First of all, if you haven’t read part one click here to see how the pricing stacked up. Now that all the cards are here, I must say that I am surprised at the results. One company in particular blew me out of the water with their print quality. Take a look at each of the cards… front & back… zoomed in & zoomed out. Click on each photo to see a bigger version. Pick your favorite and then click the bar under the pictures for the big reveal!

My Notes About Print & Color Quality

• OvernightPrints.com: Stunning print quality. Clear lines with zero pixelation. Detailing is clean and fonts are crisp. Paper is very thick, with a gorgeous gloss and the brightest white stock. Colors are over-saturated. Biggest concern: the cards are slightly miscut which makes the horizontal lines on the front seem skewed. I plan on contacting their customer service to see if that can be corrected.
• GotPrint.net: Very good print quality. Fonts and detailing are clear. Paper is thick with a nice gloss. Colors are the most true to my design and intention. The turquoise in particular is right on the money… more blue than green.
• PrintRunner.com: Print quality is average. Fonts show some pixelation. Some details are not clear. Colors are slightly over-saturated. Paper is thick with a nice gloss.
• uPrinting.com: Print quality is average. Fonts show some pixelation. Some details are not clear. Colors are true to design. I ordered “14pt cardstock gloss” but neither side of this card is glossy. It has a slight sheen (eggshell?).
• Moo.com: Print quality is average. Fonts show some pixelation. Some details are not clear. Colors are slightly over-saturated and too yellow. Paper is the thickest of the bunch, nice gloss but has a slight yellowish cast.
• 1800businesscards.com: Print quality is not up to par. Fonts & details are blurry or pixelated. DPI (dots per inch) is easily seen with the naked eye. Color is slightly over-saturated. Paper thickness is okay, gloss has a strange texture.
• VistaPrint.com: Print quality is not up to par. Fonts & detailed are blurry or pixelated. DPI is easily seen with the naked eye. Colors are true to design. Paper thickness is okay, gloss has a strange texture. Even though I paid extra for their “glossy stock” the back was not glossy and the front gloss was fairly thin.
• PrintPeppermint.com: Print quality is poor. Font edges are muddy. Details aren’t visible. DPI is easily seen with the naked eye. Color is slightly over-saturated. Paper is very thick with nice gloss. Quality is bad enough that I will be emailing their customer service to request a reprint.

Turnaround, Shipping & Delivery

Here’s a table with all the details. I had these cards shipped to my home in Seattle, WA. They were all ordered on 8/18/14 between 3pm and 4pm PST. Each of these print companies are US based although some do ship internationally.

The Final Wrap Up

These are my personal thoughts as a consumer and as a designer. This is my art so I want cards that I can be proud of and a printer I can rely on for quality and value.

Print Companies I Can Recommend without Hesitation
These two were the least expensive and had the best print quality by far. Hands down. If you don’t have a time crunch, order from OvernightPrints.com with their economy shipping option.

• GotPrint.net
• OvernightPrints.com

Print Companies I Can’t in Good Conscience Recommend

• PrintPeppermint.com: Far too pricey for such poor quality. A complete disappointment compared to the sample pack they sent me.
• Moo.com: The most expensive of all but not a value based on their average print quality. I would only recommend them if for some reason you need to use their Printfinity service.
• 1800BusinessCards.com: While these cards came lightning fast, the quality did not match the price.
• VistaPrint.com: Most people consider VP to be synonymous with inexpensive prints. In my experience their quality didn’t match their less expensive competitors (GotPrint.net & OvernightPrints.com)

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