History of the Keepsake Card Plastic Laminated Business Card

Back in 1994 when I started doing Macintosh computer consulting as a full time business, I was looking for a marketing tool that would help me stand out and be remembered. As a small business owner just starting out, I didn't have a lot of money to spend on advertising, so I designed my own brochures and advertising materials.

Also, like most other professionals, I purchased printed business cards. I only bought black and white cards, but they certainly looked nicer than printing cards on my own laser printer.

Unfortunately, a few months later, our area code changed, which made my cards obsolete. Into the dumpster they went...

Wanting to make my cards stand out more, I invested a little more and had fancier cards designed. These had one color of screen print in the background. They certainly were more attractive than the originals I had made.

Then I got my own domain name, website and e-mail address to match. Once again, after only a few months, more of my hard-earned money went into the trash can from obsolete business cards...

Around that time, one of my clients gave me a business card that really caught my eye. It was a full-color laminated business card with a group picture of him and his assistants.

I carried that card in my car with me for months -- partially because it had reuseable coupons on the back, and partially because it was such a cool card. Convinced that these cards would work for me too, I called the number of the printer on the back and got more information on buying the cards for my own business.

SHOCK!!! The cards were almost $400 per thousand (in 1995 dollars) and there was a 1,000 minimum. What's more, they took 4-6 weeks to order. The long wait and large minimum order was a result of the printing process -- because the cards were printed on a press, the manufacturer had to "gang print" 1,000 sheets of them at a time. Each sheet was made up of many individual cards. As a result, my order had to wait until there were enough cards to fill a production run.

Despite the cost, I decided to give them a try. I was very happy with these cards after I received them and got a lot of positive feedback from my clients. I also found that my clients were keeping them out in front of their computers and not throwing them away like regular business cards.

But then... you guessed it -- our zip code changed. And on top of that, the coupons on the back of my cards, which had a 1 year expiration date, were nearing expiration. I just couldn't use up 1,000 of them in that time frame.

And so once again I was throwing hundreds of dollars in the trash...

That's when I became determined to find a better solution.

Over the past 15 years, I have experimented with different printing, laminating and die-cutting equipment.  Thanks in part to modern, short-run, digital printing,  I have perfected our own process:

The Keepsake Card!

Our business cards feature a durable, plastic laminated finish and full color on both sides at no extra cost. Unlike most commercial printers, we produce die-cut business cards. This produces more consistent rounded corners than using a corner rounder.

The method we have perfected eliminates the limitations found with the costly, large orders I used to place, allows for more flexibility in printing, and looks a lot nicer than the cards I used to buy. They are also comparable in quality but less expensive than PVC, credit-card style business cards, as well as much better for the environment.  All the materials we use to manufacture Keepsake Cards are recyclable. We can even print individualized cards with customized information, like client names and account numbers!

When I give a Keepsake Card to a client, I almost always hear a remark about how nice my cards are. In a competitive marketplace, this is an edge that sets me apart.

It's my passion to make these cards available to other business professionals who want a unique, high-quality color business card to make a lasting impression with customers.

I hope you enjoy these cards as much as I do!

Russ Alman

Keepsake Card inventor

CEO, Alman Business Solutions, LLC