# Business card v. Calling card... Compare/Contrast?



## illhumor (May 5, 2005)

Hi all...

In my quest for fine stationery, I have discovered Calling Cards. They appear very similar to Business Cards.

Does someone wish to explain the difference, and the etiquette involved with using one and/or the other?

Thanks!


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

The names actually describe the difference; most narrowly, a business card is, well, just that: a card describing your business that you give to someone with whom you wish to do that business, while a calling card is one that you hand to the butler when calling upon someone (your friends do have butlers, do they not?) so that they may properly announce you.

Seriuously, though, I think that today, the difference is more in the amount of detail on the card. I carry both, with the business card having more information, such as my email address, my website, etc, whereas my "calling card" simply has my name. If I wish for someone to have my phone number, it is a simple matter of writing it on the card when I give it to them, the act of which makes it a little more special.


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## Full Canvas (Feb 16, 2006)

*A Question About Size*

Are not calling cards traditionally cut to a slightly larger size than business cards?
______________________________________


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## Martinis at 8 (Apr 14, 2006)

Full Canvas said:


> Are not calling cards traditionally cut to a slightly larger size than business cards?
> ______________________________________


Other way around. Calling cards are smaller.


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## Hedonist (Nov 5, 2006)

Calling cards can be the same size as biz cards ... but generally bigger ... they are usually reserved for women now as men have biz cards. Social use.


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## Martinis at 8 (Apr 14, 2006)

Hedonist said:


> Calling cards can be the same size as biz cards ... but generally bigger ... they are usually reserved for women now as men have biz cards. Social use.


That may be true now.

I was issued calling cards when I graduated from West Point, decades ago. They were smaller than the usual business card back then. One of the mandatory etiquette classes I took went into the historical background of these cards.

I find the use of calling cards today, their traditional form, ridiculous. I find equally ridiculous some of the forms of business cards that I see.

For my use as a single proprietor consultant. I have a simple but elegant cream colored card with black font. The card contains the appropriate contact data for either clients or social contacts.

M8


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## zegnamtl (Apr 19, 2005)

illhumor,

I still see calling cards rather often at social events.
As mentioned, just a name and number, sometimes an e mail. 
Rarely is there an address these days for privacy reasons.
I have seen people with a double sided holder, who decide if you will get just a number, or an address too, with one type being held on each side of the holder.

Most often, the calling card is of a much finer stock than a business card and most often they are marginally larger that the standard business card.

A true socialite will give out a calling card, except on occasions where their company is the main sponsor of major donor at an event and they want the mileage. The best of them would still give a calling card, believing the event is about raising money and not their contribution to the effort (or what ever the case may be). But none the less, many feel there is a line in the degree of sponsorship that allows a blurring of the lines.

I carry both business and calling cards.
I am of the group that has two versions.
In my case, one has only an e mail address, the other has full information.

That being said, 90 percent of people at the functions I attend will give you a standard business card. 
Like many things, it is a passing art.


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## zegnamtl (Apr 19, 2005)

Martinis at 8 said:


> .....For my use as a single proprietor consultant. I have a simple but elegant cream colored card with black font. The card contains the appropriate contact data for either clients or social contacts.
> 
> M8


That is ideal, and you are fortunate enough to be able to carry that.
However, today, many firms issue business cards that, as you mention, border being ridiculous.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

When I remember to I carry business cards in my wallet, but if I get the chance I will beam my business card from my Palm to someone else's, and have them beam theirs to me.


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## The Gabba Goul (Feb 11, 2005)

I think a card (be it business or calling) is a really good opportunity to express your style to people you meet, my personal card has my logo on one side (yes, I have a personal logo :thumbs-up: ) and my cell number on the other, I think a card with any more info than that looks a bit too business-like, now, if that's the effect youre going for than have at...

Steve Wozniak (sp?) was on the Colbert Report not too long ago, he was showing off his business card which is made of metal...I think when it's time for me to reorder, I may take a que from him...


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## agnash (Jul 24, 2006)

I see business cards most often when people want something from me: a job, a business referral, or to do work for my company. I carry both business cards and personal calling cards. The business cards are used in the way I described above. The persoanl cards have my home number and personal email, and are for people whom I actually want to converse with, as opposed to the business card recepients with whom I am only interested in conversing with through my work phone and email.


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## erasmus (Sep 26, 2004)

Excellent thread. Does anyone have recommendations for a source of calling cards, online or otherwise?


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## 16412 (Apr 1, 2005)

Avery, which makes lots of different things such as labels you can print also has business cards. 10 business cards per 8 1/2" x 11" sheet. #5371 and #8371. Geographics uses the same numbers. If you have Word Perfect or Lotus you can select labels, then the # and create your own and print them on your printer.

If you are going to print thousands - I would go to a printing company. I designed one for somebody and turned it into a pdf and gave it to a local printer and he made 1,000, or 10,000 for about $10-$15. When going to a printer there are more options of card stock and what they can do with the stock.


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