4 Top Challenges of Using Business Card Software

The graphic design industry is growing at a remarkable pace.
According to research from IBIS World, the industry generated
$14 billion in revenue last year. The rising costs of visual creative
professionals have encouraged many people to try using design software
themselves. Unfortunately, this is a case where they are often worse off. This
is a big concern for people trying to design business cards on their own, which
is one of the reasons they tend to turn to professional designers instead.

The problem is that these software applications are often
difficult to navigate. Here are some of the biggest challenges that people face
when using business card software.

Figuring Out the Right Extraction Method

Most business card designs start with templates, which
include several large base images. The designer needs to make major
modifications to these images.

In order to accomplish this, they need to use an image
extraction method. There are a number of extraction
features available in Photoshop and most other business card design
software. They include the Quick Select and Pen Select options.

Too many people think that they should use the Quick Select
method for editing large images. However, they invariably miss some important
contours in the process. The Pen Select option tends to be better for
extractions requiring high levels of precision.

Unfortunately, even using the Pen Select option isn’t easy,
even with more simplistic business card designs. You need to have a
considerable amount of dexterity to select it properly. Even minute issues can
leave visible, excess pixels which can ruin the quality of the design.

Using the Ideal Number of Image Layers and Folders

There are a number of different approaches to layering in
Photoshop and other image design tools. One thing that you need to keep in mind
is that image layering is necessary to make sure that the images an be properly
stacked on each other.

This requires you to utilize the right number of layers and
folders. With lots of layers, you will be able to edit and duplicate images as
necessary for your new business card design.

However, this doesn’t mean that adding as many layers as
possible should be your best option. This can make it nearly impossible to keep
track of the visual elements that you want to duplicate or modify.

You need to be realistic about the opportunities to merge
visual elements from different images into your final design. Limit your
layering to those elements that are necessary for your final business card
design.

Feathering Edges with a One or Two Pixel Tolerance

Moving subjects from one section of an image to another (or
from one image to another) can be a considerable challenge as you try to create
a great business card. If you don’t do this properly, you will leave the
subject with very rough edges.

The only real solution to accomplish this is to try feathering
the edges. Feathering allows you to transition images seamlessly with a
resolution of as little as two pixels.

The challenge here is making sure that you feather the
images very carefully. You need to be able to transition the feathered images
carefully, so that the resolution is just perfect.

Incorporating Route Backs

There are a lot of factors that you need to consider when
making new design changes. When you are designing business cards, you can
make a number of changes and try to save different versions of the file along
the way, so that you can try to return to previous designs if you don’t like
some of your most recent changes. Unfortunately, this approach creates a couple
of problems:

• You can easily lose track of all of the changes
  that you made, so it will be virtually impossible to find the right image if
  you need to revert to a previous design.
• Your files will be cluttered with hundreds of
  images that will be hard to sort through.

The only option here is to build route backs into your
design.

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