Design

Design Guidelines: Printed Postcards

May 3, 2024
By:
Brandon
5 minutes

In this article we'll go over the print guidelines for creating printed our 3 printed postcard products

4.2" x 6.2" Design Template

6.2" x 9.2" Design Template

6.2" x 11.2" Design Template

Design Guidelines for Printed Postcards

We make it easy to get started with designing your first printed postcard! Simply follow the guidelines below and you’ll be on your way to creating a one-of-a-kind experience your clients won’t forget.

Trim Zone

For best results, your design should be approximately 0.2" inches larger than the actual card size.

Specifically, a 4" x 6" postcard design should be 4.2" x 6.2"; a 6” x 9” postcard design should be 6.2" x 9.2"; and 6” x 11” should be 6.2” x 11.2”.

This extra space is called the bleed area and helps account for any printing and cutting variations to ensure that there are no white borders once the card is trimmed.

Text Safe Zone

To guarantee that no important information is cut off during the trimming process please make sure to keep all of the text within the safe zone.

Addressing Area ("Ink Free")

On each of our design templates you’ll notice an addressing area thats Ink-Free, this is a dedicated space on each postcard reserved for the US Postal Service address, return address, and postage.

Please note, anything added to this area will not be printed, so please be careful when creating your design! This is to leave room for the required postage and address information.

Image Formatting

When uploading a PNG or JPEG file, please keep in mind that a minimum of 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch) is recommended. This will ensure that your prints come out looking crisp and high resolution.

How can I calculate DPI

Here’s an example using an image that’s 1260px x 1860px used to create a 4.2" x 6.20" postcard:

We’ve built a DPI calculator on our site as well that will show your DPI in real time, helping address any DPI related questions.

Lastly, please make sure that the files you upload to the app are less than 10MB in size. If either side of your design is too large that could impact printability.

Design Specs

4.2" x 6.2" Printed Postcard

  • Full Bleed Size: 4.2” x 6.2”
  • Trim Zone: 4” x 6”
  • Safe Zone: 4.7” x 5.7”

4.2" x 6.2" Downloadable Design Template

6.2" x 9.2" Printed Postcard

  • Full Bleed Size: 6.2” x 9.2”
  • Trim Zone: 6” x 9”
  • Safe Zone: 5.7” x 8.7”

6.2" x 9.2" Downloadable Design Template

6.2" x 11.2" Printed Postcard

  • Full Bleed Size: 6.2” x 11.2”
  • Trim Zone: 6” x 11”
  • Safe Zone: 5.7” x 10.7”

6.2" x 11.2" Downloadable Design Template

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