Doh!

So, I ordered business cards back on February 3rd. The company told me the design and printing would take a week, and that would be followed by the United States Postal Service getting their mitts on it, with a promise to have it delivered within 42 BUSINESS DAYS. That's 8-1/2 WEEKS for shipping. I asked the printer what their actual experiences have been, and they were non-commital. That's fair, seeing as they're not the ones doing the shipping.

Anyway, the printing price was so awesomely low, I went for the deal. Sure enough, on February 10th, I received an email from the printers telling me that the cards had been printed and delivered to the USPS on February 9th. I began to wait. Meanwhile, I'm trying to promote my business, and with no business cards, it's really hard to meet people and make a good first impression. So last Friday, I decided to look locally for deals on temporary cards... just a low-volume run that would tide me over for the next 7+ weeks. I decided to take a "proof" picture that I had received from the original printer, and use that to create some cards locally. I had no idea how good this screen-captured image would be, but decided I simply couldn't wait.

Low volume business card printing (two sided, full colour) doesn't come cheap. It was going to cost me as much to print 100 cards locally, as it cost to print 1000 over the net. I placed the order, put down a 50% deposit, and took the plunge. On Monday, the local printer called to have me come in and look over the proof. IT WAS MAGNIFICENT! The colour flew off the page, and it was 100 times better than I expected it would be. I was told the cards would be ready Wednesday.

So, this morning at 10:30AM, the Canada Post truck pulls up, and I take delivery of my 1000 cards from the U.S. These cards look as good or BETTER than the proof I viewed yesterday. Right now, I just feel like Homer Simpson... with 1100 perfect business cards. Here, I've purposely corrupted the image and resaved at quite low resolution - but trust me, the real cards look great!