If you need custom business cards delivered in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, look for a service that prints in or ships to each of those countries, rather than printing everything in Illinois and mailing boxes overseas. Your realistic options are a local print shop, an online design-and-print service with international delivery, a specialty or letterpress printer, and a printer in the destination country that you send a file to. Before you order, confirm three things: which countries the service delivers to, which card sizes it offers, and whether it can produce the format you need. That last point matters if you want a folded card. For flat cards you design once and send to colleagues in several countries, online personalized business cards services keep one design in one place. For a folded card with a mini menu inside, you'll need a local printer.
Your options, compared
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Local print shop. The right call for folded cards, tent cards, die-cut shapes and anything you want to see before it's trimmed. The Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce lists member printers in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, from a sign and graphics shop to a letterpress studio and two pack-and-ship stores.
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Online design-and-print service. Good for flat cards that need to reach people in more than one country. One option of this type is Adobe Express. Its business card page offers flat cards in portrait (2x3.5 inches), landscape (3.5x2 inches) and square (2x2 inches) sizes and can pull your logo, colors and fonts from a brand kit. Print ordering and shipping are available in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, and the page lists free shipping and returns. It doesn't offer folded cards, and it doesn't name paper stocks.
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Specialty or letterpress printer. Worth it for a card that's part of the brand experience, such as a boutique's heavy cotton card with a blind-embossed logo. Lead times are longer.
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Printer in the destination country. If a London or Toronto colleague needs cards in local sizes or on short notice, a print-ready PDF sent to a printer there can be faster than any cross-border shipment.
When an online service isn't the right fit: if the card has to fold, open or stand up on a table, if the design calls for foil or embossing, or if a colleague abroad needs cards in a size the service doesn't list, use a local printer here or one in that country.
Which card printing services deliver to the US, UK, Australia and Canada?
Many online printers serve a single country. Fewer cover several, and the details vary. When you compare services, check:
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The country list. Look for it on the product page or in the shipping terms, not only on the home page.
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Whether the order prints locally. A service that produces the cards in or near the destination country usually delivers faster and avoids customs paperwork on your end.
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Delivery to a different address. You should be able to ship one order to Lake Forest and the next to a colleague's office in Sydney without starting a new account.
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Returns across borders. Read whether shipping and returns terms apply in every country the service lists.
Do business card sizes differ between countries?
Yes, slightly. The US and Canada commonly use 3.5 by 2 inches. The UK and much of Europe commonly use 85 by 55 millimeters, which is a little narrower and taller. Australia commonly uses 90 by 55 millimeters. A US-size card works anywhere, but it won't fit perfectly in a card holder made for another standard. If your firm has staff abroad who care about fit, ask whether the service offers the local size or send the file to a printer there.
A few design details help a card travel:
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Phone numbers in international format. Write +1 and the area code, so a contact in Manchester or Melbourne can dial directly.
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One email and one website. Skip the fax line and any local-only extension.
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Space for a second language. If you deal with Quebec clients, the back of the card can carry French.
How do shipping times and costs change by country?
Delivery estimates can differ by country, so check the estimate for each address and plan around the slowest one. A simple rule: order cards for overseas colleagues at least two weeks before they need them, and order your own at least one. If a trade show is the deadline, have the cards delivered to the colleague's office, not the venue.
Planning a mini-menu folded card
A folded card gives a restaurant or boutique four small panels instead of two. A common format prints at 3.5 by 4 inches flat and folds to 3.5 by 2, so it still fits a wallet. Working through one:
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Panel 1 (front): logo and name.
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Panels 2 and 3 (inside): six to eight signature dishes or product lines, with short descriptions and no prices, so the card stays current when prices change.
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Panel 4 (back): address, hours, phone, website, and a line noting that you accept Chamber Checks.
Ask the printer to score the fold, which keeps the ink from cracking on a heavy stock. Request a printed proof and fold it yourself before approving the full run. For 250 folded cards, a local shop might need several business days.
If your mini menu ever lists calories, know which rules apply. The FDA's menu labeling requirements cover restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name. An independent North Shore restaurant usually falls outside that rule, but a franchise location may not.
For the full menu, a seasonal list or a take-home shopping guide, a single sheet often works better than a folded card. You can print flyer online at 8.5x11 on a thin matte paper that the flyer page describes as suited to folded pieces.
Putting cards to work in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff
The two towns mix boutique retail, professional and financial services, and corporate offices, so the same chamber covers a dress shop that needs a folded lookbook card and a firm with colleagues in London. The chamber's restaurant directory lists 26 members, and several of them are on the Taste of the Towns lineup at the COC Big Bash for Local Biz in mid-November. A folded mini-menu card set next to tasting samples gives guests something to take home.
Boutiques get a second use. The chamber's Chamber Gift Cards program sells $20 Chamber Checks that participating member merchants accept and that stay valid for 12 months. Stating on your card that you take them reminds holiday shoppers where to spend one.
The chamber also runs a biweekly EAT · SHOP · PLAY eBlast for local announcements. The page says submissions must be a ready-made graphic with your business name, details and links, and that the chamber doesn't design flyers for individual businesses. Build that graphic from the same artwork as your cards, so a reader who sees the eBlast and then picks up your card at the counter recognizes both.
Frequently asked questions
Can I order cards in Illinois and have them delivered to a colleague in the UK?
Yes, with a service that lists the UK as a delivery country. Ship directly to the colleague's address.
What size is a business card in the UK and Australia?
Commonly 85 by 55 millimeters in the UK and 90 by 55 millimeters in Australia. The US and Canada commonly use 3.5 by 2 inches.
Where can I get a folded business card printed?
From a local printer. Ask for a scored fold and a printed proof.
Do I need calories on a mini menu?
Federal menu labeling rules cover chains with 20 or more locations. Independent restaurants usually aren't covered.
About Business Owner Toolkit: Business Owner Toolkit is a working handbook for the parts of running a business nobody teaches you. Our guides are general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and we don't rate services or publish rankings.
This Hot Deal is promoted by Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce.