Here’s those two addresses, as posted in another thread. The top is Formosa Hostel I, the bottom Formosa Hostel II.
Two things:
First, I’ve only scanned this thread where it didn’t concern “business card” content. I’m really impressed with the way people are stepping forward to help this new person arrive in Taipei. Good on ya! (as the ole Southern boys in the U.S. say).
Second, I really need to get some stinkin’ business cards printed ASAP. Which getting a PhD in that subject, in general, what kind of company in Taipei prints these (general options for sources) and what is the turnaround time? I just need something simple, one-sided, but correctly printed.
Thanks a bunch,
Seeker4
There are places all over the show here that print them up cheaply. Tag along with a Chinese-speaking friend and you’ll be sorted in no time. Mine - 2 boxes (about 200 total?) - cost NT$200 and took 3 days to print up. They’re pretty basic, but they do the job.
Tetsuo, great. Thanks.
In general, what ARE these places that print cards? Are they “printers” only, or do all kinds of businesses have little “business card printing” operations stashed in some corner of their shops?
I’m just trying to figure out if these things are considered specialty items in Taiwan, only done by special printing places or if they are commodities printed by many different types of businesses (card stores, office supply stores, etc).
Seeker4
one of my employer’s clients is getting like 1000 full color 1 sided cards on full gloss cardstock for like $60(US)… i guess thats a pretty good deal. or at least he seems to think it is. actually, it might be 3000 cards for $60. not sure which. and thats through an internet company.
do i need to push “02” to get into the Taipei area, or just “2”?
Business cards: There’s usually a 2 box minimum. You can get high quality, double sided, full color, coated cards on good paper made up for just a few hundred NT. There are literally hundreds of shops in Taipei that can handle the job. I agree with those who recommend asking a Chinese friend for help.
For the fellow about to arrive - Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Lonely Planet Taiwan, and read the intro and bits about Taipei before you get here. Not only does it have the Forumusa Hostel’s info, as well as info about how to get to Taipei from the airport, but it will also answer many other questions you have as well as those you haven’t thought of yet. 
By the way, I’m also very happy to see the way people have been generous with helping out this new arrival. Kind of makes me remember my early days here. And yes, I stayed at the Formosa (I believe it was the Formosa II actually) for a while.
Ah, the pre-Internet pioneer days. 
Oh, and NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT get 1000 or 2000 cards made! You will live to regret it! Things like cell numbers, addresses, your job title, description etc can and will change. The last thing you want is to be stuck with 857 cards which you’ll never use. It’s happened to me. I still have a bunch of boxes of unused cards which are heading to the recycler. 
So now it’s the 2 box at a time rule for me. 
[quote=“Naruwa”]Oh, and NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT get 1000 or 2000 cards made! You will live to regret it! Things like cell numbers, addresses, your job title, description etc can and will change. The last thing you want is to be stuck with 857 cards which you’ll never use. It’s happened to me. I still have a bunch of boxes of unused cards which are heading to the recycler.
So now it’s the 2 box at a time rule for me. [/quote]
Excellent point, Naruwa. The good thing is that it’s so cheap and fast and ROC to get more made up as your situation evloves.
Hey Matt,
If you are calling Taiwan from the States you would dial thusly:
011 - 886 - 2 - 2562 2035 (Formosa I, for example)
011 - international access code
886 - Taiwan
2 - Taipei City (drop the “0”)
Within Taiwan you need to use 02 for Taipei City
Some years ago the Government determined that Taipei needed more phone numbers so they switched from a seven digit local number to an eight digit one. A “2” was added as the first number in Taipei City telephone numbers. If you see books and websites that list 7 digit numbers (without the 2), they pre-date the change.
Let us know if you need help getting in touch with Lin Tai Tai.
Your under 3 weeks now, must be getting psyched.
yeah. i had my first round of random unexplainable nervousness two days ago. so weird, but i think its just because this is floating around in the back of my mind. i hope i get a chance to buy the Lonely Planet book soon. i thought i was going to get it this weekend, but not so much anymore. we’ll see.
Tetsuo, great. Thanks.
In general, what ARE these places that print cards? Are they “printers” only, or do all kinds of businesses have little “business card printing” operations stashed in some corner of their shops?
I’m just trying to figure out if these things are considered specialty items in Taiwan, only done by special printing places or if they are commodities printed by many different types of businesses (card stores, office supply stores, etc).
Seeker4[/quote]
The places I’ve seen - and the one I used - tend to be combo jobs: name cards, chops/name stamps, key cutting, and a couple of other things I can’t remember right now. And the place I dealt with was basically just an agent - they’d take the order and the details, then fax them off to a printer to get done.
will i have any trouble if i’ve designed my own cards. i’m definately not looking for cookie-cutter business cards. i’m not saying its really complicated, actually they probably only require 2 colors, but the design is still fairly important to me. all i really need to add is a phone number, and i guess a chinese name if i come up with one. not that i really understand how to come up with a chinese name.
Monoxide: Funny you should mention Chinese names…I revived an old thread recently in the “Culture & History” forum on the topic of Chinese names. Lots of good info in that one. That said, my 2 cents worth is that you have much more important stuff to think about now if you’re about to move to Taiwan (my P.S. for example). Chinese name thread for future reference: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … sc&start=0
Best of luck,
Seeker4
P.S. - Note my tagline. I was careful, planned what U.S. products to bring before I came, but somehow never bought anti-diarrheal medicine. Last minute rush I guess. Suggestion: Go to Walmart, buy a few boxes of the generic form of that stuff (with same active ingredients as Imodium AD). This isn’t epidemic in Taiwan, but it will likely come in handy until your system balances out.
Designing your own card is a good idea. You could use just about any program, I suppose, and hand the file to the card maker. Heck, Word could probably do it. Most importantly, this would help avoid potential English spelling blunders by the printer. Also, no need to restrict yourself to 2 colors. Full-color printing is highly affordable.
About a Chinese name, I would wait until you’ve been here a while and have decided on a name you really like. Otherwise, you may wind up changing names several times, which confuses everyone.
About the food, I haven’t heard of too many people with diarrhea problems, but I suppose it’s possible. I don’t think you need to expect an ‘India’ type experience unless maybe you have an extremely sensitive digestive system. Maybe bring one box, but several? Seems a bit much, since most medicine can be bought in Taiwan. You might bring a bottle of Pepto, since I haven’t found it here. Also, you can’t get Neosporin, so a tube could come in handy.
Also, you can’t get Advil here. A bottle of the good brown tablets should definitely accompany you, unless you have issues with Ibuprofen. Also, you can’t get Tom’s toothpaste here, so I’d bring some of that if you’re into healthier type toothpaste. Besides that, Taiwan has, in recent years, started importing all kinds of stuff, including Centrum (just about the only semi-affordable multi-vitamin here that I’ve found). It’s the real thing, but the manufacturer is local. I don’t know if the Centrum sold in the US is made there or not, but if it’s a concern, you could bring a big bottle.
Man, Advil, Tom’s, Pepto…I guess there is a longish list of pharmaceutical products that aren’t sold here! 
I was recommending the anti-backdoor trots medicine mainly as a contingency and then to prevent a need without the medicine in hand, and to save money. Imodium AD here in Taiwan is even more expensive than in the States.
Also, I have not been able to find acetomeniphen (sorry for spelling), i.e., Tylenol here.
i own the Adobe CS Suite. i designed the card in ai, but it can be exported into a variety of formats, i’m sure that won’t be a problem. and i’ve restricted the number of colors to 2 for aesthetic reasons rather than monetary. i’m planning on bringing a 64 meg usb memory stick with me with a variety of things including mozilla firefox, the business card, my resume, and any other digital resources i think might make my life easier when i get there.
i’m not sure i will really need the pepto, but as long as it doesn’t explode in my luggage it won’t be a hassle. i was already planning to bring the following:
[ul]at least 2 think towels
battery operated (travel) alarm clock
extra soap
neosporin + bandaids
asprin
nyquil
dayquil[/ul]
anything else to suggest?
Hey Matt,
You might think about bringing some immodium for when you get the squirts. And you will. Might want to bring some rolaids, too.
The towels if you already have them, are a good thing - you’ll be taking lots of showers in Taiwan (the hummidity).
Extra Soap and bandaids aren’t essential, as they are easily obtained all over the place.
Aspirin and nyquil aren’t a bad idea.
Again, things are MUCH better in 2004 in terms of access to consumer goods that will be familiar to you, compared to 15 years ago. You’ll have to get a membership at Costco (or bring your card if you have one) and make trips there part of your monthly routine.
You’ll be happy to know that Taiwan is a computer users paradise. Most people buy DIY (desktop) set ups. DIY in the sense that you go to the computer parts district, or to one of the computer mega centers around town and have a company build something for you according to your specs. I’d guess that you could get a pretty kick-ass machine for about $1,200 (with a nice monitor). If you have a personal copy of Windows XP, you might want to bring it with you, as some of these computer companies are sometimes reluctant to load foriegners’ systems up with English XP. They’ll say they just don’t have it, when in fact they are probably worried that you might report them for dealing in Pirated software - which is very very common in Taiwan.
Throw a bottle of Maker’s Mark or some good Tequilla in your bag, as they are a bit expensive in Taiwan.
English XP legitimate copies can be found at local computer marts like Nova. But yeah, computer deals here are great. Will XP let you re-register on another computer using the same disc? Don’t they lock out the software from their system unless you reinstall using the same machine?
AI will be fine for your card. Shouldn’t have any problem giving the original file to a company here. One of the BEST things about Taiwan is the lack of snobbishness over particular operating systems and programs. So bring ye AI, CD, PM, PS, QE, hell whatever! Though I don’t think In Design has caught on yet…