3D Printed Business Cards: Best Options and How You Can Create Your Own
A well-designed business card can promote businesses and be a testament to the holder's personality or nature. Paper-based business cards are falling out of favor because of their lack of creativity, and more people are moving to digital business cards. 3D printing has successfully brought physical business cards back, but with some significant changes. Let’s look into the benefits of 3D-printed business cards and take your time to go through the list of the leading creators in the field.
What Are Some of the Advantages of 3D-Printed Business Cards?
- Virtually unlimited possibilities: Unlike paper-based visiting cards of the old, 3D-printed business cards have endless possibilities in terms of design, appearance, and even functionality. In the case of paper-based business cards, the maximum one could modify in terms of design will be the material, the finish, and the lettering. In contrast, a 3D-printed business card could offer better looks and additional functionality as well.
- Better durability: Unless stored separately, paper cards eventually lose their integrity or they get misplaced. 3D-printed business cards are more durable, and they sometimes come with their own storage solutions.
What Are Some of the Best Options for 3D-Printed Business Cards?
Making a 3D-printed business card is as easy as downloading an existing design from 3D model websites like MyMinifactory or Thingiverse, personalizing it, and simply printing them using a 3D printer. Below are some trendy designs made by skilled 3D designers. These designs are available for the public to use and can be downloaded from different platforms on the internet.
1) Bolt
Designed by U1W, this model includes detachable components that can be put together to create an object. One will obtain a bolt-like mechanism that actually functions after popping out the parts and putting them together. Therefore, it is ideal for everyone who owns a 3D printer and wants to create something quick and enjoyable. By adding letters to the tiny space in the bottom left corner, business owners may share their information with customers who get these cards. The amazing print will be available within 30 minutes. This model has been submitted on Thingiverse in five different makes. The outcomes are outstanding!
2) Velociraptor
A business card is today's equivalent of the genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs known as the velociraptor. This card has a lot of detail for its 3.5 x 5 in. size, yet it can be quickly created on an FDM 3D printer. The final print is undoubtedly stunning. Of course, this is a fantastic print for everyone, but if one wants to use it to promote their business, the designer has their requirement covered.
The velociraptor's tail has been expanded to allow company owners to put their information. Simply extrude a cut into the STL file after import to accomplish this. Users must take care not to sever everything. Also, a depth of 0.4 to 0.5 mm has been shown to produce the best results. Cleven created this design, and over 200 users of Thingiverse have posted their makes of the Velociraptor Business card, and the procedure can be found to be used on MyMiniFactory.
3) Touring Bike Business Card:
Designed by Cybercyclist, the Touring Bike business card is another example of a model that can be printed flat and then put together. The layout is ideal for FDM printers with 0.4-mm nozzles. Additionally, one won't have to worry about lengthy print delays. The finished product is a fantastic business card, created in twenty minutes with very little filament! A small space for business information is also included in this design. Customizing as per requirement, printing, assembling, and waiting for the surprise factor to kick in would be all that is required. The touring bike business card model can be found on Cults3D. Although this model has no makes on Cults3D, it is directly behind the velociraptor in terms of Thingiverse makes, at around 200 makes posted by users.
4) Customizable Card
TheCapitalDesign created a business card that is as straightforward as it gets. Business owners can customize this business card by adding their company name, name, and website using Thingiverse's Customizer. This model may be altered, cut, and printed in significantly less time! An excellent first layer is crucial for this print since it will produce more intricate letters. One might also have to boost retraction to prevent strings from going into tight spots. The design is available on Thingiverse. However, the two makes of this design posted on Thingiverse do not in any way reflect the inferiority of this design.
Best 3D Modeling Software for Creating 3D Models of Business Cards
There are different ways to go about making your own design for a 3D-printed business card. You could use dedicated 3D modeling software such as SelfCAD to create your original design. SelfCAD is a powerful, easy-to-use 3D design software that enables users to quickly create and modify 3D models. With its intuitive interface and wide range of tools, SelfCAD is perfect for both beginners and experienced users who would like to create customized business cards. You can use the various 3D shape generators as the foundation for your designs or use the freehand drawing and sketching tools to draw and sketch the structure of the business cards and then convert the drawings and sketches to 3D models. Additionally, you can also download the STL files of business cards like the ones that we have mentioned in this article and import them to SelfCAD and modify it based on your requirements. The video below shows how you can edit and modify STL files in the software.
To prepare your designs for 3D printing after 3D modeling, you can use the various tools of the software to do so. For example, you can use the Magic Fix tool to fix non-manifold issues in the meshes as shown below.
SelfCAD comes with many resources to help you in learning how the program works. There are many interactive tutorials to help you learn by actually creating 3D models. There is also SelfCAD academy, 3D modeling tutorials for beginners, as well as 3D modeling 101 series are helpful in the learning process.
Creating Customized Business Cards Using Lithophanes
Another option you can go for is a lithophane-based card. Lithophane-based cards are like plaques carved out of a solid material like porcelain or wax. It appears as an irregular plaque under regular illumination; it will be a cheap relief. However, a backlit image shows an extraordinarily detailed picture. It resembles a 3D grayscale image in that the darker parts are denser than, the lighter ones.
Furthermore, lithophanes are particularly suited for 3D printing, which is fortunate for those people with less than discernible creative ability. In fact, you may quickly pick up this skill in about 30 minutes. Professional vector image programs like Adobe Illustrator or Sketch can be used.
Exploring STL File Sharing Platforms
3D model websites are great places to get STL files for creating 3D-printed business cards. Although a curated list of the most popular models has been mentioned in this article, you could find designs that may suit your requirements if you explore file hosting and sharing platforms such as Thingiverse, MyMiniFactory, or Cults3D. These are only three among a long list of STL file-sharing platforms. These sites would have designs you could explore, download and edit using any CAD software, modify the method according to your requirement and print them to your convenience. However, the printing instructions for the original STL file may not apply to your modified design, and you might have to experiment with the printing parameters a couple of times to be successful.
Conclusion
In conclusion, 3D Printed business cards are, in many ways, a better alternative to paper-based business cards. They have better durability, added functionality, better visibility, and the ability to attract the attention of the target audience or customer group. 3D-printed business card designs are available on platforms such as Thingiverse, MyMiniFactory, and so on. Alternatively, they can be created either by lithophane printing of a 3D-converted image file or by creating a design using software such as SelfCAD. SelfCAD is a 3D design software with intuitive tools and an interactive tutorial section, making it easy for anyone to pick up and learn 3D printing quickly and efficiently.
Enjoy powerful modeling, rendering, and 3D printing tools without the steep learning curve.
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