Postcard Printing Mailing

Description

Postcards with Mailing can be printed 1 or 2-sided. They come in a wide variety of sizes and on a broad range of heavier substrates. Different coating choices and optional rounded corners add to your unique design.

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.

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. Turnaround time does not begin until proofs are approved.

Postage pricing information is approximate as USPS regulations are changing early 2013. Mailing jobs with 200-499 units will cost $.32 per unit. Orders with 500 and more units are $.24 per unit for mailing.

Track Mail

Want to know when your customers receive their mail? Then 'track my mail' is the feature for you! It's simple: once your uploaded mail list is processed, our team will send you a link for login. After this setup is complete, you'll be able to view and track your customer's mail pieces from the time they hit the post office all the way to the mailbox.

Note: The tracking mail software's scan rate is not 100% guaranteed, as some post offices do not have scanners.

Standard Sizes

Our standard sizes, listed below, are the most popular in the industry:

• 4' x 9'
• 4.25' x 5.5'
• 6' x 4'
• 6' x 4.25'
• 6' x 9'
• 6' x 11'
• 7' x 5'
• 8.5' x 5.5'
• 8.5' x 11'

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 Uncoated Cover

You may be familiar with this type of stock from thick index cards, though the finish is much higher quality.

This is a very versatile stock. The uncoated finish is good when you don't want a slick and shiny look, while the firm 14 Pt. stock folds precisely.

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.

16 Pt C2S Gloss Cover

You may be familiar with this type of stock from heavy bookmarks or other products printed on a semi-rigid card stock.

This is our thickest stock and comes with a gloss coating on both sides. Because of its thickness, it is not ideal for folding unless scored first.

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.

Sample Books

Every Zoo customer may order one free 4-Color Offset sample book. Additional sample books and a complete kit can be ordered by clicking here.

4/4

Full color on both sides of the sheet. This option can reproduce the range of colors you see in a typical photograph out of the standard 4 printing colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Typical examples of this are magazine covers and high-end catalogs.

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 1 Side

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

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 2 Sides

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.

Spot UV front only, Dull Varnish 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.

Dull Varnish is applied overall to the backside and reduces the gloss of the printing. This varnish can be written on with a ballpoint pen.

Note: Our Spot UV is Non-Traditional. We first applied an Overall UV coating and then run a 2nd pass with Spot Dull Varnish to dull back the areas that do not require UV.

Explanation of Turnaround Time

Production timeline beings upon approval of the proof. All times are based on standard business days Monday through Friday excluding federal holidays. For orders shipping to the West Coast, please use the Pacific time zone. For orders shipping to the Midwest and East Coast, please use the Eastern time zone. Please see the below map.

Please note the production timeline does not include shipping or mailing time. During the order process you will have the option to select from available production timelines and your preferred shipping method.

Our products are the same great quality for every turnaround time we offer.

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

A. 1-2 Day Shipped Orders
These orders will be ready to ship in 1-2 business days after 4:00 PM. Example: A Next Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready to ship Tuesday after 4:00 PM. A 1-2 Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready to ship on Tuesday or Wednesday after 4:00 PM.

B. 1-2 Day Will Call Orders
These orders will be ready to pick up in 1-2 business days after 4:00 PM. Example: A Next Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready for pick up Tuesday after 10:00 AM. A 1-2 Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready for pick up on Tuesday or Wednesday after 4:00 PM.

C. 1-2 Day Free Delivery Orders
These orders will be ready for delivery in 1-2 business days. Example: A Next Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready to deliver on Wednesday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. A 1-2 Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready to deliver on Wednesday or Thursday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM *Free Delivery adds one day to your print cycle.

Note: Free delivery is currently only offered to customers near our California production facility. To see if your zip code qualifies, visit 'Free Delivery' under the 'Services' section.

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

A. 2-3 Day Shipped Orders
These orders will be ready to ship in 2-3 business days after 4:00 PM. Example: A Next Day order placed on Monday before cutoff would be ready to ship Tuesday after 4:00 PM. A 2-3 Day order placed Monday before cuttoff would be ready to ship on Wednesday or Thursday after 4:00 PM.

B. 2-3 Day Will Call Orders
These orders will be ready for pick up in 2-3 business days after 4:00 PM. Example: A Next Day order placed Monday before cuttoff would be ready to pick up Tuesday after 10:00AM. A 2-3 Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready pick up on Wednesday or Thursday after 4:00 PM.

C. 2-3 Day Free Delivery Orders
These orders will be ready to deliver in 2-3 business days. Example: A Next Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready to deliver Wednesday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. A 2-3 Day order placed Monday before cutoff would be ready to deliver on Thursday or Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. * Free delivery adds one day to your order due date.

Note: Free delivery is currently only offered to customers near our California production facility. To see if your zip code qualifies, visit 'Free Delivery' under the 'Services' section.

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

Rounded Corners

Rounded corners use extra finishing to convert regular square corners into rounded corners. Rounded corners represent 1/4 of a circle. We offer them in 4 sizes described by the radius of the full circle.

Please Note: The USPS will not mail items with rounded corners in excess of 1/8' Since this product is mailed, the only rounded corner option is 1/8'

If you prefer rounded corners on only 1, 2, or 3 corners, please submit a custom estimate.

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:

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.

Quantity

Quantity availability is dependent on the order specifications you choose. To see available quantities, complete all order specifications in the pricing calculator and click on the 'Quantity' dropdown menu.

Due to our production process, we print in specific increments. If you would like an amount not listed in the pricing calculator, request a custom estimate for the quantity needed.

Generally, we print more than the quantity ordered. Due to this being a manufacturing process, the total finished quantity may vary. These quantities can vary +/- 5%, with the norm typically being more than less. Standard industry procedure considers this range 'shipment in full.'

When to choose Offset

4-Color Offset printing is ideal for lower prices on large quantity orders or any time you would like coating on your products.

Almost always, people choose this option when ordering large quantities.

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 on 'Estimates' located at the top of the page.

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

Please Select Template Below:

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. This template can be imported into: InDesign, Quark Express, Illustrator, Corel Draw, and many other content creation programs.

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group and is a basic raster file format. This template is recommended for Photoshop.

EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript. This template is recommended for advanced Illustrator users only.

Create Your Own Templates

Video tutorials coming soon!

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.

If you are uploading PDF files created in Photoshop, please be sure all layers are flattened.

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. Specify trim area with crop marks. (Don't place crop marks inside the work area.)


4. 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.


5. 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.


6. 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.

File Orientation

Please click the link below for an explanation of 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.

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.File check does not apply to No Proof, Run As-Is. No Proof, Run As-Is jobs print from the exact file(s) you upload unless it is not possible to print because your supplied file does not match the specifications ordered.

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.

Spot UV 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.

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. Create a Spot UV template along with regular file. The Spot UV template file is used to show where the UV coating needs to be applied. Create a mask file in a vector based program such as Illustrator or CorelDRAW. Use solid 100% K to indicate where you would like the UV. Do not use shadows, glows or grayscale images. White areas will indicate no UV.

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

4. Specify trim area with crop marks (Don't place crop marks inside the work area).

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.

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.

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.