I can’t talk enough about business cards for teachers, because mine have helped me out more times than I can count. Mostly, they identify you as a teacher when you are talking with someone out in public, especially if you happen to be asking them for a handout you can’t afford otherwise. You can cook up your own by getting a school letterhead, cut out the name, address and phone, and paste that information into a two inch by three and one-half inch box. Leave room for your name, then make multiple copies with a copier. Paste those onto a letter sized sheet of paper, copy again onto heavy paper, then cut apart. Sign your name with a bright red marker and you’ve got a two color card that won’t look bad at all.
If you know anyone who promotes or manages a business, chances are good you know someone who works from time to time with a professional offset printing company. Custom printing jobs often use a sheet of paper that is larger than the finished size of the product being printed. The remaining paper gets cut off at the end of the job and recycled. I you need business cards for yourself to give to parents, vouchers to use in your classroom, or any number of paper items that could be custom printed, ask about “ganging” your small job onto someone else’s larger job. You may find that you can get some very inexpensive printed goods.