Holiday card designs fall into four groups: photo cards, illustrated cards, foil or letterpress cards, and die-cut or pop-up cards. Two sizes cover most retail and custom work: A7 at 5 x 7 in and A2 at 4.25 x 5.5 in. Choose the size first. Envelope, postage, paper and print cost follow from that choice.
Sizes and envelopes
- A7 flat card: 5 x 7 in. Envelope: 7.25 x 5.25 in.
- A2 folded card: 4.25 x 5.5 in. Envelope: 4.375 x 5.75 in.
- Square card: 5.5 x 5.5 in or 6 x 6 in. Square envelopes carry a surcharge in the US.
- Slimline card: 3.5 x 8.5 in. Fits a #10 envelope.
A folded card gives four panels: front, inside left, inside right, back. A flat card gives two sides. Photo cards ship as flat stock with one image or a grid of four to nine images, plus printed names and a year.
Design categories
Illustrated cards use hand-drawn or vector art. Foil stamp presses a metallic layer into cover stock. Letterpress pushes ink into cotton paper and leaves a dent you can feel. Die-cut cards have a shaped edge or a window. Pop-up cards hold a folded paper structure that rises when the card opens. Digital cards arrive by email and skip print and postage.
Print specs
- Resolution: 300 ppi at final size. Values below that show on the sheet.
- Bleed: 0.125 in on all four sides. Keep text 0.25 in inside the trim line.
- Color: CMYK for offset and digital presses. RGB files shift on paper.
- Stock: 100 lb cover, about 270 gsm, holds a fold and takes foil.
- Coating: matte, gloss or soft-touch. Soft-touch blocks pen ink, so sign the card before coating or use a label.
Copy on the card
Front text runs 3 to 8 words. Inside text runs 1 to 3 lines. Put the sender names and the year on the back or below the message. Photo cards often carry one line, such as a family name and "2025." Keep type at 8 pt or larger. Small serif faces lose detail on uncoated stock.
Postage and mailing
In the US, one First-Class Mail Forever stamp covers a letter up to 1 oz. Square, rigid or oversized envelopes cost more. A 5 x 7 in card with a photo enclosure can pass 1 oz, so weigh one finished card before you buy stamps. Post by the first week of December for arrival before the 25th.
Checklist before you send files
- Pick size and envelope.
- Set 300 ppi images at final size.
- Add 0.125 in bleed.
- Convert to CMYK.
- Spell-check names.
- Order one proof.
- Weigh the proof for postage.
Volume matters. Print runs under 100 favor digital presses. Runs above 500 favor offset, which lowers the unit price. The first commercial Christmas card was printed in London in 1843 for Henry Cole, in a run of about 1,000. US card sales run about 6.5 billion units a year, and the winter holiday season accounts for about 1.6 billion of them.