Glossy inkjet paper for postcard production

[swimwivsquid]

Can anyone suggest an inkjet glossy paper that is thick enough to produce postcards ie 14pt or thicker and is in sheet sizes rather than pre cut 6x4 etc. Also able to print black type on the reverse side. I have done a search on the forum but couldn't find anything. I want to produce small runs of postcards for some of the gift shops here on the island and buying in thousands at a time from a printer is not an economical option at this time. Thanks for any help. Richard

[mstevensphoto]

before you start selling them I highly recommend mailing a few to your friends in different states. I've not found an inkjet media that stands up to the USPS. The aqueous coatings from the mass printers really make the cards stand up. FYI, places like 4over.com can do pretty nice color work and 1000 postcards for $65 or less - which makes it 1000% worth it for me in the time saved in feeding, cutting, fixing mis-feeds and so on. I believe they can do runs as low as 250.

Mark

[Rhossydd]

As mark says, DIY printing isn't really robust enough for use in the mail.

You don't say where you're based, but if you're within the territory served by moo.com have a look. Their postcards are great quality and service is good too, sadly not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Paul

[mstevensphoto]

I also like moo.com, but they are on the higher end. most mass printers are going to gang print your work and therefore only generally color correct. I do a fair bit of offset printing so for what it's worth here are my thoughts on a few places

40ver.com - to the trades only, best combo of pretty good color mgt and price - nice thick postcard stock too. nice options like round corners on more products
printrunner.com - similar experience to 4over, nicer people, more expensive. fast turnaround, great customer service
gotprint.net - lots more expensive lots better color (still gang printed) - more options
vistaprint - worst of the cheapest, crappy paper, lousy color AND resolution control, dirt cheap.
blossom publishing - lots more options for a mass printer, WAY more expensive, they're a photographer marketing kind of place like Marathon and if you need design services or just don't know anything about offset printing they'll do a great job but the same thing can be had for a lot less.

there are a bajillion others, I've found that there's a sweet spot in price+paper quality+ ability to get my file close to what I wanted in a gang environment.

[swimwivsquid]

Thanks for your replies guys. The reason I am looking at printing them myself is that I am on a Caribbean island and to import litho printed cards means paying 65% duty on price of cards+shipping+customs broker + anything else that customs can think of to add which makes the cost prohibitive. To get any kind of realistic price that would make it worth while I would have to buy 1000 of each and I prefer to have control over the final result having owned a pro lab for 25 years. The thickest paper that I have found so far has been 12pt which I think would be borderline for a postcard.......

[bill t.]

The quality of most postcards you see at tourist joints and drugstores is below even what you expect to see from bargain online printers!  And that's a fact.

Have used printsmadeeasy.com for postcards, and they are pretty good for around 6 to 4 cents per glossy card for 1000/5000 quantities.

If you haven't used a supplier before, might be worth your while to order 100 cards or so.  Quality will vary on a batch by batch basic, but an initial small order can at least tell you if there's some sort of fundamental color management problem between you & the printer.

Some things with cheap online printers...

You will probably get the best color if you send them sRGB images.  Do not send them .pdf's.

If their online type editor works for you, use that instead of submitting your own type layer.  And any kind of rasterized type usually looks like crud when printed.

Don't forget the area that is safe from trimming is well inside the total image size.  Keep your type away from the edges.

Remember that an order of a few thousand postcards is one honkin' box o' paper that will cost something to ship!

If you are making promotional cards, keep your important contact information on the front of the card, because when it's pinned up on a wall nobody can read the back.

Wait at least one day after writing your text before submitting it to a printer.  It's just amazing how many typos one can make in two lines of text.  For instance I've got a few thousand great looking cards with the wrong phone number.

And be sure to check with post office requirements for the address side of the card.  They're pretty specific which doesn't much affect tourist sales but does affect cards intended for mass mailings.

[mstevensphoto]

Given that you can't import printed cards I'd look at the Museo papers and sell them with envelopes. A postcard with an envelope in a little clearbag would make a lovely presentation and the envelope makes it that much more special. Museo has premade sizes for both folded and flat cards and matching envelopes. Redriver paper has some options too but they never felt as elegant to me.

[swimwivsquid]

Thanks for your input guys. I have located this product "Canson RC Premium Photo High Gloss 315GSM  in 13"x19"/25 sheet packs." Which looks like it should meet the requirements. Anyone used it?

[mstevensphoto]

it is a lovely paper

[Johnny_Boy]

How are you going to print on the backside of it?

[swimwivsquid]

How are you going to print on the backside of it?

Very carefully..... Evidently it doesn't have a watermark or logo so should take black text ok. A few years ago I reproduced a game book as a one off printing and aligning both sides using an epson 9600 so I think it should be ok. Might have to play with  the black ink setting a bit as its obviously not coated on the reverse side but with pigmented inks it should be fine. I'll let you know when I get round to sorting it.At least this will give me the opportunity to try out the market with smaller runs of cards rather than having a garage full of printed stock that may or may not sell.