Postcards
Why Choose Our Custom Printed Postcards?
- Premium Paper Stocks: Choose from sturdy matte, vibrant glossy, or durable cardstock options that make your message stand out.
- Multiple Size Options: Popular sizes like 4"×6", 5"×7", 6"×9", and oversized postcards available to fit your marketing needs.
- High-Definition Color Printing: We use professional offset and digital printing to deliver sharp images, rich colors, and crisp text.
- Perfect for Direct Mail Marketing: Ideal for promotions, announcements, real estate marketing, and business advertising.
- Fast Turnaround: Get your postcards printed and ready quickly with our reliable production and shipping options.
Custom Printed Postcards
Eye-catching, full-color postcards designed to grab attention and drive response. Perfect for direct mail, promotions, announcements, and event marketing—helping your message stand out in every mailbox.
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Ensure the file matches the product's required dimensions.
Make sure that all images are embedded, and that all the text is outlined.
- 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.
- Use a minimum resolution of 300 dpi for image files.
- Specify trim area with crop marks. (Don't place crop marks inside the work area.)
- 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.
- 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 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.
Download Templates
100# Linen Cover Paper
100# Linen Cover is a premium, heavyweight cardstock featuring a subtle woven linen texture embossed into the surface. It provides a sophisticated, tactile finish that adds elegance and distinction to printed materials.
Key Characteristics
- Distinctive Linen Texture: The paper features a fine crosshatch pattern that resembles woven fabric. This textured surface adds visual interest and a refined, upscale appearance that stands out from smooth papers.
- Elegant, Non-Gloss Finish: Because it is uncoated, the surface has a soft matte appearance with no shine or glare. This creates a classic, professional look often associated with formal or high-end printed pieces.
- Heavyweight, Durable Cardstock: At 100# cover weight, this stock is thick and sturdy, providing a substantial feel that communicates quality and craftsmanship.
Best Use Cases
- Business Cards & Professional Stationery: Perfect for business cards, letterhead, and corporate stationery where a refined, traditional look is desired.
- Invitations & Announcements: Ideal for wedding invitations, formal announcements, or special event materials that benefit from a textured, elegant presentation.
- Premium Marketing Pieces: Works well for upscale brochures, presentation folders, and promotional materials designed to leave a lasting impression.
16Pt Matte Cover Paper
16Pt Matte Cover is a premium, heavyweight cardstock featuring a smooth, non-gloss matte coating on both sides. It offers a refined, modern appearance with excellent print quality while minimizing glare and reflections.
Key Characteristics
- Smooth Matte Finish: The matte coating provides a soft, non-reflective surface that gives printed materials a clean, sophisticated look. This finish reduces glare and allows designs to be viewed clearly under any lighting conditions.
- Rich, Balanced Color Reproduction: While not as shiny as gloss stock, the matte coating still supports vibrant color and sharp image detail. Graphics and text appear crisp and professional without the reflective shine of gloss paper.
- Thick, Durable Cardstock: At 16pt thickness, this paper has a strong, sturdy feel that is heavier than standard 14pt cover. It delivers a premium level of durability and a substantial feel in hand.
Best Use Cases
- Postcards & Marketing Cards: A popular choice for postcards and promotional materials where a modern, non-gloss finish is preferred.
- Business Cards & Branding Materials: Provides a professional, high-end feel that works well for business cards and branded handouts.
- Premium Flyers & Handouts: Ideal for marketing pieces that need durability and a smooth, elegant appearance without the shine of gloss coatings.
14PT Gloss Coated (C2S) Cover Paper
14PT Gloss Coated (C2S) Cover is a premium, heavyweight cardstock featuring a smooth, high-shine coating on both sides. It’s one of the most popular choices for high-quality marketing materials that need durability, vibrant color, and a polished, professional look.
Key Characteristics
- High-Gloss Finish on Both Sides: Both sides of the sheet are coated, giving your printed piece a consistent, reflective shine. This enhances color vibrancy, sharpness, and overall visual impact from front to back.
- Exceptional Color & Image Quality: The coated surface keeps ink on top of the paper, producing rich, saturated colors and crisp detail—ideal for full-color graphics, photos, and bold designs.
- Heavyweight, Rigid Cardstock: At 14pt thickness, this stock offers a sturdy, substantial feel similar to traditional postcards. It holds up well in the mail and delivers a premium impression.
- Durable & Professional Finish: The glossy coating adds a layer of protection against handling, helping resist minor scuffs and wear during distribution.
- Limited Write-On Surface: Because both sides are coated, writing with standard pens can be difficult. Permanent markers are recommended if writing is necessary.
Best Use Cases
- Premium Postcards & Direct Mail: Perfect for marketing postcards that need to stand out in the mailbox while holding up well during mailing and handling.
- High-End Marketing Cards: Ideal for promotional handouts, rack cards, or marketing pieces that benefit from a glossy, high-impact presentation.
- Luxury Business Cards & Inserts: Provides a substantial, high-quality feel for business cards or promotional inserts where durability and vibrant printing are important.
80# Gloss Cover-weight
80# Gloss Cover is a durable, lightweight cardstock featuring a smooth, coated surface with a polished, glossy finish. It’s a popular choice for vibrant, high-impact marketing materials that need to stand out while remaining flexible enough for mailing and distribution.
Key Characteristics
- Glossy, High-Shine Finish: The coated surface reflects light, giving printed pieces a bright, eye-catching appearance. Colors appear more vibrant, images are sharper, and contrast is enhanced—perfect for bold marketing designs.
- Smooth Coated Surface: Unlike uncoated paper, gloss cover has a sealed surface that keeps ink sitting on top of the sheet. This results in crisp text, rich colors, and excellent image reproduction.
- Lightweight Yet Durable: 80# Gloss Cover is thinner and more flexible than heavier cover stocks like 14pt, making it ideal for applications that require durability without excessive stiffness.
- Limited Write-On Capability: Due to the glossy coating, writing with standard pens or markers can be difficult and may smudge. Permanent markers are recommended if writing is required.
Best Use Cases
- Postcards & Direct Mail: A cost-effective option for high-volume mailers where bright color and visual impact are key.
- Marketing Flyers & Handouts: Great for promotional materials that need to pop with color while remaining easy to distribute.
- Menus & Event Promotions: Ideal for showcasing photos and graphics with a clean, professional shine.
18Pt C1S Gloss Cover Paper
18Pt C1S (Coated One Side) Gloss Cover is an ultra-thick, premium cardstock featuring a high-gloss coating on the front side and an uncoated matte surface on the back. This combination provides vibrant print quality on the front while leaving the reverse side ideal for writing or stamping.
Key Characteristics
- Gloss Coated Front Surface: The front side features a smooth, reflective gloss coating that enhances color vibrancy and image sharpness. Graphics and photographs appear bright, crisp, and highly detailed.
- Writable Uncoated Back: The reverse side is left uncoated, making it easy to write on with pens, markers, or stamps. This makes it especially useful for applications that require notes, appointment information, or mailing details.
- Extra-Thick Cardstock: At 18pt thickness, this stock is heavier and more rigid than standard 14pt or 16pt cover papers. It delivers a strong, durable feel that communicates premium quality and stands up well to handling and mailing.
Best Use Cases
- Postcards & Direct Mail: One of the most popular choices for postcards where the front features vibrant marketing graphics and the back needs to remain writable for addresses or messages.
- Premium Marketing Cards: Ideal for promotional handouts, rack cards, and announcement cards that require both durability and high-impact printing.
- Appointment & Loyalty Cards:
14Pt Uncoated Cover Paper
14Pt Uncoated Cover is a premium, heavyweight cardstock with a smooth, natural paper surface and no gloss coating. It is widely used for printed materials that require a sturdy feel and a clean, classic appearance.
Key Characteristics
- Natural, Non-Gloss Finish: Because the paper is uncoated, it has a soft, matte surface that absorbs ink slightly into the fibers. This creates a more subtle, refined look without glare or shine.
- Excellent Write-On Surface: The uncoated texture makes it easy to write on with pens or markers, making it perfect for materials that may require notes, signatures, or stamps.
- Heavyweight Cardstock Feel: At 14pt thickness, this stock is noticeably thicker and more rigid than text-weight papers. It delivers a professional, durable feel similar to traditional cardstock used for high-end printed pieces.
Best Use Cases
- Postcards & Direct Mail: A popular choice for postcards where durability and a writable surface are important for mailing, notes, or promotional messages.
- Business Cards & Appointment Cards: Provides a sturdy, professional feel with a classic, understated look.
- Premium Flyers & Handouts: Ideal for marketing pieces that need to feel substantial while maintaining a clean, natural paper appearance.
1 Color Ink Printing:
In professional printing, 1-color printing refers to a process where only a single, pre-mixed ink is used to create an image. Unlike CMYK, which mixes colors on the page, 1-color printing uses a specific ink color—often referred to as a Spot Color.
Why Choose 1-Color Printing?
- Budget-Friendly: It is typically the most economical option for high-volume items like envelopes, business forms, or simple promotional flyers.
- Brand Consistency: Many brands use a single spot color for their logo to ensure it never varies, avoiding the slight shifts that can happen in 4-color process printing.
- Specialty Inks: 1-color printing allows for inks that CMYK cannot replicate, such as true metallics (gold, silver) or neon/fluorescent colors.
- Cleanliness: Fine lines and small text are much sharper because they are printed with one solid plate rather than four overlapping plates.
Full Color (CMYK) Printing
In the professional printing industry, Full-Color Printing—also known as 4-Color Process or CMYK—is the standard method for reproducing high-quality, photographic-style images. Instead of using thousands of different colored inks, this process relies on just four primary ink colors to create a near-infinite spectrum of shades.
The Four Essential Inks
The “CMYK” acronym stands for the four specific ink colors used on the press:
- Cyan (C): A vibrant blue-green.
- Magenta (M): A deep, purplish-red.
- Yellow (Y): A bright, standard yellow.
- Black (K): Known as the "Key" color. It is used to add depth, contrast, and fine detail that the other three colors cannot achieve on their own.
Why Use Full-Color Printing?
- Photographic Realism: It is the only way to accurately reproduce photographs and complex illustrations with subtle shading.
- Production Efficiency: It allows a printer to run many different jobs at once using the same four ink reservoirs, making it highly cost-effective for brochures, postcards, and catalogs.
- Standardization: Because CMYK is a universal language, a design created in a program like Adobe Illustrator or Canva can be printed with consistent results across different professional print shops.
UV Coating:
UV coating is a liquid, clear compound applied to printed paper surfaces and cured almost instantly using ultraviolet light. It is one of the most popular finishing techniques in the printing industry because it provides a significantly higher level of gloss and protection compared to standard aqueous coatings or varnishes.
What Does It Do?
- Creates High-Impact Shine: UV coating can produce an extremely "wet" look, making colors appear more vibrant, rich, and saturated. It is often used on postcards, book covers, and brochures to create a premium feel.
- Provides Superior Protection: Once cured, the coating acts as a tough, plastic-like shield. It is highly resistant to:
- Scuffing and scratching during shipping.
- Fingerprints and smudging from handling.
- Moisture and chemicals.
- Allows for Spot Finishing: Unlike some laminates, UV coating can be applied to the entire page (Flood UV) or just to specific areas (Spot UV). This allows you to highlight specific design elements—like a logo or a photo—by making them shiny while the rest of the page remains matte.
- Increases Durability: It adds a layer of thickness and "snap" to the paper, making thinner cardstocks feel more substantial and professional.
Aqueous Coating:
Aqueous is a water-based coating applied inline while the ink is still wet. It’s thinner than UV and dries with hot air rather than light.
- Best for: Interior pages of magazines, mass-market flyers, and food packaging.
- Why use it: It’s faster and cheaper for high-volume runs. It prevents "set-off" (ink transferring from one sheet to the back of another) without adding the intense glare of UV.
Which one fits your project?
- Use UV Coating if you want a "luxury" feel, high-contrast colors, or want to highlight a specific logo with
- Use Aqueous if you just need a basic seal to keep the ink from smearing on a large mailer or brochure.
Why stop at printing?
Take your marketing further with professionally printed postcards—delivered straight to your customers’ mailboxes. At Highridge Graphics, we don’t just print high-quality postcards—we can also handle the entire mailing process for you.
What’s Included in Our Mail House Services?
Mailing List Management
We help you clean, organize, and optimize your mailing list to ensure accurate delivery. This includes removing duplicates, correcting addresses, and preparing your data for processing.
Addressing & Variable Data Printing
Each postcard or mail piece is personalized with recipient addresses using high-speed inkjet or digital printing. We can also incorporate variable data such as names, promotions, or unique offers.
Sorting & Presorting for Postal Discounts
We organize your mail according to USPS requirements to qualify for bulk mailing discounts. Proper presorting helps reduce postage costs and speeds up delivery.
Postage Handling
We calculate and apply the correct postage for your project. Whether it’s First-Class, Standard Mail, or EDDM, we ensure your mail is processed efficiently and cost-effectively.
Bundling & Preparation
Mail pieces are grouped, bundled, and labeled according to postal regulations. This step ensures your mail is accepted quickly by the post office without delays.
Delivery to USPS
We transport your completed mailing directly to the appropriate USPS facility, ensuring timely entry into the mail stream.
Postcard Printing FAQs
What sizes do you offer for postcards?
We offer a wide range of standard postcard sizes, including:
- 4″ x 6″
- 4.25″ x 6″
- 5″ x 7″
- 5.5″ x 8.5″
- 6″ x 9″
- 6″ x 11″
Custom sizes are also available to fit your specific needs.
Do you offer full color postcard printing?
Yes! We specialize in full color (CMYK) postcard printing for vibrant, high-quality results. Full color printing is ideal for marketing pieces, promotions, and direct mail campaigns.
Can I print postcards in black ink only?
Absolutely. We offer 1 color (black ink) postcard printing for a clean, cost-effective option—perfect for simple designs or bulk mailings.
What paper options are available?
We offer a variety of premium paper stocks, including:
- Gloss coated (shiny, vibrant colors)
- Matte coated (smooth, non-gloss finish)
- Uncoated (easy to write on)
- Heavyweight cardstock options
Do I need to include bleed in my file?
Yes. If your design extends to the edge of the postcard, you should include:
- 0.125″ bleed on all sides
- Keep important text inside a 0.25″ safe margin
This ensures clean, professional trimming.
What file format should I submit?
We recommend:
- Print-ready PDF (preferred)
- Adobe Illustrator (.AI)
- Photoshop (.PSD)
Make sure your file is set to CMYK color mode and 300 DPI.
Do fonts need to be outlined?
Yes. Fonts should be:
- Converted to outlines
OR - Embedded in your PDF
This prevents font issues during printing.
Do you offer mailing services?
Yes! We offer postcard mailing services, including:
- Addressing
- Sorting
- Bulk mailing preparation
This makes it easy to go from print to mailbox.
How fast is turnaround time?
Turnaround times vary depending on quantity and specifications, but we offer:
- Standard production timelines
- Rush options available upon request
Can you help design my postcard?
Yes! We offer professional design services to help create eye-catching postcards that get results. Whether you have a concept or need something from scratch, we can help.
What is the minimum order quantity?
Minimums may vary, but we can accommodate both small runs and large bulk orders depending on your project.
How do I get started?
Getting started is easy:
- Request a quote
- Upload your artwork or use one of our templates
- Approve your proof
- We print and deliver your postcards