When we quote for print projects, we often suggest certain sizes to our clients because these sizes are common and therefore have savings associated with them when it comes time to print. This applies to a wide range of projects, but especially posters and postcards.
Poster Sizes
True posters are very large – like movie poster size – but when clients reach out to us to get a poster designed a printed, they usually mean a smaller size that can be posted around town in store windows and on bulletin boards.
The most common size is 11″ wide by 17″ tall. This is the size of two pieces of Letter paper placed side-by-side. This size is great because it’s impactful but still not too big that it will overtake the space where it’s displayed.
The next most common size is Letter size which is 8.5″ wide by 11″ tall. Although half the size, the benefit to this one is that more stores may agree to tape it into their window since it takes up less space.
Postcard Sizes
When looking to produce a postcard, there are usually a few purposes for this:
- To hand out to customers
- To include as a bag stuffer/ accompany a receipt with a purchase
- To be put into the mail (either with postage or unaddressed ad mail)
The most common sizes are:
- 6″ x 4″
- 7″ x 5″
- 9″ x 6″
The smallest size is your standard postcard size that is used for tourist postcards etc. The 7″ x 5″ size is nice because it’s slightly bigger, but still easy to hand out and for a customer to slide into a purse or bag.
When thinking about mailing, those two smaller sizes often get lost in the clutter of flyers and bills, so 9″ x 6″ still stays under the “oversized” limit, but has more impact.
A fourth common size that we particularly like for bag stuffers is 4″ wide x 3″ tall. This “mini postcard” is adorable and fun to hold because it’s bigger than a business card, but smaller than most other print advertising. It takes up less counter space when displayed in a stack at the cash and yet still attracts attention.
In Summary
We hope this mini education in poster and postcard sizes helps you make decisions about your print advertising going forward. As always, if you need help with design or print, don’t hesitate to reach out.