If you have a high-quality printer, you can print cards at home 

1. Load three sheets of 8.5” X 11” cardstock (at least 14-point thickness) into your printer.

2. Print this PDF double-sided. If you are an experienced professional who knows how to cut to exact measurements, you may prefer the full-bleed PDF. 

3. Cut the cards out using scissors, an X-Acto® knife with ruler or paper trimmer. Cut the fronts precisely along the edges where the color and white meet so that the color goes all the way to the card border and there is no white left over.

4. For the wrapper, print this double-sided PDF on regular paper.

5. Wrap the paper around the pack of cards with the image centered around the cards. Fold the paper inward and over so that the back is fully covered and the edge of one side runs vertically down the center.

6. Take a small piece of transparent tape, about two inches long, and fold one end over very slightly so that it sticks together. Then place the sticky part of the tape on the top flap and fasten it closed. You can use the folded end as a "handle" to open the pack and close it again by re-sticking the tape.

Or you can have a print shop can print the cards

This is a very basic job that any print shop should be able to do. I placed an order online with Office Depot OfficeMax, so that’s what these instructions explain how to do. But other print shops can print cards on heavier card stock and, for an extra fee,  cut them for you (see step 10).

1. Go to the Office Depot OfficeMax website.

2. In the top menu, open the Print & Copy dropdown menu. Under Documents Printing select Copies.  

3. Click the Get Started button.

4. Save this PDF to your device. Then select My Device, double-click the PDF file and click the Upload button. (If you use another print shop and they ask for a full-bleed PDF, use this.)

5. In the left-hand menu, under 1. Print Options, select:

• Paper Size: Letter (8.5” X 11”)

• Paper Types: Gloss Cover Premium White 100lb 

• Fit Paper: Keep Size

• Color: Full Color

• Sides: Double Sided

• Orientation: Landscape

• Collate: Collated

6. Click Add to Cart, then Proceed to Checkout.

7. Choose either Delivery (which costs extra and can take several days) or Store and Curbside Pickup (which is free and available by the next day). If you pick Store and Curbside Pickup, choose the location of Your Pickup Store above.  

8. Choose your payment method from the bottom-right corner and enter payment information (as needed). If you chose the Delivery option, enter your shipping address .

9. Review your order, and if it looks right, click the Place Order button. 

10. For cutting the cards, you have two options:

    • Have Office Depot OfficeMax cut the cards (for an additional fee). The online order form does not give an option for cutting the cards the way they need to be cut. If you want Office Depot OfficeMax to cut the cards, call them right after you place your order and explain that the cards are exactly 2.5" X 3.5" each, and the fronts need to be cut precisely along the edges where the color and white meet so that the color goes all the way to the card border and there is no white left over. They will mechanically cut all the cards to the exact same size. However, based on my experience, they cannot guarantee that all cards will be perfectly centered. 

    • Cut the cards yourself using scissors, an X-Acto® knife with ruler or paper trimmer. Office Depot OfficeMax should have a paper trimmer onsite that you can use. Just be forewarned: in my personal experience, cutting the cards myself using these methods did not go nearly as smoothly as I'd expected in terms of time, effort and results.

11. For the wrapper, follow steps 1-9 above except for the following:

12. In step 4,  download this PDF. 

13. In step 5 choose the same options as you did for the cards but change:

    • Paper types: Standard Whites - 28lb 

    • Sides: Double Sided

Alternatively, you can print the wrapper yourself at Office Depot OfficeMax using their self-service copiers, which include printing instructions. 

14. Once you get the wrapper, wrap the paper around the pack of cards with the image centered around the cards. Fold the paper inward and over so that the back is fully covered and the edge of one side runs vertically down the center.

15. Take a small piece of transparent tape, about two inches long, and fold one end over very slightly so that it sticks together. Then place the sticky part of the tape on the top flap and fasten it closed. You can use the folded end as a "handle" to open the pack and close it again by re-sticking the tape.