Postcards

Oversized Postcards

Oversized postcards have quickly grown in popularity.  The advantages of mailing postcards are numerous.  They are relatively inexpensive to produce, don't require an expensive envelope, there are no folding charges, there are no tabbing charges, there are no inserting or sealing charges, and with a preprinted permit they don't require metering or stamp affixing.  They are quick and easy to process for mailing houses and they get noticed in the mail.  One huge advantage of postcards is they are already in front of the recipient; they stand out in the mail, no need to open an envelope or unfold a letter.  Designed with noticeable graphics, bright and eye-catching colors you have won half the battle of getting the recipient to acknowledge your mail piece.  If your postcards have great eye-appeal and catch the attention of the recipient they are more likely to spend a little time to read about your message or offer and make the determination if your mail piece offers them something of interest they may wish to act upon.  Colorful oversized postcards such as 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" are a great size to attract attention, stand out in a stack of mail and get a message across without overwhelming your customers with too much information.  Sometimes a short piece makes more of an impact than a lengthy amount of information.  Oversized postcards must be a minimum of 3 1/2" in height and not exceed 6 1/8" in height.  They must be a minimum of 5 inches in length and not exceed 11 1/2" in length.  They must be a minimum of .009 inches in thickness for automation rates and no thicker than 1/4".  They also must be rectangular in shape.  The post office uses a formula called an "aspect ratio" to determine if the mail pieces are rectangular enough to process well in their sorting equipment.  If you divide the length of your piece by the height of the piece and the result falls between 1.2 and 2.5 you have met a proper aspect ratio for automation rates.  An example would be if your mail piece is 8 1/2" long x 5 1/2" high you would divide 8.5 by 5.5 and you would have an aspect ratio of 1.545, which falls between 1.2 and 2.5.    Making certain that your piece falls within this range is very important, it not only helps to qualify your piece for automation rates but it helps to avoid any non-standard surcharges which can be very costly.  It also helps assure smooth processing through the Post Office automated sorting equipment.

Postcards

Regular sized postcards (4¼” x 6”) are great for very small amounts of information such as a date announcement, a moving announcement or an open house.  Because of the limited space on such a small mail piece they should be used for relatively small amounts of information.  Postcard rates are only available in first class mail, there is not a special rate for small postcards in Standard Class mail.  The minimum size for a postcard is 3 1/2" in height and the maximum size in height is 4 1/4" .  The minimum size in length is 5" and the maximum is 6".  The minimum thickness is .007 inches and the maximum is .016.  The postcard should be rectangular in shape.  The post office uses a formula called an "aspect ratio" to determine if the mail pieces are rectangular enough for their automated processing equipment.  If you divide the length of your piece by the height of the piece and the result falls between 1.2 and 2.5 you have met a proper aspect ratio.  An example would be if your mail piece is 5 1/2" long x 3 1/2" high you would divide 5.5 by 3.5 and you would have an aspect ratio of 1.57, which falls between 1.2 and 2.5.  Making certain that your piece falls within this range is very important, it not only helps to qualify your piece for automation rates but it helps to avoid any non-standard surcharges which can be very costly.  It also helps assure smooth processing through the Post Office automated sorting equipment.