mailing prints as postcards

pstake · Apr 6, 2012

I wasn't sure what category to post this under.

I would like to mail 5x7 prints to my niece, and to cousins in Australia. Does anybody (in the U.S.A.) know if I can do this a la postcards? I.E. write a note and the address on the back of the print, attach a stamp and mail it like a postcard?

Is this possible?

Oren Grad · Apr 6, 2012

Too large for postcard rate...

You may think that your mailpiece is a "postcard," because it is a single sheet of paper. But to qualify for mailing at the First-Class Mail postcard price, it must be:

Rectangular

At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inch thick

No more than 4-1/4 inches high x 6 inches long x 0.016 inches thick

http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/mailcharacteristics/cards.htm

...but you could send it at the higher letter rate.

The problem is that thin photo paper is at high risk of being damaged in handling. The smaller Ilford postcard paper is on a heavier stock. The emulsion side is still at risk, but prints on that should hold up better. If you're printing on Ilford MGIV RC, you could also try MGIV Portfolio, which is the same emulsion on a heavier stock.

pstake · Apr 6, 2012

Oren Grad said:
Too large for postcard rate...

You may think that your mailpiece is a "postcard," because it is a single sheet of paper. But to qualify for mailing at the First-Class Mail postcard price, it must be:

Rectangular

At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inch thick

No more than 4-1/4 inches high x 6 inches long x 0.016 inches thick

http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/mailcharacteristics/cards.htm

...but you could send it at the higher letter rate.

The problem is that thin photo paper is at high risk of being damaged in handling. The smaller Ilford postcard paper is on a heavier stock. The emulsion side is still at risk, but prints on that should hold up better. If you're printing on Ilford MGIV RC, you could also try MGIV Portfolio, which is the same emulsion on a heavier stock.

Thanks, Oren. I'll look at the Ilford postcard (portfolio) paper.

For normal 5x7, though, if I want to risk it, could I attach a first-class stamp and send it in the same manner as a postcard? Or would I need an envelope?

Thanks, again.

Oren Grad · Apr 6, 2012

pstake said:
For normal 5x7, though, if I want to risk it, could I attach a first-class stamp and send it in the same manner as a postcard?

Yes, you should be able to do it. Although I've never sent any pictures that way myself, I have received a few over the years (with some damage ).

pentaxuser · Apr 6, 2012

I understand that it is possible to get "postcard backing paper" the same size as 6x4 and stick it to the likes of MGIV paper. This stiffens it and gives a surface on which you can write and is probably cheaper than Ilford postcard paper which is now retailing at about £42 per box in the U.K. :eek:

I don't know whethere the same backing paper is available in 5x7

pentaxuser

removed account4 · Apr 6, 2012

i cut a 11x14 print up into puzzle pieces one summer and mailed odd sized prints to a friend
and he received them all except for one ... which was "too small" and returned to me, so i taped it to
a larger piece of paper and sent it again ... the post office will deliver lots of stuff, odd shapes and sizes ...
just the other day the car talk guys ( click and clack the tappit brothers ) were talking about how they have
had things like fish and pieces of wood mailed to them ...

as long as you pay the extra postage, you are all-set

have fun !
john

Vonder · Apr 6, 2012

The Ilford "postcard" paper is the same stock as their regular RC paper. It just has postcard address lines printed on the back. It does mail quite nicely though, at least here in the USA. I regularly send them out and every one has arrived safely.

pentaxuser · Apr 6, 2012

Wolfeye said:
The Ilford "postcard" paper is the same stock as their regular RC paper.

It is in fact Ilford's Portfolio paper with a postcard printed back so you'd expect to pay more for it than MGIV but it really isn't long ago that it was for sale in one U.K. stockist at £14 per box. Now it is three times as much. That's a 300% increase. :eek:

6x4 MGIV has of course increased in price as well but nothing like 300%

pentaxuser

MattKing · Apr 6, 2012

You are fortunate in the USA - your postcard postage rates are very reasonable.

I have been sending and receiving postcards in the APUG postcard exchange for years. Most make it fine through the mail without damage, although sometimes the "damage" that occurs occasionally actually adds to the character (IMHO).

I live very near the Canada USA border, so I print to the USPS postcard size requirements (4" x 6" is best), and mail all my cards addressed to non-Canadian addressees from the US.

I have used the Ilford postcard paper, which is on the heavier "Portfolio" stock, but mostly I use regular RC stock. The secret to improving the durability of the postcard is to use adhesive labels on the back of the card which cover a substantial portion of it. That also gives you either a better surface to write on, or the opportunity to print the information using a computer printer.

pstake · Apr 6, 2012

MattKing said:
Y

I have used the Ilford postcard paper, which is on the heavier "Portfolio" stock, but mostly I use regular RC stock. The secret to improving the durability of the postcard is to use adhesive labels on the back of the card which cover a substantial portion of it. That also gives you either a better surface to write on, or the opportunity to print the information using a computer printer.

That's a great idea! Thanks, Matt.

Thanks to everyone else, too.

payral · Apr 6, 2012

It's your first step to Mail Art !

rjbuzzclick · Apr 6, 2012

http://www.directcreative.com/postal-experiments.html

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mailing prints as postcards

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