Announcement Card Printing Tips

Whether you're celebrating an event or marketing a small business, announcement cards are the perfect way to get the word out to a large group on the cheap. For graphic designers and amateurs alike, announcement cards can be some of the most enjoyable undertakings at the computer. You can commemorate a special event, poke fun with an inside joke or motivate massive response to a business sale. Best of all, making your own announcement cards is fast and easy with these announcement card printing tips!

Start with a template

After spending hours or even days tediously toiling to craft the perfect announcement card design, it would be heartbreaking if your artwork file didn't mesh with your printer's press. To make sure everything goes off without a hitch and that your announcement card looks as great off the press as it does on your screen, download free announcement card layout templates. These templates include everything you need to set up your file for printing, but no artwork so your design is completely custom.

Save money with postcard announcements

If you're on a tight budget don't despair: you can keep costs low by employing creative announcement card design and printing options. Instead of printing greeting card style announcements, you can save money by printing them on postcards. Postcards and greeting cards have similar printing costs, but postcards do not require as much postage to send. They also need no envelopes. This strategy is best deployed for large-scale announcement mailings; for smaller runs, the price difference is negligible. Also, if you're sending a small run and don't want to spring for a professional graphic designer, see if your local community college has budding artists who need to build their portfolios. They might design your announcement cards for a reduced fee or even for free.

Print to personalize

If your announcement cards will include personalized, hand-written messages you'll need to print one side uncoated. Finish your other side (the side with the artwork) with a high-sheen glossy coating or a deep, rich matte. Go with an ultra-thick 16-point cover stock to give your paper flexible stability and smoothness that feels good in your recipients' hands. If you're not sure what different paper stocks look and feel like, you can order free paper stock samples in a variety of popular premium styles to help you decide.

Print oversized announcement cards for attention

If you're sending announcement cards to advertise a business event, try printing in extra-large sizes to practically guarantee your message will be noticed. Better yet, send a regular-sized announcement card and an oversized announcement card in separate test runs to portions of your mailing list, and measure your response rates to determine which is more effective. Then, send the winner out to your entire list and reap the rewards.

Get a hardcopy proof

Nothing could be worse than printing a few dozen invitations that read "Celebrate Boob's Graduation!" Bob, certainly, would not be thrilled. Order a hardcopy proof so you can hold your announcement cards in-hand before you approve the full print run. A few dollars spent now can prevent a few hundred dollars in reprints later and can also help you avoid missing important deadlines. You can't send announcements once the event has passed!