Business card holders are nothing new. In fact they have been around for over a century. A recent online sale at a leading auction site actually sold a business card holder that included an actual business card from Grover Cleveland!

There are two major types of business card holders. The first kind is the type that holds business cards that are given to us. These can range in size from something that would hold 20 or 30 cards at a time to huge portfolios that will hold over 1000. They can be made in a variety of materials from leather to vinyl to even material covered books. Some are meant to be carried with us and others are meant to be left at the office.

In the late 1980s technology seemed to take away the need for these business card holders, at least temporarily. There was a surge in interest in the newly created electronic Rolodex gizmos that allowed owners to add names, phone numbers, company names, and a host of different types of notes and information. These were of course the forerunners of today’s smart phones.

Of course, it didn’t take long for these little devices to fall out of favor with the general public. Once people realized that technology has its own quirks, vis-a-vis crashing and losing data, all these electronic Rolodex users quickly reverted back to the old-fashioned hard for business card holders they had before.

A new adjunct technology specifically made for the business card industry is the ability to scan an actual business card into either a computer or of course a smart phone. Technically the hardware into which these cards are scanned becomes a business card holder of sorts. As you look at these business cards on your screen you are actually seeing the business card in its entirety. Unlike these old-fashioned electronic devices, and even some simple cell phones today, we’re at the end for a shift from business cards simply translated into lines of text, this new technology provides virtual images of each card.

Personal scanners can be purchased that fit easily into a purse, briefcase, or backpack and each card can be scanned immediately. These come in very handy when doing trade shows or attending large needing where are a backup copy of each business card is not only vital to your future business dealings, but the scanned copy is now a document that can be shared with, e-mailed to, or beamed over to business associates.

This technology doesn’t replace the beautiful leather business card binders that many of us still like to use. There’s something about being totally hands on that gives us a sense of control over our files and business data.

Of course it’s important to keep in mind that as with any type of business document, there should always be a hard copy original on file. Ergo, no matter how much we may rely on technology to produce scanned images of our cards, we should never give up our business card holders.

There are a broad variety of Business Card holders available online and some excellent ones at Card Holder be sure to have a good look around before making a purchase.