Hallo, I am fairly new to Postcrossing. I see that people often request not to receive “DIY postcards”. I am wondering what the definition of DIY postcards are, as I am a photographer and have my own postcards printed professionally. Is this considered DIY, or do people mean hand-drawn or decorated blanks?
Attached is an example of a self-made postcard I might send.
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I would think DIY postcards mean self drawn or decorated cards.
I also have my own pictures made into postcards
(see SG-388736, SG-387017, SG-379660)
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First of all, don’t worry too much.
2nd i think it’s more meant for stuff like this 
Your card looks great! I would be glad to get a card like yours.
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I think it means handmade cards, such as paintings, collages, etc. I think yours are totally fine!
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Honestly, for a professional printed postcard like yours, I don’t think people will tell the difference between that and a store-bought one 
I would be extremely glad to receive that
Some people do not like postcards printed on online sites like Zazzle, because maybe it is not “local enough”, but that is not a DIY postcard too. It is just a self printed card
When printing your card, just go to your local printing shop, and perhaps design your own card back with your photographer branding. It should be fine by then and people will be very happy to receive them
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DIY=“Do it Yourself”
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People define it differently. Personally I don’t consider professionally printed cards as handmade ones.
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I think people generally call your cards self-printed ones, not handmade ones. And there are some people who mention in their profile that they prefer not to receive them. I would be glad to receive them myself, though.
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What is the difference between if the picture on the postcard is my design (painted or photographed) and I have it professionally printed 
so it is self printed, or if my neighbour did the same and I buy his postcard in a shop. So I can’t send my postcard, but I can send my neighbour’s?
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Actually I think members who don’t want self made, self printed, DIY etc. mean, that they only want cards printed by a print house and with for example the EAN code/barcode, so the card is not “limited edition” and/or made by any private person. They want sort of “trackable” card.
A little hard to explain, but if a person wants no homemade etc. I would not send a card professionally printed, even with professional photographer taken photo, but instead a card made by printhouse, that says “Karto” (the card maker) etc.
Of course here we are allowed to send what we want as long it’s a postcard, but this is my interpretation of “no homemade/DIY”. So I would not send a card I bought from a friend (who made it), even if it were not made by me then.
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