting not to have a business card says something about you, too.

You don’t have to be over-the-top and buy some thing-of-wonder from a stationer, but, please, for the love of all that is holy, please don’t get cheapies either. You can get 500 respectable cards from a local printer in my area for $30-40. While it may be a little higher in some areas, it’s still an incredibly reasonable investment in you.

Of course, if you’d like to spend a dollar a more on those letterpress, triplex, silver foil, laser-engraved, die-cut works of art, please do give me a ring.