Postcard Printing

Postcards can be printed on all kinds of paper, and different levels of thickness. The most popular choice is silk, as it’s not as shiny as gloss, but still has a silky smooth, high-quality feel.

Matt laminated is also favoured for business postcards, as it comes with an extra layer of protection – preventing bending when being mailed to your customers.

If you’ve already created your artwork on a different software, you can upload it online.

We prefer to receive your designs in PDF format at 300DPI resolution, with a 3mm bleed. However, we will accept JPEG, TIFF, EPS and Adobe Suite files.

A standard postcard size is A6 (148 x 105mm) – quarter the size of an A4 piece of paper.

Different sized postcards have become more popular as each year passes. If you need more space for your promotional messaging, we also offer A5 (210 x 148mm) postcard printing.

To make your design pop, our DL size (210 x 99mm) custom postcards are sure to catch your customer’s eyes.

Postcards are traditionally centred around a high-quality image, so you should keep your messaging to a minimum. Choose a design which represents your branding or promotion, then add your business logo and slogan to the right-hand corner.

If you’re printing your postcard on both sides, you can add a call to action on the back with your contact details.

The back of a postcard is typically landscape, with a vertical line down the middle. Traditionally, the postage stamp is placed in the top right-hand corner of the postcard.

There are usually horizontal lines underneath this, where the recipients’ address can be written. While the left side the postcard is normally left blank, where a message is added.

Postcards are the perfect size for promoting your brand and getting your marketing message across, without overwhelming your reader with information. They also make it easy for people to see your promotion, as they don’t have to open anything to read it.

There are various ways you can distribute your postcards including:

• Posted or dropped into your customer’s letterboxes – direct mail campaigns
• Handed out during marketing events or showcase
• Inserted into your company brochure or newsletter

They are also popular with tourists, who send them to family and friends while on holiday. Many of the orders we receive are from tourist attractions, who design and print their own custom postcards to sell in gift shops.

Artists and photographers also use postcards to showcase original artworks that they have created. This helps to advertise their portfolio and gives the recipient a printed material that they can appreciate when they take it home.

Postcards are standard-rated and subject to VAT. Generally, all printed products that are designed to be kept by the recipient or have an area for text to be written on are VATable.

If you need more information about printing and VAT, official information is available from HMRC.

The price to send you postcard depends on how quickly you want it to arrive and whether it needs to be signed for.

A full breakdown of current postage prices is available from the Royal Mail.

All of our non-laminated postcards can be recycled. In addition, our brown kraft postcards are made from recycled paper stock – making them an environmentally-friendly option.