When we decided in the EcoEtsy meeting to create postcards that can be printed at home, this actually was more involved than I think anyone could have expected. My first "finished" design was in PDF format ... which was great for anyone who has the ability to open a .pdf. But what about those of us who can't? And then there was the issue of cutting ... how do we know where to trim them? Or if we use Avery postcards, will they work?
So. To the right are all the templates. Below is an explanation of what each template means, as well as a general guide to what is required for us to print postcards that can actually be sent in the mail. After all, what kind of eco-friendly group are we if we're creating postcards that do nothing but use up paper?
Table of Contents:
- Printing Tips
-The Business Card-Size Templates
-The Postcard-Size Templates
-About Sizing Postcards
-"Limited Edition" Spring Templates
The design of both sizes of cards is created to work with all types of card stock, but will show up best on light colors (cream, white, natural recycled colors). Stay away from colors that might mix with the ink - yellow paper really does turn the bird a funky green, as I found by accident.
The Business Card Sized Templates
There are two basic files (in different formats ... which we'll get into) for the business card size: Fronts and Backs.
The backs are universal. No matter how you decide to use the front, you'll need to print the back. This gives us a couple options: first, we can go the easy route and print the fronts designed for our team. Secondly, we can go the repurposing route, and create our own fronts. Draw, paint, collage, sew, the possibilities are endless.
The fronts are two types: the card on the left in the thumbnails is ready to go. The card on the right of the printout has space for you to write, draw, or stamp your own Etsy store URL in.
The filetypes work like this:
PDF Print: If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader (any version from 5 on up), please use the .pdf files. These will result in a super high-quality print, with no pixellation or feathered edges. The layout is designed so that those of us who want to use Avery's business card paper can do so (it's perforated so all that we have to do is tear it out once it's printed). The product numbers this is compatible with are: 27871, 27881, 27882, 28371, 28877, 5371, 5376, 5377, 5870, 5871, 5876, 5877, 5882, 5911, 8371, 8374, 8376, 8377, 8471, 8476, 8571, 8865, 8870, 8871, 8873, 8875, 8876, 8877 - If you are using Avery CLEAN EDGE Business Cards, be sure your product package states "Two-Side Printable."
JPG Print: If you don't have (or can't get) Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can use the .jpg files. These are still a quality print, but they're not as high resolution as the .pdf files so they won't be as crisp. The layout is designed so that those of us who want to use Avery's business card paper can do so (it's perforated so all that we have to do is tear it out once it's printed). The product numbers this is compatible with are: 27871, 27881, 27882, 28371, 28877, 5371, 5376, 5377, 5870, 5871, 5876, 5877, 5882, 5911, 8371, 8374, 8376, 8377, 8471, 8476, 8571, 8865, 8870, 8871, 8873, 8875, 8876, 8877 - If you are using Avery CLEAN EDGE Business Cards, be sure your product package states "Two-Side Printable."
There are two basic files (in different formats ... which we'll get into) for the postcards: Postcard Fronts and Postcard Backs.
The postcard backs are universal. No matter how you decide to use the front, you'll need to print the back. This gives us a couple options: first, we can go the easy route and print the fronts designed for our team. Secondly, we can go the repurposing route, and create our own fronts. Draw, paint, collage, sew, the possibilities are endless. Just make sure that if you design your own front that you don't leave anything "poking out" or the postal service might not accept it.
The postcard fronts are two types: the card on the left in the thumbnails is ready to go. The card on the right of the printout has space for you to write, draw, or stamp your own Etsy store URL in.
The filetypes are where things get fun.
PDF Print: If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader (any version from 5 on up), please use the .pdf files. These will result in a super high-quality print, with no pixellation or feathered edges. The layout is designed to work with Avery postcard paper as well (it's perforated so all that we have to do is tear it out once it's printed). The product numbers this is compatible with are: 28389, 3248, 5889, 8386, 8389
JPG Print: If you don't have (or can't get) Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can use the .jpg files. These are still a quality print, but they're not as high resolution as the .pdf files so they won't be as crisp. This will also print out on Avery's postcard paper (it's perforated so all that we have to do is tear it out once it's printed). The product numbers this is compatible with are: 28389, 3248, 5889, 8386, 8389
When making postcards that can actually be sent through the postal service, there are a few things we have to be certain of:
- Size: Standard postcards must be 5.6" x 4.25", Jumbo (or Oversized) postcards must be 8.5" x 5.5" - no more, no less.
- Empty Areas on the Back: The U.S. postal service won't send a postcard if it doesn't have space for the stamp, address, and bottom empty area for postal service use. They also have to be specifically measured. I have placed a diagram of the standard size here, and the oversized postcard here.
- Front Content: The U.S. postal service won't send a postcard if the front of the card contains any objectionable material (promotion of morally questionable themes) or if it has design elements that might fall off and jam up sorting machines.
The Etsy listing "promo" image (just add it to your listings when you have a photo slot free) has been updated and you can grab it here.
Want to see what other team members have done with the promos they've printed? I'm keeping a running list here. If you'd like to have your shop listed in the blog, just take a pic and let me share it.
To use one of the link banners, either save the image to your hard drive and upload it to your server or (if you're using it on a blog or something similar), copy-paste the html code below the banner into the space you want to display from.
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Templates
Please reference the guide to the left so that you get the template(s) you want. To download, right-click on the image and choose "Save Link As" or "Save Target As", depending on your browser. This will let you save it directly to your hard drive for printing and playing with.
The EcoEtsy "Limited Edition" Summer Templates
Periodically (hopefully with the changing seasons, but at least as often as time permits) I will change out the "limited edition" templates here. These templates will always be something fun, a little bit different than our standard business card and postcards, and always reflect the season. These templates are only in PDF format for file size reasons. The same printing tips apply as shown to the left.
Each of these templates are one-sided, much easier to deal with than trying to get your printer to figure out two sides and line them up properly. So, just print, cut, and give. Easy peasy, right? :)
Summer's well on its way to getting here, so let's get ready with some brighter, richer-colored promos that reflect the lush beauty of summer. This time, we have 3"x3" square stickers and an envelope (print on heavy paper, recycled paper, or card stock) to gift them in. Then, we've got a couple of thank-you hangtags that print out on Avery business cards and include two tags per "business card" - more stuff in less space! Print these on any of the Avery templates listed below, or just print on your favorite recycled papers and cut the squares out.
Avery Business Card 25371, 27870, 27871, 27881, 27882, 28371, 28373, 28877, 3612, 5371, 5372, 5376, 5377, 5870, 5871, 5872, 5873, 5876, 5878, 5881, 5882, 5911, 8271, 8272, 8371, 8372, 8373, 8374, 8376, 8377, 8471, 8476, 8571, 8870, 8871, 8872, 8873, 8874, 8876, 8877, 8878, 8879
