VCARD
A Method to Create a Digital Business card
* Note: The examples below were created with an Android phone and Google Drive.
* Note: The examples below were created with an Android phone and Google Drive.
Two Versions
A Business Card without a contact image
This is the easiest way to go. All contact information is included in the NFC card and QR code. The downside is, if any information changes in the future, you must create a new card. Even though you can program the NFC card many times, it may be difficult to remove and replace the QR code. Why use this method? I cruise a lot and a lot of people don't have Internet access while at sea.A Business Card that includes a contact image
Creating a Business Card with this method is more involved, but more flexible. The NFC card and QR code only contain a link to a public share. You can change the .VCF file at will as long as the share path does not change.
A Business Card without a contact image
You can opt to create a VCF file from scratch with Notepad or a similar app, but the easiest way is to create a contact in your Contact App. You can go ahead and add a contact image, but the VCF file will be too large for the first version. After creating Peter Rabbit's contact, I went back to my list of contacts and long pressed on Peter's contact. I then selected share and emailed the contact to myself. The email contained a VCF file you can open with a text editor like Notepad. Here is the VCF file with the Photo section removed:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Rabbit;Peter;;;
FN:Peter Rabbit
X-ANDROID-CUSTOM:vnd.android.cursor.item/nickname;Peter The Great;1;;;;;;;;;;;;;
TEL;CELL:321-555-1212
EMAIL;HOME:peter.rabbit@geemail.com
URL:Instagram.com/peterrabbit
END:VCARD
From Notepad, copy the contents of the VCF file and go to https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/. Select "FREE TEXT" at the top and paste the text into the field below it.
QR Code
Download the QR Code and print it. Attach the QR Code to the NFC Business Card.
NFC Tools
Run NFC Tools, select Write then Add a Record then Text. Paste the text from the VCF file and select OK. On the next screen select Write then place the NFC Business card on the back of the phone. The write takes place almost instantly.
That's it for the first version.
A Business Card with a contact image
Here is the VCF file with the Photo section included: (Click here to view/hide)
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Rabbit;Peter;;;
FN:Peter Rabbit
X-ANDROID-CUSTOM:vnd.android.cursor.item/nickname;Peter The Great;1;;;;;;;;;;;;;
TEL;CELL:321-555-1212
EMAIL;HOME:peter.rabbit@geemail.com
URL:Instagram.com/peterrabbit
PHOTO;ENCODING=BASE64;JPEG:/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/4gIoSUNDX1BST0ZJTEU
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ABeAAAABRiWFlaAAABjAAAABRyVFJDAAABoAAAAChnVFJDAAABoAAAAChiVFJDAAABoAAAACh
3dHB0AAAByAAAABRjcHJ0AAAB3AAAADxtbHVjAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAMZW5VUwAAAFgAAAAcAHMA
UgBHAEIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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END:VCARD
As you can see, the Photo section is huge.
*Note: I'm using a computer , not a phone for the next actions.
Save this file on your Google Drive with a .vcf file extension. On the "More Actions" menu (three vertical dots to the right of the file name), select "Share" then under "General Access" select "Anyone with the link". On this same screen select "Copy link". Paste this link on https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/ to generate the QR Code and in the NFC Tools app to create programming for the NFC Business Card.
Warning Warning Warning
Using Google Drive, if you delete your VCF file and replace it with a file of the same name, the share path will change making you business card useless!!!
To keep the same share path, download the VCF file to your computer and make the changes there. When you're ready to replace the file, go to Google Drive, select the "More Actions" menu, then "File Information", then "Manage Versions" and select "Upload new version".
Decorate your new NFC Business Card
For my cards, I created an image using https://www.canva.com/ and printed the design on sticker paper and applied several coats of a clear sealer. You can do the same with large labels and trim to size. By far the most professional results can be achieved using sublimation printing.
I purchased these NFC Business Cards from Amazon.