How do you stay in contact with folks without e-mail and without breaking your budget? Why, the good old postcard, of course! Postcard printing is one of the most cost-effective ways to maintain contact… whether it’s with clients, customers, constituents, members of your club or other organization, or just plain friends.

It’s not just inexpensive to print full-color postcards… they’re a bargain to mail, as well.

The postage rate to send a postcard via First Class mail is just 23 cents… that’s significantly less than a letter at 37 cents. In order to qualify for that rate, however, the final trim size of the printed postcard must be 5 to 6 inches in length and 3-1/2 to 4-1/4 inches in height. (The card rate includes double postcards with reply cards.)

Watch out if you get those postcards printed in a different size… they won’t qualify for the special rate and you’ll end up paying the full ticket.

Economies of scale are a big factor in printing, and postcard printing is no exception. Multiple postcard designs are typically “ganged” on one sheet of paper as it runs through the printing press. The huge sheets of paper are trimmed down into individual postcards once the job is off the press. Ganging print runts can can cut down on the price of each job dramatically. For example: instead of printing twelve different postcards on twelve different sheets of paper, all twelve run through the press at once.

If you can’t find a local printer to handle the job at a reasonable price, there are a good many Internet-based postcard printers fighting for your business. Competition for your printing dollar is fierce.

TIP: While it’s usually a good idea to have a reasonably thick varnish to protect the “picture” side of the postcard, you’ll probably want to leave the address side of the card alone… lest you run into problems with ink jet addressing.

Have you ever noticed how good looking postcards end up tacked up the bulletin board or refrigerator door? A nicely designed postcard will attract attention, and not just on the day it’s delivered.

[Related: Color Printing]