Your Business Card Design Affects How Well Others Can Scan It
You’ve invested in beautiful business cards. Your designer chose a stunning font, your paper stock feels premium, and your brand colours pop.
Your card looks fantastic. But can it be scanned? Your design choices directly affect whether your contact details end up in someone’s CRM or get lost in a desk drawer.
Your font choices matter
Your decorative script font might look elegant, but your OCR scanner struggles with it. Your contact details need to be in a clean, readable typeface.
Your name and company can use your brand font. Your phone number, email, and address should use something scanners can read easily — a clean sans-serif at 9pt or larger.
Your colour contrast is crucial
Your scanner needs contrast to distinguish text from background. Your design should follow these guidelines.
- Your text should be dark on a light background or light on a dark background
- Your contact details shouldn’t be printed over busy images or patterns
- Your coloured text on coloured backgrounds should have strong contrast
- Your metallic finishes and spot UV look premium but can create glare when scanned
- Your matte card stock scans better than glossy
Your QR code is a smart backup
Your card can include a QR code containing your vCard data. Your new contact simply scans the QR code with any scanner and your details are captured perfectly every time.
Your QR code sits discreetly on the back or corner of your card. Your design stays clean while your scannability improves dramatically.