- Description
- Things You Should Know
- File Prep
- Print Specs
Natural kraft postcards printed on 18pt light kraft card stock evoke a rustic and artisanal appeal to create elegant postcard mailers, promotional cards and menus.
Your postcard is printed in full color with optional white ink printing. Adding white ink to your postcards is a great way to make your cards stand out.
Your postcard art is printed on one or both sides and, since this is a light brown card stock, your colors will appear a little more muted when compared to a white card stock. Though this creates a very desired look for many clients, you do have the option to add white ink to your design as a back up to brighten up your colors.
We print white ink on the stock before the full color inks, giving you the opportunity to not only create white design elements and graphics, but to also "back-up" your full color artwork to get brighter colors.
White Ink Is Not Opaque
The white ink used in this print method is not opaque and is somewhat transparent when applied to the Natural Kraft stock. It is not designed as a solid ink, but is more for design elements or to be used as a white backup to brighten the CMYK colours. Please request samples to see examples of the white ink prior to placing your order.
No Rich Black, Use K Only Greys
For best results, don't use rich black on 18pt Natural Kraft stock, as it can cause issues with mis-registration. 100% K will be just fine. If using grey, a black-ink only grey will give also give you best results.
Separate File or Artboard Indicating Spot White Required
For spot white printing we require you supply a separate additional page showing the spot white areas (eg: images, text etc.). For more information on setting up spot white for the 18pt Natural Kraft Cards, you can view our Spot Gloss tutorial as the setup is the same.
Spot White And CMYK Layers May Not Align Perfectly
Tightly registered detail using spot white can cause 'haloing', where the spot white might not exactly align with the CMYK elements. Anywhere that the white and CMYK tightly register and end together should be avoided.
Some Colors Are Hard To Read On This Stock
Some colors are hard to read due to the color of this card stock. Yellow/oranges, med browns and greens are good examples. When in doubt, default to a darker color!
Small Fonts Aren't Good
The minimum recommended text size is 6pt. With any small text, if grey use a Black Ink Only version; if Black, use 100% K to prevent issues with misregistration.
Thin Lines Aren't Good
Anything thinner than a hairline stroke (0.25") - even at 100% K may look choppy when printed due to digital print resolution.
Technical Specifications + Templates
Bleeds: all files must have a 1/8" bleed on each side
Live Area: keep all critical text and artwork 1/8" inside the trim
Colors: supply your files in CMYK color (Pantone/RGB colors will be converted or rejected)
Resolution: 300 dpi minimum (400 dpi preferred)
Fonts: fonts must converted to curves/outlines (we do not accept fonts).
Transparencies: flatten all transparencies
Types Of Files We Accept: MAC & PC files from Photoshop (PSD), Illustrator (EPS or AI), CorelDraw (CDR or EPS), Adobe Acrobat PDF, TIFF or JPEG.
| Trim Size | File Size | Template | |
| Postcard | 4.25" x 5.5" | 4.5" x 5.75" | UNAVAILABLE |
| Postcard | 6" x 4" | 6.25" x 4.25" | DOWNLOAD |
| Postcard | 6" x 4.25" | 6.25" x 4.5" | DOWNLOAD |
| Square Card | 5" x 5" | 5.25" x 5.25" | DOWNLOAD |
| Square Card | 6" x 6" | 6.25" x 6.25" | UNAVAILABLE |
| Postcard | 7" x 3.5" | 7.25" x 3.75" | DOWNLOAD |
| Fat Postcard | 7" x 5" | 7.25" x 5.25" | DOWNLOAD |
| Postcard | 8.5" x 3.5" | 8.75" x 3.75" | DOWNLOAD |
| Postcard | 8.5" x 4" | 8.75" x 4.25" | UNAVAILABLE |
| Product Card | 5.5" x 8.5" | 5.75" x 8.75" | DOWNLOAD |
Tutorials
- How to Setup Business Cards in Adobe Illustrator
- How to Setup Business Cards in Adobe Photoshop
- How to Setup Business Cards in Corel Draw
Specialty Tutorials
Print Specifications
Digitally Printed using Dry Electrostatic Transfer System
18pt Natural Kraft Card Stock, 100% recycled w/ minimum 30% post-consumer waste
Full Color Both Sides (4/4) or Full Color One Side (4/0) + spot white ink (optional)