Postcard Templates

When designing a postcard, correct setup of your print files is absolutely vital. At Image Media, we provide free postcard templates to help you efficiently and effectively setup your files with industry standards in mind. By visiting our file specifications page, you’ll have the opportunity to download free color-coded Postcard Templates to help you meet required standards.

Important considerations to keep in mind when preparing your file are:

1) Will your design require full-bleed printing?   Full-Bleed postcard printing is the process of printing in full color straight through the edge of your final product, eliminating a white border. This allows you to maximize your products graphic capabilities. At Image Media, Full-Bleed printing is available at no additional charge.

If your product will be printing full-bleed, be sure to add an additional 1/8 of an inch on all four sides to allow the color to flood through the cutting edge. Our free postcard templates clearly indicate the trim edge and bleed area for your reference.

2 )Is your live text at least ¼ inch away from the trim line? The trim-line represents your live area. This is the area allocated for the content of your card. Everything in this area will be printed. The trim-line is indicated by a dotted line on the Postcard Templates. By industry standards, postcards can be trimmed short by up to 1/16 of an inch on each side. By keeping your live text at least ¼ inch away from the trim line, you insure that important information is placed far enough away from the edge to avoid accidental trimming.

3) Will your design include a solid border color? If so, make sure to create a border that’s a minimum of ¼ inch. This will prevent your card from looking off balance should your cards shift slightly during cutting.

4) Will your postcard be used as a direct mail piece? The USPS has very strict regulations regarding addressing, bar coding and imaging in the designated address blocks. Not complying to these regulations during the design process can result in higher postage costs or even prevent your postcard from being mailed at all.

Our free postcard templates provide you with a visual aid on what is expected from the USPS. Be sure to abide by these standards to avoid any issues with mailing your postcards.

Our free postcard templates provide you with a digital file that can be placed in your design application as a layer for guidance in staying within the discussed boundaries. By using these postcard templates, you can eliminate any potential to inadvertently supply unusable files. It can also prevent costly design time by providing the files to spec the first time it’s submitted.

Image Media postcard templates are available for our six most popular postcard sizes, which include 4” x 6” postcards, 4.25” x 6” postcards, 8.5x5.5 postcards, 6” x 9” postcards, 6x11 postcards, and 8.5x11 postcards.