Postcards: alocalprinter.com or vistaprint or overnightprints.co.uk

[LongLensPhotography]

I have narrowed my postcard search a little bit.

For large orders www.alocalprinter.com seems to have good prices. Perhaps I could take my balloon fiesta design for 5000 order and I may get lucky.

Lower quantity runs seem more expensive. I have no idea whether the postcards would sell well enough and wouldn't want to commit fully yet.
I found the following 2: www.vistaprint.co.uk and www.overnightprints.co.uk
They seem to have good prices for about 100 cards.

My question is if anyone used them. What is the quality like? Is there anything better that doesn't cost a kidney (and I am very likely to pick the wrong photos for the market)?

What options are best: laminated, UV coated, single sided / double sided etc? Is there any risk to framed picture sales by producing A5 postcards? Is A6 more reasonable?

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Anoyne tried them?

 

[Jimmy_Lemon]

I actually just got some of the Vistaprint postcards, they keep offering me 100 for 'free' so gave it a go and am impressed with the quality to be honest print quality is good and they offer a good template for designing the back end, explaining what needs to be left blank for addresses etc. I followed a link from an email so not sure which ones I ordered, looking on the site I think it was their 'standard size' postcards, with the standard paper weight.

 

[jerry12953]

Just a few thoughts....

You seem to have found an eco-friendly printer that offers good prices! I'm not sure that the print quality on recycled card would be as good as non-recycled. Recycled card is said to be "dusty", though that might be a thing of the past.

5000 cards for £85 = 1.7p each - that's good! But I seriously question whether you be able to sell 5000 of a single card.....

The card might be a little on the thin side.

A6 = standard postcard size, isn't it? How much can you sell them for? There is a limit!

I wouldn't bother with laminating. It's like a thin plastic film laid down over the print surface which tends to make the postcard bend. The plastic doesn't shrink/stretch like the "paper" does.

I think a varnish on the colour side is a good idea, it tends to make the colours a tiny bit more vivid and will slightly protect the ink from getting rubbed off.

Single sided card is smooth on the printed side, but not on the back. I think double sided card looks classier, but ink from a biro/rollerball pen will soak into the rougher finish of single sided board slightly better.

Good luck!

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Just a few thoughts....

You seem to have found an eco-friendly printer that offers good prices! I'm not sure that the print quality on recycled card would be as good as non-recycled. Recycled card is said to be "dusty", though that might be a thing of the past.

5000 cards for £85 = 1.7p each - that's good! But I seriously question whether you be able to sell 5000 of a single card.....

The card might be a little on the thin side.

They do both 100% recycled AND "300gsm silk". Is the latter also recycled? Is 300gsm considered to be thin?

Sorry I don't know much about these technical terms yet.

I am not sure if I can sell 5000 of a single card, but perhaps it is better to take 5000 rather than 500 at the same price. One design has a chance to sell well, the others perphaps not so much. At the end of the day the market is never completely predictable.

 

[jerry12953]

They do both 100% recycled AND "300gsm silk". Is the latter also recycled? Is 300gsm considered to be thin?

Sorry I don't know much about these technical terms yet.

I am not sure if I can sell 5000 of a single card, but perhaps it is better to take 5000 rather than 500 at the same price. One design has a chance to sell well, the others perphaps not so much. At the end of the day the market is never completely predictable.

I *think* mine are printed on 380gsm card, so the card is more sturdy (grams per square meter), and probably thicker, but not necessarily so, apparently. Silk is the name for the finish. It's kind of smooth and probably pure white, like good quality paper. Single sided card just on the front, double sided on the back as well. 100% recycled is erm....100% recycled! I would ask to see samples of each, and ask if the finish is as good on recycled.

Recycled paper has much to recommend it, but possibly more so down the paper chain...... (eg tissue)

j

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Update: I have received samples from alocalprinter and overnightprints. Alocalprinter I would say is more suitable for mass marketing campaign rather than art postcards. Overnightprints postcards are somewhat thinner than I would ideally like, but the greeting cards are spot on.

Perhaps I should think whether I want to do greeting cards instead of posters? Perhaps I could throw in a calendar or two? Maybe a new thread for this?