What is the best card for printing postcards?

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Today I want to talk about the best paper for printing art prints and greeting cards at home.

I recently got a printer to print my fine art prints and cards, and I have been so happy with the results.

It does take some trial and error to get the perfect print, and I found out quickly that it also includes choosing the right paper.

In this post, I’ll go over what I feel is the best paper for prints, cards, etc. This paper is great for watercolor art prints, digital art prints, and more! I’ll also share the difference a great paper makes in a shocking image lol.

It took a lot of time for me to figure this out, and I’m glad to share my experiences with others to help them save time and money.

Related:

Where I Sell My Art Online

My Supply List!

Green Artist Shop

Best Paper For Printing Art Prints (& cards!)

Choosing the right paper for printing your work can make or break your prints.

I found this out when I tried some cheaper paper and my prints came out muddy and dull. In that moment I felt defeated because I had no idea how I would be able to figure this out.

After searching Google for hours, I found Red River Paper and searched for reviews. I then ordered a paper sample pack from them and did the exact same print on their paper. My image came out PERFECTLY and looked exactly like it did on my computer. That’s when I knew how much quality fine art paper for printing meant.

Just look at the difference below! Cheaper paper on the left, Red River Paper on the right. The EXACT same print and printing settings. The only difference is the paper.

What Paper I Use

I use two different kinds of paper for my art prints and greeting cards. For art prints, I use Aurora Art White (either 250 or 350 both are great) and for greeting cards, I use the 60lb Polar Matte Cards. Both are from Red River Paper.

Art Print Paper- Aurora Art White

Greeting Card Paper- 60lb Polar Matte Cards

As mentioned above, I did order a sample pack from them to test what papers I liked for my work. They have many other options including some textured rag paper options and glossy ones.

These are my favorites and what works for my work, but they have so many options. I recommend browsing around their site to see what stands out to you.

The Printer I Use

I’m really enjoying this printer for printing my art prints and greeting cards in my home studio. The print quality is better than the prints I was outsourcing at a professional print company. I wish I got this printer sooner!

The Tech Stuff

I print from Photoshop, and I use specific color profiles that I downloaded from Red River Paper for my print settings. They have an extensive resource library and you can even choose what printer you have and get tutorials specifically for that paper.

This post isn’t an exact walkthrough of how I print my work, but I learned so much from their resources that I was clueless about before.

So if you are looking for the best paper options for prints for your Etsy or small business shop, definitely check out Red River Paper.

I also want to shout out their customer service because they were so helpful when I emailed them when I was confused about something on my printer. They also have so many tutorials on their website.

If you want to check out what they offer, click here for their website.

This post was about the best paper for printing art prints and greeting cards.

These postcards (Avery 8386 Matt White Postcards) do the job well. From the other reviews, I've noticed some people having trouble in ways which may be user-error.

First, I'd like to point out that the product listing may include other versions, so this review does not apply to them. There are variations which are glossy, sized differently, or position the post card differently. Be careful of which one you are looking at.

Second, these post cards are finely perforated, but you have to follow directions. When viewed from the side labeled "Front Side," fold the perforations away from you first, then towards you after you have fully flattened the perforation. If you do that backwards, you may end up with some tearing which makes the edges look more ragged. These are do-it-yourself postcards so you shouldn't expect the edge to look like it was cut with a razor, but at least use it correctly so it doesn't look like a torn coupon.

Now, on to what I like about this particular version...

The print quality on these when using my Brother laser printer is good and complete. Some paper types (glossy, for example) may result in printing variations which don't look good because the toner may not adhere well to glossy pages. This paper is not glossy and does not have this problem.

The postcards are arranged so there is a half inch between them. This allows you to print over the edge of the postcard so it does not have to have a margin. This is a super nice touch which isn't available in most other versions. The down side is that only two postcards fit per page. If you want four per page, you have to go with a version that doesn't allow for edge-to-edge printing.

These postcards are fairly heavy at 230 g/m2 (around 155 lbs). That's much thicker than premium copy paper but not as thick as a standard business card. It feels like a typical thickness for a postcard. There are other versions (even by Avery) which are thinner, so keep this in mind when you're shopping! You can get cheaper cards but they might be thinner and feel flimsier.

Okay, now for the not-so-great...

I can't fault Avery for this because their card measures exactly 4"x6" according to my ruler, but I had to adjust where I print on a page in Microsoft Publisher to treat the top edge of the top postcard as being an eighth of an inch higher than it should be and the lower edge of the bottom postcard as being an eighth of an inch lower than it should be. This treats the postcards as if they are actually 4 1/8" x 6" rather than their true dimensions. Otherwise, the graphics on one postcard print lower than the other. I'm not sure how this happens, but I assume there is some sort of scaling going on (even though scaling is disabled). I print arrows along the edges of the page where I believe the breakaway lines should be so I can confirm that what's on my screen will match what's on the page and I recommend you do the same. If you put the alignment arrows close enough to the edge of the page, you won't see them on the postcard anyway. Keep in mind that every printer will print some pages a little higher or a little lower, so these alignment marks really just help you confirm the relative dimensions of everything. Always allow for about an eighth of an inch of variation from page to page, depending on your printer. This is the case even with professional printing services.

Update (7/7/2020): I discovered the printer issue was the result of using the default printer driver from Microsoft. The size is now accurate after installing Brother's raster printer driver. This is only a problem people might run into if they avoid installing printer manufacturer bloatware. I didn't need their full install package, just the raster printer driver.

So far that's it, I'll update this review if I think there is something worthwhile to say.