Please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong area, if I have, can you let me know where it should be?
I’m new to Postcrossing and this forum having found out about it from a friend.
I have a question about custom made cards and if they are acceptable or not.
The reason I ask is I cannot find any cards from my town only the city 11km away. I have some nice photos of the very local area and I’ve found a company that will print them at a reasonable cost including the “traditional” back.
Is that an acceptable thing to send on here or should they be the standard mass produced type as sold in tourist shops and post offices.
Welcome to Postcrossing!
According to the rules, all post cards are allowed, including self-made ones.
Some users don’t like self-made cards, I guess it is mainly because of the huge variance in quality (both of the material and of the design). I don’t know your cards so I don’t know whether people will like them
You are not required to send cards that people like, so you can send them anyway.
My advise would be, to maybe buy some non-view cards in addition to your self-designed, so you can choose based on the profile. Of course you are free to ignore that advise
There are some mixed feelings on this but generally if they are professionally printed and look nice (and are high quality image on high quality paper, thick etc) then they should be acceptable.
There are some serious collectors that do not like these but the vast majority of postcrossers would be happy with then I think (as long as it is a good photo on good paper, professional printing job).
I have recieved some professionally printed postcards (with “postcard backside”) made from people’s own photos - I think it’s a great idea when your place hasn’t any viewcards.
Hi @anon141542 , welcome to Postcrossing.
I have some that I had made by Moo. The photo is professional quality (I’m permitted to use it by the photographer and acknowledge his copyright on the back). The backs look like commercial postcards. The cardstock is suitable for mailing. They have always been well received.
As someone has already replied, all types of postcard are acceptable in Postcrossing and many people use print companies for this purpose.
Cards dont have to be from your town. UK members send cards showing postage stamp designs, royalty, aspects of pop culture, art, castles, tea, and other themes
The company I am looking at have excellent reviews for their quality, they say that they use standard card stock and a “traditional” back (writing side/address side).
They are very reasonably priced compared to the others I’ve seen, 100 cards is only £18 plus postage. At that price and, having read the reviews, I am happy to buy some and if they really look awfull put them in the recycling.
My few “local” card retailers stock more London postcards than ones of the very touristy city that is just a few miles down the road, London is roughly 50 miles from me.
Over time I will accrue a selection of non location specific cards too.
I would add that with mass produced cards there is a higher chance of users receiving duplicates (the first commercial card I sent was a duplicate apparently, as the recipient pointed out in their hurrah )
With a custom card, you guarantee the recipient will be getting a unique/new card, so I think that is kind of nice
It helps if either the company will assist you, or you already know how to prepare for print (set your bleeds/margins and DPI).
To be honest, the postcards I got printed by Moo are much higher quality than most postcards I can buy in regular shops. So I can’t see any issue there and I doubt anyone else will! When people say they don’t like handmade cards, I believe they usually mean self painted, something you have cut out yourself etc.
I have a different view about this. I prefer store-bought cards myself. Problem is, unless you are in a very tourist-type area, the pickings are slim . The next best place is source postcards is online. Not so much anymore (because of the shipping), but I bought a few hundred cards from eBay sellers in the UK. You have quite a few options that make custom-made things unnecessary…again in my opinion
Welcome to postcrossing!
Just do what you feel comfortable with. You just need to send a postcard. If you can, try to send something that you feel the recipient will really like.
I have received some amazing cards made from sender’s photos and absolutely loved them! Just today I got a card showing a picture of a sender’s dog. It felt really personal and special!
Just do what feels right for you! Go for it! The postcrossing community are generally really friendly and supportive.
100 of any single design is quite a lot. I sometimes buy bulk lot postcards from Ebay at a cheaper price. Recently I got 100 with a photo of a museum object…even with a free give away I still have 50 left. They will be on my shelf for quite awhile.
I have printed cards using my own photos and sent to users. I don’t think they even noticed the difference . I guess as long as they look like professional cards, all is fine.
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. I guess as long as they look like professional cards, all is fine.