A standard postcard in Singapore is A6, 105 × 148 mm, printed 4C/4C or 4C/1C on 260–350 gsm gloss or matt art card, or on 300–400 gsm uncoated woodfree where the back will be written on. Laminate the image side only, so a pen and a franking mark still work on the reverse. Supply 3 mm bleed and keep type 4 mm inside the trim.
This guide covers the product decisions: size, card, coating, finishing and quantity. For how to arrange the two faces once those are settled, read our postcard and bookmark layout guide.
What sizes are postcards printed in?
A6 at 105 × 148 mm is the standard postcard, exactly a quarter of an A4 sheet. DL at 99 × 210 mm, A5 at 148 × 210 mm and a 148 × 148 mm square are the other standard sizes, and custom sizes are cut on request. Every size cuts from the same parent sheets, so the envelope and the rack decide it.
| Size | Trim | What it is used for | Check before printing |
|---|---|---|---|
| A6 | 105 × 148 mm | The standard postcard | Fits every rack and envelope sold here |
| DL | 99 × 210 mm | A long card for a DL envelope | More room for a message, less for an image |
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | A mailer rather than a postcard | Reads as a small poster in the hand |
| Square | 148 × 148 mm | A card meant to stand out | Needs a square envelope |
| Custom | Anything that trims from the parent sheet | Campaign-specific formats | Say the finished size and the envelope it must fit |
| Lead time | All sizes | Standard 7–14 working days | Laminated or bare |
The square card is the one that catches people out. It is distinctive, but a square envelope is a separate item, so confirm that one exists for the mailing before the card is printed. The DL card suits a message with more words than pictures, and the A5 card is better treated as a small mailer than as a postcard.
Corners can be rounded at a 3 mm or 6 mm radius, cut on a die already held, so rounding needs no new tooling.
Which card stock should a postcard be printed on?
Decide first whether the card will be written on, because that one answer removes half the stock list. Gloss art card suits a card where the photograph is the message, matt art card gives a considered look without glare, and uncoated woodfree is the sheet for anything posted, handwritten or carrying a reply section.
| Stock | Weights held | Best for | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss art card | 260, 310 and 350 gsm | Property, travel, F&B, anything where a photograph is the message | The address side: a ballpoint skids on gloss and a franking mark smears |
| Matt art card | 310, 350 and 400 gsm | Invitations, save-the-dates, gallery and studio mailers | Heavy handwriting: the coating still resists a wet pen |
| Uncoated woodfree | 300, 350 and 400 gsm | Anything posted, handwritten or with a reply section | Full-bleed photography, which goes soft |
300–350 gsm is the working range. Below 260 gsm a card bends in a postbag; above 400 gsm it stops fitting comfortably into a standard envelope. A 260 gsm card sent through the post unlaminated tends to arrive bent, and the bend runs across the image rather than the message.
Matt art card takes spot UV better than any other sheet held, which is why it is the usual base for a card with a raised gloss detail on the front. Uncoated woodfree is completely matt and slightly toothy, and it is the only one of the three that a fountain pen behaves on. If the card will be handwritten, the uncoated surface matters more than extra weight.
Why laminate only the image side of a postcard?
Film resists a ballpoint, and a franking mark will not dry on it. A postcard laminated on both faces looks good but cannot be posted or written on. Laminate the image face only and leave the reverse bare: the front gets scuff protection and the back still takes a pen, a stamp and a postal mark.
The practical answer for a mailer is a split specification: coated on the image side, uncoated or unlaminated on the address side. Single-sided lamination is listed as its own finishing operation, with film on the image face only so the reverse still takes a pen. It is the item most often left out of a postcard brief, and the omission is only discovered when somebody tries to write on the first card.
Lamination comes in matt, gloss and soft-touch film. A postcard is small enough that finishing changes how it feels more than how it looks, so choose the film by touch as much as by sight. Whichever film is chosen, the rule is the same: it goes on the side nobody writes on. One caution from the name card page: film on one face only lets the two sides take up moisture at different rates, and a single-sided card can bend towards the bare side in Singapore humidity. If the card must stay flat as well as take a pen, say so when requesting the quote.
Should a postcard be printed 4C/4C or 4C/1C?
Both are standard, built in CMYK. 4C/4C prints full colour on both faces, for a card whose reverse carries a second image or a coloured layout. 4C/1C prints full colour on the front and one colour on the back, which suits a reverse that is mostly writing space, an address area and a few lines of contact detail.
Whichever you choose, supply the card as two single pages, front first and reverse second, rather than as a spread. Design the reverse for the pen and the postal mark rather than as another place for the logo.
Three points decide whether the reverse works:
- The address area. Where the card is posted, keep the right-hand half of the reverse clear and light.
- Dark solids. A dark full-bleed solid on the address side swallows handwriting, and it hides the postal barcode too.
- Small text. Set it in K100 at 7 pt minimum on coated stock, so fine type stays sharp.
If the card is being posted, send the envelope size or the postal format with the specification, and the trim is checked against it before anything is printed. EZ Print prints the cards; the mailing itself is arranged separately.
What finishing can a postcard have?
Postcards can be round-cornered, die-cut, hole-punched, laminated, spot UV coated, sequentially numbered and perforated, and a greeting card is creased before it is folded. Each operation is a separate pass over every card, and all of them are quoted inside the standard 7–14 working day window, so the choice is about what the card has to do.
| Finish | What it does | Artwork note |
|---|---|---|
| Single-sided lamination | Film on the image face only | The reverse still takes a pen |
| Spot UV | A gloss detail on the front image | A solid K vector on its own layer named SPOTUV |
| Round-cornering | 3 mm or 6 mm radius | Keep artwork 6 mm clear of a rounded corner |
| Perforation | A reply stub or voucher that tears off | 6 mm of clear space on both sides of the line |
| Sequential numbering | Where the card doubles as a numbered entry or voucher | Say it is a numbered entry or voucher when requesting the quote |
| Die-cutting | A shape other than a rectangle | The die is kept for a reorder |
| Creasing and folding | Turns a card into a greeting card | Scored first so the coating does not crack |
The tooling is the part worth knowing about for a repeat order. A spot UV screen and a cutting die are made once and kept with the approved file, so a reorder of the same card does not wait for tooling a second time. A perforated A6 card is also a neat way to put an offer and its response on one piece, with no second piece to lose.
How should postcard artwork be supplied?
Send a PDF/X-4 drawn at trim plus 3 mm bleed on every side, so an A6 card is drawn at 111 × 154 mm. Keep text and logos 4 mm inside the trim on both faces, 6 mm where corners are rounded, and place images at 300 dpi at final size. Illustrator and packaged InDesign files are accepted too.
- Format: PDF/X-4 preferred. Illustrator and packaged InDesign accepted.
- Artboard: trim plus 3 mm bleed. An A6 card is drawn at 111 × 154 mm.
- Safe margin: 4 mm in from the trim on both faces.
- Pages: two single pages, front first. Not a spread.
- Images: 300 dpi at final size.
- Colour: CMYK. RGB converts, and bright blues are where the conversion shows.
The 4 mm margin exists because cutting has a tolerance. Guillotine tolerance across a lift of a thousand cards is about half a millimetre, and type set close to the trim shows that variation as an uneven margin when the cards are stacked. A rounded corner removes more of the edge than a straight cut, which is why the clearance there rises to 6 mm.
How many postcards can be ordered, and how long does it take?
The minimum run is 50 cards. Short runs go on a digital press with the specification unchanged, and above a few thousand cards offset becomes the sensible route, with Pantone matching straightforward. Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days, laminated or bare, round-cornered or square. Express is quoted per job, with island-wide courier delivery.
What sets the date is the number of passes over every card: lamination is one, spot UV another, numbering another, and a die-cut shape another. All of them sit inside the standard window. If the date is tight, send the size, the stock, the sides and whether the card is being posted, and ask for an express quotation; the specification and production schedule are confirmed in the quotation. Collection from Centennial Tower is by arrangement.
Worked example: how would a postcard mailer be specified?
An organisation wants a postcard that shows a photograph on the front and carries a short handwritten note on the back. The specification below uses the standard A6 size, a matt art card with film on the front only, and two single-page files, so the card protects the image and still takes a pen.
Hypothetical planning example. Actual production timing, paper availability, and logistics are confirmed individually upon artwork and specification review.
- Quantity and size: 1,000 A6 postcards, 105 × 148 mm trim, 3 mm bleed.
- Stock: 350 gsm matt art card.
- Print: 4C/4C, the reverse kept light on the right-hand half for the address.
- Finish: matt lamination on the front only; the reverse left without film.
- File: a print-ready PDF supplied as two single pages, front first.
- Date: needed by a stated date, counted back from the upper end of the standard 7–14 working day window.
If the note on the back grows into a full handwritten message, the organisation switches the stock to uncoated woodfree, because matt art card still resists a wet pen. If it wants a raised gloss detail on the photograph, it adds a SPOTUV layer to the front file rather than changing the stock.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a standard postcard in Singapore?
A6 at 105 × 148 mm, exactly a quarter of an A4 sheet, is the standard. DL at 99 × 210 mm is used where there is more to say than to show, and a 148 × 148 mm square card stands out but needs a square envelope.
What gsm should a postcard be?
300 to 350 gsm is the working range. Below 260 gsm the card bends in a postbag, and above 400 gsm it stops fitting comfortably into a standard envelope. If the card will be handwritten, an uncoated stock matters more than extra weight.
Can I write on a laminated postcard?
Not reliably. Film resists a ballpoint and a franking mark will not dry on it. Laminate the image face only and leave the reverse bare, which keeps the card usable for a message and for posting.
How much bleed does a postcard need?
Supply 3 mm of bleed on all four sides and keep text and logos 4 mm inside the trim. Where the corners are rounded, keep artwork 6 mm clear of each corner instead, because the radius removes more of the edge than a straight cut.
What is the minimum order for postcards?
The minimum run is 50 cards. Short runs are printed digitally with the same specification, and above a few thousand cards offset printing becomes the sensible route.
How do you order postcard printing from EZ Print?
EZ Print prints postcards, direct-mail cards and greeting cards in Singapore, and has traded since 2017. Every job is quoted from its specification: send the size, the stock, the sides, the finishing and whether the card will be posted. Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days, express is quoted per job, and delivery is by island-wide courier.
See the full specification on our postcard printing page. For folded cards and formal stationery, see invitation printing, and for lighter handouts, flyer printing. When the specification is ready, request a quote with the date you need the cards.
Same-day and urgent printing available. Subject to artwork approval, payment, print type and production availability. Timing confirmed per job.