Cool business card?

[Marc Myer]

My younger brother is about to become very successful with a new product (It's a solar energy-related company). He's meeting with investors next week, and I want to make him some killer business cards.
What are your favorite ideas for business card designs? I'm a graphic designer by profession, but lasering is new. I'm wide open for suggestions. I've done some wood ones, but it's not really the best material for this particular job. There must be something I can use, some cool material, to create a business card that will knock 'em dead. Maybe a material or technique I can use in conjunction with a traditional card design, with a lasered image as an enhancement?
Heck, I'll take any and all suggestions.
Mahalo!

[Brian Robison]

I like the "metals" engravable plastic from IPI and Rowmark. The brushed stainless is my favorite.You can use some shading from pictures or clip art with these and it turns out nice. I apply a magnet to the back. They aren't cheap to do, but they look pretty good.

[Lee DeRaud]

I've found that cards engraved on 1/32" or 1/64" plywood rank very high on the "ooh-and-aah" scale, and are (relatively) cheap to make.

[Nancy Laird]

Marc,

I agree with Lee, 1/32 or 1/64" wood makes a pretty business card and the 1/32 is very substantial.
A copy of our business card from 1/32" Finland birch ply, can be found here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=55608 in post #5.

We always get that ooh and aah reaction when we give these out, and they have led to orders.

Nancy

[Mitchell Andrus]

Killer effect for pennies:

Buy card stock and print the graphics on them with a laser printer. MS Pub or CorelPaint will do fine.

Lay out the card's outline and laser-cut them in sheets. Following the graphics is very effective - you can get very far away from a rectangle...

Fold-in-half with a rectangle rear panel and a cut front panel - maybe a picture of a solar panel. Three fold... You name it. You can even kiss-cut the fold. Don't overlook perforations, like the sun's rays hitting the picture of a solar panel.

Once you get the paper registered on the table, you're good to go.

[Ed Maloney]

OK Mitchell I'll bite. Have any pictures or files that shows this procedure?

[Ray Mighells]

I like gold mirror acrylic back engraved and black filled. For a solar effect,multiple colors could be used to enhance graphics. Time consuming but brothers are worth some time.

[Dave Jones]

Do a little web searching on "die cut business cards". Except, of course, you would be using a laser to cut instead of a die.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Ed,

Not a business card here, a label for a retail pen box. The forum wouldn't let me upload the print file... too big!! Basically I build the graphic onto the cut pattern, change the paper size and print on the laser printer instead of the laser.

(I cut the foam in the laser too!!!)

You get the idea....

[Marc Myer]

Wow! great ideas, folks, seriously!
But won't I need to use an inert gas assist on the cardstock to prevent burning or halos? I was under the impression that was the case. I'm dying to do some creative stuff for the guy.
It's much more fun when I don't have to make money.

[Mitchell Andrus]

No burning on card stock. Not even a hint if you fiddle with settings. Start here: Speed, 20%, Power, 15 - 20%, PPI, 175.

[Jason Roehl]

What would be REALLY cool is if you could get ahold of some discarded/not-used solar panels that you could laser...you said he's into a solar energy company. Or a silicon wafer that's used for imprinting computer chips...

[Aaron Koehl]

Pretty much what I was thinking. Translucent smoke acrylic might look similar.

[Doug Bergstrom]

We produce business cards all the time die cut with our laser. Works great and is cheaper then creating a die. You can even etch cardstock.
Doug
xgsigns.com