Editor’s Note:  The following is a guest post from Tony Scida, also known by his friends at The Hodges Partnership as the “Ombudsman of Life.”  Nuff said.

We have a new crop of interns starting at THP this week, and I’m reminded of advice we often give new interns: go get yourself some business cards.

My Rolodex

It may seem old-fashioned (especially to college students who’ve lived their entire life on computers), but business cards are still an essential part of networking—at least for now. Whether they like it or not, everyone who goes to networking or other professional events is used to coming away with a handful of business cards. They may have an app like Bump on their smartphone, or maybe even specialized devices that allow contact information sharing, but they definitely know how to handle business cards.

Generally, I tell interns not to try to get too fancy with their cards, just make sure it has their name, an email address that looks professional (catlover2340@hotmail.com may properly express your personality, but it may not be good for your personal brand) and is permanent (probably best not to use your university address). If your phone number is likely to change, or if you’d prefer not to get phone calls, don’t include it. If you post things to Twitter or Facebook that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see, don’t include those profiles on your card (and then stop posting things you don’t want people to see online, because nothing is private online—cue The More You Know jingle).

I usually refer them to Uptown Color, a copy shop near VCU which does a great job on business cards, at a really good price. But there are some other options here in town. Here’s a completely non-exhaustive list of local printers you can order business cards from, at a range of prices:

Uptown Color
http://uptowncolor.com/
804-353-2679

Digital Banana
http://www.dbanana.com
804-353-7292

Zooom Printing
http://www.zooomprinting.com/
804-343-0009

Thousand Pound Press (letterpress cards!)
http://www.thousandpoundpress.com/
804-496-1455

James River Press
http://jamesriverpress.com/
804-230-4515

Heritage Printing
http://www.heritageps.com/
804-233-3024

Worth Higgins & Associates
http://www.whaprint.com/
804-264-2304

I’ve worked with all of these printers before, and while this represents a vast range of options in quality and cost, from digital to offset and even letterpress, this cross-section of local companies can get you the business cards you need to be successful. Call them to get quotes and make sure you ask lots of questions so you understand what you’re getting.