I spent years forgetting the lesson of, “Test before committing.” I’m creating the card I’m planning to send out in January, and I had one test version printed at double the cost I’ll pay later on. Not only were the sides printed in the wrong directions (tops didn’t match), the images didn’t have enough white space around the edges – so the text on one side, and pix on the other, was cut off.
I’ve created a 2nd version, and ordered one more sample card – again, at double the regular price. If I have to, I won’t even mind printing a 3rd version.
For the first 10 years of doing this stuff, I would have wasted money and just ordered the entire print run. Lemme tell ya: being overeager is like sticking a long, dull knife in your own eye. Starting early and having patience alleviates that situation.