Make an Impression with Moo Business Cards (Podcast 436)

You can tell when the oppressive Tokyo summer heat sets in, because I reverse hibernate and stay in doors doing back office jobs like Web site maintenance and ordering business cards etc. and that's exactly what we're going to talk about today. I recently ordered my second batch of business cards...

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Martin Bailey has been releasing weekly podcasts and blog posts since 2005! Almost all of the 760+ posts here contain a full text article with photographs and illustations, and take at least one day, sometimes three to four days to produce.

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Martin Bailey is a nature and wildlife photographer and educator based in Tokyo. He's a pioneering Podcaster and blogger, and an X-Rite Coloratti member.

business, business cards, Classic Matte Laminated, Luxe, Moo, photography, printer, printing

11 Comments

Shelle
Posted at 03:28h, 26 August Reply

I’ve used Moo and generally like the cards. The one difference with Moo cards is they are larger then the U.S. standard business card size. Something to keep in mind.
- Martin Bailey
  Posted at 09:17h, 26 August Reply
  
  I didn’t realize that Shelle! They are exactly the same size as the standard card here in Japan, so I hadn’t noticed. Thanks for letting me know.
altoid65
Posted at 04:37h, 26 August Reply

Thanks as always for a cracking review Martin…I’ve been toying with the idea of business cards and Moo was in the mix. You mentioned that there were a few other business card companies you liked. Would you feel comfortable in mention those as well..??
Cheers…
- Martin Bailey
  Posted at 09:21h, 26 August Reply
  
  You’re welcome Altoid65.
  
  Some of the companies I’ve used are local Japanese printers, so probably not worth mentioning, but the company that I was very happy with and used most for the last few years was Zazzle.com. They have a wonderful platinum paper, literally silver colored, that works really well with black and white photos. The details side of the card looks great too. Create a black background with white characters and the characters all come back silver. Very smooth.
  - altoid65
    Posted at 10:22h, 26 August Reply
    
    Thanks the reply Martin, I will check out Zazzle.com. Much appreciated…
    Cheers…
Mandy Miller
Posted at 15:24h, 09 September Reply

Thanks Martin, I think you’ve restored my faith in Moo. I love so much about them but was very disappointed in my Lux business cards. I’m embarrassed to hand them out.

thanks for your blog, it’s very helpful!
cheers
Mandy
- Martin Bailey
  Posted at 18:52h, 09 September Reply
  
  You’re welcome Mandy. I’m pleased this helped.
  
  I too ordered my Luxe cards and was really excited to open the package, and then really disappointed as I looked at each photo on the back. Only one out of the five designed was any good, and like you, I was embarrassed to pass them out. I’ve thrown the last 20 or so out now that I have my new Classic Matte cards. They’re just so much better for photographs.
  
  Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment!
  
  Martin.
yoursmallbusinessmarketingtips
Posted at 06:27h, 23 April Reply

First off, like your card design. Classic!
We liked our Luxe cards at first, too. Then we noticed two interesting things people did when we handed them to them that both seemed a bit weird (maybe good or maybe bad)… http://www.moonandowl.com/small-business-branding-messaging/moo-luxe-business-card-review-2015/
- Martin Bailey
  Posted at 09:32h, 23 April Reply
  
  Yes, I noticed that too with the Luxe cards. Around half the people that I handed one to tried to peel it apart. They seem like a good idea, but in addition to the print quality, this is another reason I didn’t really like Luxe. Sure, it might be helping people to remember your card, but the look on peoples’ faces as they try to figure out what’s going on was usually one of frustration. Good point to raise. I’d forgotten about that.
Garrett N
Posted at 04:00h, 06 June Reply

In regards to the print quality for Luxe, I’m not sure, maybe they only recently added this recommendation to their guides based on feedback, but they recommend minimal designs.

I ordered a free sample set of Luxe before my actual cards, and can confirm. It has to do with the paper. It has a great feel and texture, but it’s suited for Vector-based work with cleanly defined colors and lines. My design was that; that’s what I was going for. And in that type of scenario, they’re a dream.

But yes, due to the paper, I wouldn’t recommend them for photos. Basically a good rule of thumb is if your design is vector, these are great. Otherwise, I’d look at their other options
- Martin Bailey
  Posted at 11:54h, 06 June Reply
  
  This is in line with my findings Garrett. The only photo that looked any good on Luxe was the stark tree against a white background, as can be seen above. This is basically just lines, similar to an illustration, and good OK on Luxe, but all other photos looked terrible. Everything looks good on the classic matte laminated cards though, and I actually prefer the feel of the matte laminated cards too. Luxe have their place, but not for most photographs.