Postcards are a great way to send a quick visual update to your supporters.
Simple Postcards
To send a straightforward postcard with a picture on the front and your message on the back, the easiest way to do that is to use our basic postcard design, which you can fill out online. No software required!
Design Your Own
You can also create your own postcard design and send it to us, like you would for a letter.
We offer postcards in two sizes:
- Quarter-sheet (4.25" x 5.5"), with 1/4" margins
- 4" x 6", with no margins (a.k.a. full-bleed)
Use quarter-sheet postcards if you don't mind having a 1/4" white border around each edge of the card, and if you don't want to go through the extra work of setting up a full-bleed postcard.
For a 4" x 6" postcard, we'll need an extra 0.125" of bleed around each edge, which gives the printer and cutting machine a little leeway in case they're not lined up perfectly. See below for instructions on how to set this up.
Postcard Setup Tips
The back of the postcard can contain a message, or just your return address. If you include a message, place a vertical black line at least 2.5" from the right edge of the page. Leave everything to the right of that line completely blank.
A return address is optional, but if you leave it out, remember to tell people who you are!
If you include your return address on the back of the postcard, make sure it's at the top of the card. The postal service machines read from the bottom of the card, and stop once they reach the first thing that might be an address.
Since postcards don't get sent in envelopes, they're prone to getting damaged by the postal machines. A common problem is that the belts on the machines will smear or rub off the ink on the card.
If you're sending a prayer card or birth announcement, we highly recommend sending a greeting card instead.
Design Your Own Full-Bleed Postcard
If you're not familiar with setting up bleeds, fear not – it's pretty simple, and we have some templates to help.
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Create your document with a paper size of 4.25" x 6.25", with a 0.25" margin, or use one of the following templates:
Keep all of your text inside the margin, but bring any background colors or pictures all the way to the edge of the page. We'll trim roughly 1/8" around each edge, ensuring that the finished postcard has printing all the way to the edge.
Avoid drawing a box near the edge of the postcard, especially as a border – our cutting won't be completely precise, and this will be most apparent when there's a line drawn near the edge of the card.
If you send the postcard to us as a PDF, please ensure that the front and back don't end up on the same page, and that the PDF page size is at least 4.25" x 6.25". If your software puts the postcard on a letter-sized page, that's not a problem – we can take care of that with a couple of clicks on our end.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us for help.