Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Custom post cards give you a choice of size rather than one fixed format. 4.25" x 5.5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 5.5" x 8.5", 6" x 9", and 6" x 11" are all available, along with fully custom dimensions for a design that doesn't fit a standard ratio. That range makes them the pick for anyone whose mailing needs shift by campaign: a small announcement one month, an oversized photo-driven promo the next, all printed on the same durable card stock with the same finishing options.
An estimator will reply within one business day.
The defining feature of a custom post card isn't the card itself. Construction is the same sturdy single- or double-sided cardstock used across the format. It's the size. Where a standard postcard locks you into one dimension, the custom option opens up a working range: 4.25" x 5.5" for a compact, USPS-friendly mailer at the low end, up through 5" x 7", 5.5" x 8.5", 6" x 9", and 6" x 11" for pieces that need more room for photography or a longer message, plus fully custom dimensions when none of those standard sizes fit the design.
That range matters because postcards get used for genuinely different jobs. A small, low-cost size makes sense for high-volume direct mail where postage cost per piece is the dominant expense and the message is short. An announcement, a date, a phone number. A larger format earns its higher unit cost when the card is doing more visual work: a real estate listing with a full property photo, an event invitation with a detailed schedule, or a retail promotion built around product photography that needs room to breathe. Matching the size to the job, rather than defaulting to whatever's cheapest, is usually the difference between a postcard that gets read and one that gets tossed with the rest of the mail.
Stock weight, coating, and printing process stay consistent across every size. Typically 14pt to 16pt cardstock, full CMYK color, and a choice of gloss, matte, or UV coating depending on how glossy or restrained the finished piece should look. Rounded corners and other light die-cut treatments are a common upgrade for postcards meant to stand out visually from a stack of ordinary rectangular mail.
Retailers running seasonal promotions, real estate agents advertising new or updated listings, restaurants announcing openings or menu changes, and any direct-mail campaign targeting a specific size envelope or mailbox slot are the most frequent buyers of custom sizing. Because postal regulations set minimum and maximum postcard dimensions for standard-rate mailing, it's worth confirming a chosen size against current postal specs before finalizing a design meant to go through the mail rather than be handed out in person.
A postcard travels through a mechanised postal system unprotected by an envelope, which is a harsher journey than most printed pieces face. Most postal services set a minimum stiffness for that reason. Cover weights from 300gsm upward survive it and arrive looking intended rather than battered; lighter stock arrives curled at the corners, which undoes the impression before it is read.
Is there a minimum thickness for mailing? Most postal services set one. Check your carrier's requirement before ordering. An under-thickness card can be surcharged or refused.
The reverse of a postcard is a shared surface: your message on one half, the address and postage on the other, with a dividing line between them. Postal systems reserve specific areas for the address block and machine-readable barcodes, and printing into those zones can slow a mailing or get it rejected. That constraint is fixed, and it should shape the layout from the start.
Can I print across the whole back? No. The address block and barcode area must stay clear. We mark those zones on your proof.
The two sides often want different treatments, and they can have them. A gloss or matte coating on the image side protects it through the post and lifts the color. The address side frequently needs to stay uncoated, because postal barcodes and handwritten additions both need a surface that accepts ink, and gloss rejects pen entirely.
Can one side be gloss and the other uncoated? Yes, and on a mailed postcard it is usually the right answer: gloss for the image, writable for the address.
Beyond cutting, the practical work is getting the run mail-ready: addresses printed as variable data straight onto the card, sorted into mailing sequence where the postal rate requires it, and corners rounded where a square corner would bend in transit. Doing all of that in one place removes the handover where mailings most often stall.
Can you address and mail them for us? Yes. Addresses printed from your spreadsheet, sorted, and handed to the postal service. It is usually cheaper than labeling by hand.
Several standard sizes rather than one, from compact formats up to oversized cards. The choice is rarely aesthetic: each size sits in a different postal bracket, and moving up a size can change the rate for the entire mailing. On a run of thousands, that per-piece difference usually outweighs every other consideration in the specification.
Which size should I choose? Work backwards from the postal rate on your volume. The cheapest bracket your content fits is nearly always the right answer.
Check your carrier's minimum thickness before choosing. A postcard that fails it can be surcharged or refused, whatever it looks like.
Gloss or matte on the image side, uncoated on the address side. It is the finish that suits a mailed postcard best, because the two faces genuinely need different things from their surfaces.
A small radius so corners do not bend in mechanised sorting. Square corners on a mailed card are where damage starts, and the fix costs almost nothing.
Names and addresses printed directly onto the card from your spreadsheet, in mailing sequence. It removes labeling entirely and generally costs less than the labor it replaces.
A raised gloss or metallic element on the image side. On a card that arrives unprotected in a stack of post, a finish that catches light is what stops it being sorted straight into the bin.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Post card | From | Size | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat Post Cards | $170 | 5″ × 7″, one fixed size | A straightforward mailing, no size decision |
| Custom Post Cards | $170 | A range of standard sizes | Size should follow the postal rate |
Work backwards from the postal rate at your volume rather than from the design. Each size sits in a different bracket, and on a run of thousands the per-piece difference usually outweighs every other consideration.
A larger card is harder to ignore in a stack of post, which does help. Whether it beats sending more of a smaller card for the same total cost is a question worth actually running the numbers on.
Yes. Addresses printed as variable data from your spreadsheet, sorted into mailing sequence, and handed to the postal service. Doing it in one place removes the handover where mailings most often stall.
Not by scaling. Proportions differ, and the address zone stays a fixed size regardless of the card. The artwork needs adapting per size, particularly on the reverse.
Pricing for custom post cards starts at $170 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of custom post cards prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof of both faces with the postal clear zones marked. If we are addressing the run, we proof sample records from your list so you can check the field mapping before the whole file is printed. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Photographic elements should be supplied at the resolution the finished size needs, not the resolution that looks sharp on screen. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. A range of sizes, each with a postal consequence is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: a range of standard sizes. Order it when size should follow the postal rate. If you have seen it called custom post cards printing elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on custom post cards it is worth asking for one, because the difference between cover weight and heavy cover is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on heavy cover, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are split coating, rounded corners, variable data addressing. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: custom post cards are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. If nothing about the artwork or the specification has changed, there is nothing to re-approve. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
