Paperless journalist: Business cards

I never planned going completely paperless when I set out to reduce the amount of paper I use as a freelance journalist.

But I thought I might get away without using paper business cards.

After three months working part-time as the New Zealand editor for Communications Day, it's clear I need business cards – too many people have asked me for one.

So, what could I do in the business card line that would cut my paper usage?

I found an answer with Moo MiniCards. At 28 by 70 mm they are half the size of conventional business cards – which means they use less paper.

My cards have images from the Science Museum in London printed on one side – which is right for my work as I mainly write about technology and business. My contact details on the other side of the card. The cards come in a neat little box and took nine days to arrive.

As it was my first purchase, I only bought 100 cards for US$19.99 plus another $13 for shipping. At a total of $US32.99 for 100 cards – about NZ$40 – they were expensive. The same money could have bought many more cards from a New Zealand printer, but I haven't seen the half-size cards on offer locally.

What's more, the Science Museum images and the small size give me something to talk about when I hand out a card.