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Postcard
template.

A 6 × 4 inch postcard, front and back. Print layout only — no mailing panel.

The geometry

Trim size
6 × 4 in — the finished piece
Bleed
0.125 in on every side, so the document is 6.25 × 4.25 in
Safe area
0.25 in inside the trim, leaving 5.5 × 3.5 in for text and logos
Sides
Front and Back

6 × 4 in is the most common postcard trim in the US. The template is landscape; rotate it for a portrait design — the trim, bleed and safe area are unchanged.

Download

PDF Postcard — Front Reference · guides drawn on the page SVG Postcard — Front Working file · layered guides PDF Postcard — Back Reference · guides drawn on the page SVG Postcard — Back Working file · layered guides
Watch out for

The back is where postcards go wrong. If any part of this piece is going to be mailed, the address area and the postal markings have real requirements, and design placed there has to move.

This template has no mailing panel and no indicia. Postal dimensions and indicia are USPS requirements that change, so we supply the current specification rather than a guess. Ask us before you design the back of a mailer.

A postcard designed as a hand-out and a postcard designed to be mailed are different layouts. Decide which it is first.

Using the template

What to keep,
what to remove.

The guides are measurements, not decoration. Two of these rules are about not breaking the file, and two are about not printing the guides.

Do not move the guides
They are positioned to the exact trim, bleed, and safe dimensions. Moving one makes the file lie about its own size.
Do not resize the document
The page is already trim plus bleed. Scaling it scales the trim, and the piece comes back the wrong size.
Do delete the guide layer before you export
It is named GUIDES-DELETE-BEFORE-PRINTING in the SVG. Magenta lines are not artwork, and a guide left in prints.
Do extend backgrounds past the trim
All the way to the outer bleed edge. A background that stops at the trim line leaves a white sliver after cutting.

What opens it

Adobe Illustrator
Opens the SVG with the layers intact. The usual choice.
Affinity Designer
Opens the SVG and keeps the guide layer separate.
Inkscape
Free, and the layer names are written in its own format.
CorelDRAW
Imports the SVG. Check the document units are inches after import.
Adobe InDesign
Place the PDF as a guide on its own layer, then build the document to the same trim.
Canva and similar
Use the trim and bleed numbers to set up a custom size — these tools generally cannot open a layered SVG.

The SVG is the working file — its guides sit in one layer named GUIDES-DELETE-BEFORE-PRINTING, so hiding or deleting that one layer leaves a clean document. The PDF is a reference: its guides are drawn on the page rather than in a toggleable layer, so if you build in the PDF you have to remove them yourself.

Exporting and sending

  1. 01 Delete or hide the guide layer.
  2. 02 Check backgrounds still reach the bleed edge — removing guides sometimes reveals one that stopped at the trim.
  3. 03 Convert text to outlines, or send the font files alongside.
  4. 04 Export as PDF with bleed included. Keep vectors live rather than flattening to an image.
  5. 05 Name the file so a person can tell what it is — acme-business-card-front.pdf, not final_v3.pdf.
  6. 06 Send it with your project details so we can check it before anything is produced.

When to ask us instead

  • The piece is going in the mail — postal requirements are governed separately and we will send the current specification.
  • You want a size that is not on this list.
  • The format is die-cut, folded, or finished in any way — the die or the finishing method is the template.
  • You only have a logo from a website and nothing else.
  • You are matching a colour to something you have printed before.
  • You are not sure whether the design will survive the trim. That is a two-minute conversation and a cheap one.

None of these are a problem. They are the moments where two minutes now saves a reprint later — and we would much rather have the conversation before the file is built.

Start here

Is this one going in the mail?

Tell us before you design the back. We will send the current postal specification so the address area is right the first time.

  1. 1 Start your project
  2. 2 Tell us what you're creating
  3. 3 Receive your estimate
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