My friend Aura — also my soon-to-be landlady — took me to get business cards yesterday. She swore we’d find everything we needed in the Centro, which is the bustling, historic part of town where, once upon a time, Monteczuma ruled. (Then the Spaniards came and razed the pyramids to build a cathedral.)
It was my first time going there during the day, and I figured we’d just pop in a store and buy them. Oh, sweet, naive American girl….
Our first stop was Lumen, a Kinko’s-type place where they print all kinds of brochures and materials. The man there informed us that they don’t print business cards, or, as they’re known in Spanish, tarjetas de presentación. I asked (and got the Confused Look, heh heh): Do you know where we can find them close by?
Around the corner, he said.
So off we went. We stopped in this shop and that shop, asking people, “Disculpe, pero hay un imprenta por aquí?” Imprenta is the word for the places that might make business cards.
Amazingly, this worked. We found a total of four imprentas just by asking around, and all of them were places we’d never find on our own, because they were basically little cubby-holes of shops — just a doorway and a counter. The prices ranged from 90 to 180 pesos for 100 cards, depending on how many colors we wanted, and whether we wanted digital or letterpress. (That’s $6 to $12. In Dallas I paid about $30.)
I ended up going with a guy named Ozkart, whose shop sat in a big, historic building that had been sectioned off into studios. His place was the size of a walk-in closet, and it sheltered two gigantic printing presses. Ink stained his hands and fingernails.
Since I didn’t have a design picked out, he offered to email me a few. (I thought: You have email?) Hopefully I hear from him; if not, that means another trip back.
Either way, though, I’m really glad I went. You can find anything down there: Shoes, guitars, cameras, computers, cell phones, batteries, clothes, rubber stamps. Aura said the Centro is usually cheaper than anywhere else — you just need time to wander around.
Thanks for all the details on how to get business cards printed in Mexico City.
I like Centro Historico too–where I spent most of my time when there.
Hi there. Do you know roughly where Ozkart’s shop was? Did you ever receive an email? I’m in Mexico City and looking to get some business cards printed myself, so an address if you have one would be appreciated.
Thanks! *
Hi, did you ever get the business cards? Do you remember the street the shops were on?