Recommendations

The most common order options are 6" x 4" and 8.5" x 5.5" on 14 Pt. Gloss Cover stock. Almost always, Postcards with Mailing are printed in full color on both sides (4/4) or full color on the front and black on back (4/1) and coated UV 1 Side.

For order quantities under 1000 or additional stock choices without mailing, please check out our 4-Color Digital Postcards.

For 4-Color Offset Postcards without mailing, please check out 4-Color Offset Postcards.

Marketing Tips

Postcards with Mailing are one of the most popular marketing tools. The broad range of size choices caters to many marketing messages. Postcards with Mailing are available in various sizes to fit your budget, convey your message, and command attention. They help your message reach a target audience.

Mailing Order Requirements

We offer mailing services originating from both the western and eastern U.S., so your mailings will arrive at their destination faster. When choosing which location to use for mailing on the order detail page, look over your mailing list. If 50% or more of the addresses are in the West, use our western U.S. facility. If 50% or more are in the East, use our eastern U.S. facility.

Note: We cannot split your mailing list. To mail from both locations, please submit separate orders and separate mailing lists.

Please be sure your design on the back of the Postcard allows 1.00" of white space from the edges at the top right corner so that we can place an indicia for mailing. Also, please leave 2.25" x 4.25" of white space in the bottom right corner for inkjetting of addresses.

Proofs will not be sent for approval until jobs are approved by Prepress, are confirmed to meet USPS regulations, have a valid mailing list uploaded and all postage paid.

Any Trim Size

You can order custom sizes by using the "Any Trim Size (Edit Below)" option in the pricing calculator. First select the standard size option which is larger in both dimensions (height and width) than your desired custom size. In the "Any Trim Size (Edit Below)" box on the pricing calculator (shown below), type in your desired dimensions. Please remember if you are ordering "Any Trim Size" for a product that is folded, "Any Trim Size" dimensions are for the product before it is folded.

Be mindful of the custom trim when submitting a file to prevent any part of your design from being trimmed away. It's extra important to look at a proof when ordering custom trim.

14pt Gloss Cover

You may be familiar with this type of stock from presentation folders.

This thick and stiff stock is coated on both sides with a glossy finish.

100# White Linen Cover

You may be familiar with this type of stock from business cards or notecards with a subtle, woven, fabric-like finish.

This sturdy paper offers a unique non-glossy look enhanced with a subtle, woven linen finish.

4/1

Full color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black as above) on the front and black on the back. A typical example of this is a flyer.

4/0

Full color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black as above) on the front and no printing on the back. A typical example of this is a poster.

AQ 2 Sides

AQ is short for Aqueous Coating. This is a semi-gloss, environmentally friendly, water-based coating applied over the entire front and back of the printed piece. It provides additional gloss and protection, and it can be written on with a ballpoint pen.

Satin AQ

AQ is short for Aqueous Coating. This is a matte finish, environmentally friendly, water-based coating applied over the entire front and back of the printed piece. It reduces the gloss of the printing and it can be written on with a ballpoint pen.

UV 1 Side

UV is short for Ultra Violet Light-Cured Coating. This is a high-gloss coating applied over the front of the printed piece. It is not recommended for printed material you need to write on after being produced.

UV 2 Sides

UV is short for Ultra Violet Light-Cured Coating. This is a high-gloss coating applied over the entire front and back of the printed piece. It is not recommended for products you need to write on after being printed.

Spot UV

UV is short for Ultra Violet Light-Cured Coating. This is a high-gloss coating applied to specific spots of your choosing. Any areas not coated Spot UV will be coated Dull Varnish.

This product can be coated with a variety of Spot UV combinations:

Spot UV 2 Sides
High-gloss coating applied to specific spots of your choosing on both the front and back of the printed piece for emphasis or as a design element. Do not put spot UV anywhere that you will need to write.

Spot UV front only, Overall UV Back
High-gloss coating applied to specific spots of your choosing on the front of the printed piece and over the entire back. Do not choose UV anywhere that you will need to write.

Spot UV front only, Satin AQ back
High-gloss coating applied to specific spots of your choosing on the front of the printed piece. Do not choose UV anywhere that you will need to write.

Overall UV coating is applied over the entire back of the printed piece. This can not be written on.

Next Day Turnaround

If you order a proof (Online PDF or Hard Copy Proof), your turnaround time begins as soon as you approve your proof in our system. If you order "No Proof, Run As Is" (only recommended if you are certain you want us to print what you sent as is), your turnaround time will be based on the guidelines listed below. Once your order is in imposition, you should receive an email with your estimated order completion date (does not include shipping or mailing).

Guidelines

Files must be uploaded before the cut off time, which is 9:00 a.m. Pacific for orders produced in our West facility and 9:00 a.m. Eastern for orders produced in our East facility. If you request a proof, you must approve your proof by 10:45 a.m. in the time zone your order is produced for turnaround time to begin.

Next Day Shipped Orders
Orders will ship the next business day if you follow the guidelines.

Files uploaded after the cut off time will be processed the following business day.

Rush Turnaround

To accommodate tight deadlines, this product is available with Rush Turnaround for an extra charge. Our standard turnaround times are also available at no extra charge. To order Rush Turnaround, simply select it from the Turnaround dropdown menu in the pricing calculator.

Note: Rush orders do not automatically include rush shipping. Please select the best shipping option to meet your needs.

1-2 Day Turnaround

If you order a proof (Online PDF or Hard Copy Proof), your turnaround time begins as soon as you approve your proof in our system. If you order "No Proof, Run As Is" (only recommended if you are certain you want us to print what you sent as is), your turnaround time will be based on the guidelines listed below. Once your order is in imposition, you should receive an email with your estimated order completion date (does not include shipping or mailing).

Guidelines

Files must be uploaded before the cut off time, which is 10:00 a.m. Pacific for orders produced in our West facility and 10:00 a.m. Eastern for orders produced in our East facility. If you request a proof, you must approve your proof by 12:45 p.m. in the time zone your order is produced for turnaround time to begin.

A. 1-2 Day Shipped Orders
Orders will ship the next business day after 4:00 p.m. or in 2 business days if you follow the guidelines.

Files uploaded after the cut off time will be processed the following business day.

2-3 Day Turnaround

If you order a proof (Online PDF or Hard Copy Proof), your turnaround time begins as soon as you approve your proof in our system. If you order "No Proof, Run As Is" (only recommended if you are certain you want us to print what you sent as is), your turnaround time will be based on the guidelines listed below. Once your order is in imposition, you should receive an email with your estimated order completion date (does not include shipping or mailing).

Guidelines

Files must be uploaded before the cut off time, which is 10:00 a.m. Pacific for orders produced in our West facility and 10:00 a.m. Eastern for orders produced in our East facility. If you request a proof, you must approve your proof by 4:00 p.m. in the time zone your order is produced for turnaround time to begin.

2-3 Day Shipped Orders
Orders will ship between 2 business days after 4:00 p.m. and 3 business days if you follow the guidelines.

Files uploaded after the cut off time will be processed the following business day.

3-4 Day Turnaround

If you order a proof (Online PDF or Hard Copy Proof), your turnaround time begins as soon as you approve your proof in our system. If you order "No Proof, Run As Is" (only recommended if you are certain you want us to print what you sent as is), your turnaround time will be based on the guidelines listed below. Once your order is in imposition, you should receive an email with your estimated order completion date (does not include shipping or mailing).

Guidelines

Files must be uploaded before the cut off time, which is 10:00 a.m. Pacific for orders produced in our West facility and 10:00 a.m. Eastern for orders produced in our East facility. If you request a proof, you must approve your proof by 4:00 p.m. in the time zone your order is produced for turnaround time to begin.

A. 3-4 Day Shipped Orders
Orders will ship between 3 business days after 4:00 p.m. and 4 business days if you follow the guidelines.

Files uploaded after the cut off time will be processed the following business day.

5-7 Day Turnaround

If you order a proof (Online PDF or Hard Copy Proof), your turnaround time begins as soon as you approve your proof in our system. If you order "No Proof, Run As Is" (only recommended if you are certain you want us to print what you sent as is), your turnaround time will be based on the guidelines listed below. Once your order is in imposition, you should receive an email with your estimated order completion date (does not include shipping or mailing).

Guidelines

Files must be uploaded before the cut off time, which is 10:00 a.m. Pacific for orders produced in our West facility and 10:00 a.m. Eastern for orders produced in our East facility. If you request a proof, you must approve your proof by 4:00 p.m. in the time zone your order is produced for turnaround time to begin.

5-7 Day Shipped Orders
Orders will ship between 5 business days after 4:00 p.m. and 6-7 business days if you follow the guidelines.

Files uploaded after the cut off time will be processed the following business day.

Shrinkwrap and Rubber Bands

Shrinkwrap is a thin, plastic wrapping designed to group the items you order into desired quantities. Additionally, it helps your order arrive in tip-top condition because it reduces rubbing during shipping. It is called "shrinkwrap" because after the plastic is placed around each bundle, it is shrunk with gentle heat for a better fit.

Orders can also be grouped using rubber bands.

Options:

5 per package

10 per package

25 per package

30 per package

40 per package

50 per package

75 per package

100 per package

Please note that if your order quantity and the number of pieces per package will result in more than 200 individually shrinkwrapped packages, your order may require an additional 1-2 days for fulfillment.

For other quantities, please submit a custom estimate.

Custom Orders

If you would like to order product options not available in the pricing calculator, simply request a custom estimate. To request a custom estimate, click "Estimates" at the top of the page.

In many cases, it is more affordable to order one of our specified quantities than to place a custom order. Custom orders are most commonly placed for order specifications that are not listed in the calculator.

If all your order specifications are available in the Pricing Calculator but you would like a quantity not listed in the dropdown menu, choose the next-highest quantity. Simply choose "recycle overages" in the shipping method section and we will responsibly recycle the extras.

For example, if you would like 700 units, you can order 1000 units and let us know you only want 700 shipped. We will responsibly dispose of the extras.

File Preparation

In order to ensure your files are print-ready, we recommend that you upload them in PDF format. When you generate a print-ready PDF, your computer will use the settings in Adobe Acrobat Distiller or any other PDF generating programs you may use. Please make sure that these are set properly before generating your PDF file. Click here to see our preferred PDF settings.

We also accept .JPG (JPEG), .EPS and .TIF (TIFF) file types, however PDF is the preferred format.

Check your file to make sure it meets our file creation guidelines. This will help speed up the production of your project and give your printed piece the best results.

1. Use the CMYK colorspace (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK). These are industry standard printing colors. CMYK colors are different than RGB (Red, Green, Blue), which are used to display colors on your screen.


2. Use a minimum resolution of 300 dpi for image files.


3. All fonts need to be outlined or embedded. For more information on fonts, please Click Here


4. Specify trim area with crop marks. (Don't place crop marks inside the work area.) For more information on crop marks, please Click Here


5. Artwork should have 1/8" (0.125") bleed extending past the trim line. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge. For more information on bleed, please Click Here


6. Safe Area is the 1/8" (0.125") area inside the trim line. Do not put critical information or images within the Safe Area. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge. For more information on safe area, please Click Here


7. If you want printed borders, they must be placed a minimum of 1/8" (0.125") inside the trim line and include bleed. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge.For more information on borders, please Click Here

For detailed information about advanced file setup, Click Here

File Orientation

Please click the link below for an explanation of file orientation.

View File Orientation

Bleed and Safe Area

We require that you extend any images that run up to the trim line a minimum of 1/8" (0.125") past the trim line to create "bleed". Depending on what program you use to create your file, this may or may not change the total image area of your file. Programs like Photoshop that do not allow the creation of "bleed" or the addition of crop marks will require an image area that is 1/4" (0.25") larger than your desired final overall image area in both dimensions.

Safe Area is the 1/8" (0.125") area inside the trim line. Do not put critical information or images within the Safe Area. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge. If you choose to make less than this minimum clearance, we will NOT be responsible for items that are cut off in this area.

For detailed information about advanced file setup, please Click Here

Proofs and File Check

We offer three proof options:

1. Online PDF Proof: You will be sent a link to view your proof via email. Please keep in mind that this is only a proof for content and positioning; the color on your screen may vary from the color of your final product, depending on your monitor and viewing conditions.


2. Hard Copy Proof: The Hard Copy Proof can either be picked up on-site or shipped to you. Please keep in mind that this is a proof for content and positioning and is not printed on your actual job stock. Color may vary slightly when printed on the stock you ordered. When ordering a Hard Copy Proof, you will receive a complimentary Online PDF Proof, as well.


3. No Proof, Run As-Is: This option is for the industry professional who is certain their project is ready to hit the press and does not require the additional security of a proof.

File Check:

If our prepress department sees anything questionable with your file, we will contact you via email with our concerns. Should prepress email you, please note that your job is not considered fully submitted until you respond to this email. This should be factored into your turnaround time.

How to check your Online PDF:
The black crop marks indicate the final trim size. The Red line ( Dashed ) indicates the (Score) The Green line ( Dashed ) indicates the (Perf). The Red Line (Solid) indicates the ( Cut or Trim ) line. The verbiage on the file, this will indicate the page position after folding.

Please Note: The charge for our technical team to review your file when first submitted is included in the price of your order. If they note technical concerns with your file, they may email you with their concerns so you can upload a corrected file. If subsequent uploads still contain errors, you may be charged an additional prepress fee to review your file again.

For detailed information about advanced file setup, please Click Here