Two-Sided Business Cards – The Pros and Cons

Two-sided business cards have their fans and their vigorous opponents. Some people love filling the extra space on the back of a business card with more information, while others swear by leaving it blank for people to write notes on. So how are you to decide which to go with when you are designing your new business cards?

Here are the pros and the cons for printing on both sides of your cards.

Pros

By printing on both sides you can fit in more information about your business without crowding the front. These days there are so many contact details and useful urls to share and you might want to add your Facebook page and Twitter handle. Keep the front of the card streamlined to the most essential information and tuck the rest on the back
You can print fun, useful or inspiring stuff on the back of your card that will make people want to keep your cards handy for reference. Value added cards are more likely to have a longer lifespan, keeping your name in front of potential customers.
More room for enhanced brand-building. Using the back of your card allows more room for graphics or photos that build on your brand.
You can print current special offers, add QR codes linking to a special offer page and any more relevant information, on the back of your cards without cluttering up the front.

Cons

At networking events many people like to scribble notes on the back of cards to help them remember your conversation, or to note down follow-up points. When the card is printed on both sides with no white space, they can’t.
When cards are filed away in Rolodexes or card filing systems, only the front of the card can be seen. Similarly people only tend to scan in one side of a card. So all the information on the back is lost as soon as the card is filed. Make sure all the essential contact information is on the front of the card if you do decide to print on both sides.
It does cost more to print double-sided business cards and it takes slightly longer, as the ink has to dry on one side before the second side is printed. However check with your printer on the additional cost. In some cases it won’t be a great deal more and it may well be worth it to you.

Despite the cons, many people do go with double-sided cards, as they tend to look more sophisticated and allow for more creative graphics. Just avoid the pitfalls mentioned in the cons list: try to leave some white or light coloured space on the back that can be written over (i.e. without a glossy varnish); make sure that all the vital contact information is listed on the front of the card. That way you can have the best of both sides of the debate.