What a personalized Christmas card actually means
By December 10, the mantel is full, and the personalized Christmas cards that stay there are the ones with a face on them. The rest disappear with the wrapping paper.
A personalized Christmas card at Paperlust is designed around you. You browse 172 exclusive designs from independent artists, then change the names, message, photo and layout in our online editor. You are not downloading a template or printing a file. You approve the proof, we print the cards, and the finished order is shipped to your address.
Custom Christmas cards, customized Christmas cards and personalized Christmas cards all describe the same thing in this collection: a design you make your own before the press runs. Online describes how the card is designed and ordered, not how it is delivered.
Five card formats, one mailing decision
Format changes how the card feels in the hand and how much attention the photo gets. We make five formats: photo card, design card, flat printed, folded card and postcard.
- Photo card: the photograph carries the card, often filling the front face.
- Design card: the artwork holds the frame and the photo sits inside it.
- Flat printed: a single sturdy sheet, printed on the front and ready to place on the mantel.
- Folded card: opens like a greeting card and gives you room for a longer note.
- Postcard: mails directly without an envelope, so the back is the mailing panel.
Every format that uses an envelope includes white envelopes at no extra charge. Postcards are the only exception because they mail directly. If you want the outer piece to land like a gift, colored and textured envelope upgrades are available in kraft, sage, blush and deep navy.
Print methods and paper stocks that change the card
Three production methods shape the finish, and each one sends a different signal when someone picks the card up.
Digital print uses a digital press and works across the widest stock range. Flat foil is a mirror bright metallic layer with no deboss, offered in gold, rose gold, silver, copper and other accent colors. Metallic print is a subtle gold or silver dry toner sheen applied at a fifth imaging station that integrates with full color, so the metallic sits inside the artwork rather than on top of it.
For digital print, the stocks are Matte 300gsm, Linen 300gsm, Premium 380gsm, Metallic board, Kraft 290gsm, Blush and Vellum. Flat foil is available on Matte, Premium 380gsm and color stock options. Each design page shows which stock and finish combinations are available for that design, which saves you from choosing a board that cannot take the finish you wanted.
At a quantity of 20, digital printing is $4.41 per card, metallic is $8.18, and flat foil is $9.92. Larger quantities adjust automatically as the order grows.
Make your photo hold up in print
The photo is where most custom Christmas photo cards go wrong. A picture that looks sharp on a phone screen can turn soft or pixelated once it is printed at card size, so use a file that is at least 300 DPI at the final print size.
If a photo is not sharp enough, a designer flags the resolution problem at the proof stage before the card prints. The same rule matters for photo save the date cards and baby announcement cards if you are ordering those alongside the Christmas mailer. Keep the original resolution file, not the compressed version taken from a text thread.
A photo printed at 300 DPI holds the detail in a patterned sweater and the sharp edge of a beard, the two places soft files show themselves first.
The proof, the edits and the production clock
After you finish personalizing the design, a designer proof arrives within 1 to 2 business days. You get two rounds of edits included at no extra cost, and most proofs are approved within 24 hours.
Production starts only after you approve that proof. Digital print cards then take 5 to 7 business days. Flat foil cards take 3 to 5 business days. A 24 hour rush production upgrade is available for standard digital print orders for an additional fee, and the minimum order on both digital and flat foil is 10 cards.
If the date on the calendar has already started to move, the rush can buy back a day, but the proof still has to come first. Nothing prints until you say yes.
Addresses, envelopes and the return address
An American Christmas card list is a small project with a hard deadline. The card itself is quick to personalize. The slow part is usually the address list, the return address, and the last ten households you remember only after the envelopes are sealed.
Use Address Manager to import recipient addresses from Excel for bulk envelope addressing, which removes most of the handwriting. Orders over $350 USD ship free via DHL Express. Volume pricing applies automatically as quantity increases, so a growing list does not mean a manual per card quote.
How far ahead to order for an American December
Work backward from the day you want envelopes postmarked, not the day you want to be done. Allow 1 to 2 business days for the proof, then 5 to 7 business days for digital production or 3 to 5 business days for flat foil, then transit time. The proof has to come first in every case.
If the card needs to arrive in mailboxes the first week of December, starting in October leaves room for the friend who changes her address at the last minute and the relative who suddenly wants a different photo. October is not when the planning needs to finish. It is when the planning needs to start.
No. Paperlust does not supply downloadable files, printable PDFs or templates you print yourself. Every card is printed by Paperlust and shipped to you. Online describes how you browse, personalize and approve the design. Digital print means the card is produced on a digital press.
The minimum order is 10 cards on both digital and flat foil. At 20 cards, digital printing is $4.41 per card, metallic is $8.18, and flat foil is $9.92. Volume pricing adjusts automatically as quantity rises.
Digital print production takes 5 to 7 business days. Flat foil production takes 3 to 5 business days. Production starts after you approve your proof.
White envelopes are included at no extra charge with every format that uses one. Postcards mail directly without an envelope. Colored and textured envelope upgrades are available in kraft, sage, blush and deep navy.
Yes. Flat foil is a mirror bright metallic layer with no deboss, available in gold, rose gold, silver, copper and other accent colors. Each design page shows which stock and finish combinations are available.
Use a minimum of 300 DPI at the final print size. If a photo falls below that resolution, the designer flags it at the proof stage before the card prints.
A 24 hour rush production upgrade is available for standard digital print orders at an additional fee. The rush applies to production and still requires proof approval first.
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