Some Mailing Basics - Postcards

I have been receiving a lot of political mail as Election Day draws near. These mainly come in the form of what most people would probably call a postcard. They are printed on cover stock, usually in full color on both sides with an address area on the back and most are larger than a half-sheet of letter-sized paper.

However, these campaign mailers I've been receiving are not technically postcards. They are much too big. The United States Postal Service has strict definitions about what exactly can go through the mail as a postcard. The height of a postcard can be between 3.5 inches and 4.25 inches. The width of the postcard is a minimum of 5 inches and a maximum of 6 inches.

Do we really expect a politician running for office to fit a message in such a small space?

What is it then if it looks like a postcard but is bigger than 4.25 inches by 6 inches? The Post Office calls these letters. That's right. They are sent out at a letter rate. So if you want to send out an advertisement, using a postcard rate, you have to keep the final size of your design to 4.25 x 6 inches.

Don't worry if you, too, can't fit all you want to say on a small area; other sizes can mail just fine, they just are sent at the slightly more expensive letter rate. It's just a cost you need to take into consideration as you are designing your mailer.

Also, a common design move is to fill up a mailer with information on both sides, and leave a tiny corner on the back for the addressing. However, to qualify for the least expensive mailing rate, the area for the address on a postcard needs to fit certain specifications. Just about anything can mail, but if you are looking to save money, we highly recommend showing your design to the Post Office before it is finalized. Or email us a copy to info@lorrainepress.com and we'll take a look for you and let you know if and how the piece will go through the mail.

There are multitudes of variables when designing a piece for mailing. And we hope that if you run into any questions you'll email us or call. We'd love to help you produce a mailer or postcard that fits all postal requirements.