IDM 34 Design Postcards to Connect

7/28/2019 IDM 34 Design Postcards to Connect

1/9

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M A G A Z I N E 34 Excerpt:February|March2010

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Sincethemid-1800s,postcardshavebeena

comparativelyinexpensivewaytosendashort

message.Butwithsomanymodernoptionsorfashy

digitalinteractivemessaging,howdoesthehumbleprintedpostcardsurvive?Thereasonissimple:You

cantavoidphysicalmail.Eveniyoujustpickupthe

postcardonthewaytotherecyclingbin,chancesare

youllseesomethingonit.

ConnectMake sure your message is deliveredby laying out & printing postcards correctly.

Design

Postcardsto

Asdesigners,ourjobistouseourskillstouse

thatbrieencountertoconveyrealinormation

and,hopeully,promptanaction.Byollowing

aewdesignstrategiesandproductioncriteriawhencreatingpostcardlayouts,youcanoeryour

clientsaneective,lower-costvehicletogettheir

messagesacross.

BYCATHY

PALMER

n e x t pag e f u l l s c r e e n
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2/9

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Figure 1:Clearzonesreservedorpostalusemustbekeptreeotextorgraphics,soavoidprintinginthegreyareas.

Youcanletyourimaginationrunwildontheront

oapostcard(aslongasnothingcanbemistakenoranaddressorindicia).However,thebacksideand

thecardsoveralldimensionsmustadheretoseveral

layoutrulesandinkandpaperchoicesithecards

aretobedeliveredasquicklyaspossibleorthe

lowestpossiblecost.Thesestricturesvaryacrossthe

world;inthisarticle,IllocusonUnitedStatespostal

regulations,buttwotablesdoincludeinormationon

postcardsizesandratesaroundtheworld.

How to Design the Best Backs

Whicheversideholdstheship-toaddressis

Design Postcards to Connect

consideredthemailingpanel

(morecommonly,theback)andhasthemostrestrictionsor

positioningographicelements.

Myrecommendationsinthisarticle

will,orthemostpart,resultina

postcardbackreadablebythePost

Ocesscanners.Thatletsyoutake

advantageolowerautomationor

bulkrates.

Theaddressmustbeparallelto

thelongestside,sothatitsreadable

whenthepostcardishorizontal.(Cardsthatare

square,round,or

die-cutshapes

canignorethis

regulation,since

theyllbehand-sortedbythePost

Oce.)Therestothegraphics

onthemailingpanelcanbethe

sameorientationastheaddress

orrotated,aslongastheydont

intererewiththepostalscanning.Inanyprintproject,thereare

threeedgestobeawareo:trim,

bleed,andlive.Thetrimareaisthe

mostobvious,beingthenished

sizeotheprintedpiece.Thebleed

areaislargerandextendspastthetrim,allowing

imagestoappearrightuptothecutedge.Thelive

areaistheinnersaetyzoneorimportantimages

andinormation,wheretheresnoriskthattheyllbe

shitedtooclosetothetrimandriskbeingcuto.

Keep the Clear Zones Clear.Therearenospecial

printingconsiderationsorsettingupthetrim,bleed,

andliveareasorpostcards,buttherearedenitely

mailingguidelinesorwhereinkispermissible

(Figure1).

Clearzonesarelocationsthatarereservedor

postaluse,sodontplacetextorgraphicsinthose

areas.Inkcoveragelessthan10%densityisallowed,

soverylightscreened-backphotosandtintcolors

MAILINGADDRESSCLEARZONE

POSTAGECLEARZONE

NOMAILABLEADDRESSINTHISAREA

The Post Offi ce scans this entire area for addre sses.Any address placed lower than 2.75"

from the bottom edge of the cardshould NOT contain a state or ZIP code,

or risks being used as the delivery address.

0.625"MIN.

2.7

5"

2.7

5"

1.25"

1.2

5"

2.75"

ALIGN WITH LOWER RIGH T CORNER

TO CHECK MAILING ADDRESS CLEAR ZONE

ALIGN WITH LOWER EDGE

TO CHECK BARCODE CLEAR ZONE

BARCODECLEARZONE

ALIGN WITH UPPER RIGH T CORNER

TO CHECK POSTAGE CLEAR ZONE

DANGER

SAFEAREA

TRIMEDGE

BLEED

POSTCARD CLEAR ZONES

Table 1: Postcard Rates

PostcardRates Domestic ToUSA ToMexico&Canada

Totherestotheworld

U.S.A. 0.28US$ 0.79US$ 0.98US$

Canada 0.57C$ 1.00C$ 1.70C$

GreatBritain FirstClass0,39

SecondClass0,30

0,62 0,56

Australia(a.k.a.smallletter)

0 .55 AUS$ 1. 40AUS$

1.40AUS$

Mailing Rates Vs Delivery TimesIyourclientdemandspostcardrates,whicharelowerthanFirst-Classmail,youmustdesignwithinthoseparameterstoavoidhigherratesand

surcharges.ButdoprepareyourclientwiththeinormationthatwhenmailedFirstClass,postcardsarriveattheirdestinationmorequicklyandwithewerquantityrestrictions.

pr ev i o u s p a g e n e x t pag e f u l l s c r e e n
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3/9

Its Right.

Thank you so much formaking our company shinein the eyes of our client.They were very impressed

with the brochures. Wehave truly found a partnerin PrintingForLess.com.

- Heather Rothnie, Art Copilot, Inc.

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mightbeOK,butitssaertokeeptheseareasentirely

reeoprinting.Toqualiyorthelowerpresortedstandardand

bulkrates,youmustkeepthepostage,address,and

barcodezonesclearoanyunrelatedprinting.(First-

Classmailislessstrictabouttheclearareasrequired

butdoescostmoretosend.)

Theupperrightcorner1.25"downromthetop

and1.25"romtherightedgeisapostageclear

zonereservedortheindicia(mailingpermitimprint),

meteredpostage,orstamp.

Thelowerrightcorner2.75"upromthebottom

edgeand2.75"romtherightedgeisthemailingaddressareawherenoothervisualsexcepttheship-

toaddressmayappear.Becausetheindiciamustbe

positionedtotheupperrightothedeliveryaddress,

thetopotheaddressmuststartlowerthanthe1.25"

postageclearzoneromthetopedge.

Anareaatleast0.625"(5/8")acrossthebottom

(longest)edgeothemailingsideshouldbekept

unprintedorthesortingbarcode.ThePostOcewill

printabarcodehereitheareaisclear,orslapona

barcodelabeltocovertheareaithereisanyprinting.

Eitherway,anyartworkinthatspacewillgetcoveredup,orworse,makeyourpostcardunmailable.

Make the Address Machine-Friendly.The

mail-toaddressiscriticaltodelivery.Followthe

recommendationsbelowsothatautomatedpostal

equipmentcanreadandunderstandtheaddresstext.

Face:Seriandscripttypeacesmaybedicultor

pre-sortingscannerstoread,sothePostOce

recommendssansseri.

Case:Uppercaselettersaremoreevenlyshapedand

easiertoscan,souseall-capswheneverpossible. Size:10to12pointisoptimalorthepostal

scannerstoread,somakethatcap-heightyour

minimum.

Spacing:Overlappingcharacterscausedbytoomuch

tightkerning/trackingcanconusethescanner,but

extremeletterspacingcanbeareadabilityproblem,

too.Keepthehorizontalletterspacingsothateach

characterstandsalonewithoutoverlap.

Leading:Iyoudontuseallcaps,overlapping

characterscanhappenbetweenlinesotextaswell,

soleaveenoughverticalspaceclearbetweenlines. Underlines:Additionalinkneartheletterscan

conusethecharactershapes,sonounderlines.

Theaddresslocationsarealsoimportantto

scanners.Includingareturnaddressisagreat

opportunityorbrandingandprovidingcontact

ino,butbecareulwiththepositioningothereturn

addressinrelationtothemailingaddress.Therelative

positionoTo:andFrom:willdeterminewhichaddress

thePostOceusesordelivery.Usethewrongreturn

addressposition,andalloyourpostcardsmight

mistakenlybesenttothesender!Anytextwithin2.75"othebottomedgewillbe

scannedasapotentialmailingaddress,sokeepyour

returnaddressabovethisarea.Also,besureyour

messagecantbemistakenoranaddressdont

includestateorZIPcodeinyourtext,oritmightbe

misinterpreted.

Create Mailing Permit Indicias.Anindiciaistext

thattellsthePostOcethedetailsohowthemail




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deliveryisbeingpaidor.(TheU.S.PostalService

callsitaMailingPermitImprint,butorsimplicitys

sake,letsstickwithindicia.)Itshouldbeinthesame

upper-rightlocationwhereyoudputapostagestamp.

Indiciatextshouldbe10to12points,allcaps,anda

sans-seritypeace.Theindiciaimprintcanbeouror

velines,asneededtotinacompactarea,andcan

beenclosedinaboxornot(designerschoice).

Anindiciaoroutboundmailhasseveralrequired

textelements,inthisorder:

1. TheRATEMARKING,showingthemailingservice

used.2. ThewordsU.S.POSTAGEPAID,usuallywithPAID

onitsownline.

3. TheCITYandSTATEwherethemailingpermitsheld.

4. ThewordsPERMITNO.andthemailingpermit

number.

Dependingonthemailservicesyouuse,indiciaRate

MarkingscanincludeanycombinationoFirst-Class,

Standard,Bulk,Pre-Sorted,Non-ProtOrganization,

and/orCustomizedMarketMail.Amailingpermithas

registrationcostsandminimumquantitiesthatmaybetoomuchexpenseorasmallclientorproject,somany

printersandmailinghouseswillletyouusetheirpermit

inormationonyourmailpiece.

Postcard Sizes

Cardsthatqualiyorthepostcardmailingratestartat

3.5"5"size(thesmallestallowedsizeoanyU.S.mail

piece)andgouptoamaximumo4.25"6".Themost

commonpostcardtrimsizeis4"6".

Anypiecelargerthan4.25"6"upto6.125"11.5"

ischargedtheFirst-Classrate,evenwhenitsafat,

unenclosedcard.Somestandardtrimsizesthatmailas

First-ClassincludeLarge5"7",Deluxe6"8.5",and

SuperSize6"9"postcards.

Inadditiontowidthandheight,depth(thickness)

alsohasminimumandmaximumlimits.A"isthe

maximumthicknessorastandardpieceomail,

includingpostcardslargerthan4.25"6".Acard

thickerthanthatisconsideredafatorlargeenvelope,

withdierentpostalrates.Standardmailhasa0.009"

minimumthicknessithepieceis4.25"6"orlarger,butmailerssizedsmallerthanthatareallowedtobe

slightlythinner.Postcardswithinthe3.5"5"to4.25"

6"rangecanbeaslightas0.007inchesthick,andup


to0.016"thick.Lessthanthatisjusttoothinandfimsy

togothroughthemailingequipment.SeeTable2or

thesenumbersataglance.

Proportionmatters,too:Theaspectratiohasto

allwithinacertainrangetobemailableatregular

postagerates.Theaspectratio(lengthdividedby

height)hastoallbetween1.0-to-1.3and1.0-to-1.25

inclusive,oritsconsiderednon-standard.Anything

non-standardmustbeprocessedmanually,which

costsmore.Squareorskinnyshapesoutsideo

thisrangewontgothroughtheautomatedpostal

equipment,sothosegetamanual-handlingsurcharge.Youcanquicklyevaluateyourprojectagainstall

othesesizecriteriabyusingareetemplaterom

thePostOce.TheDimensionalStandardsTemplate

Country PostalService WebSite Smallest

WidthHeight

Largest

WidthHeight

MinimumThickness

MaximumThickness

Min-MaxWeight

Shapes

U.S.A. UnitedStatesPostalService

http://www.usps.com/

3.5"5" 4.25"6" 0.007" 0.016" CustomizedMarketMail

Canada CanadaPostPostesCanada

http://www.canadapost.ca/

90mm140mm

120mm235mm

0.18m m 5mm 3g 50g D imensiona lAdMailAdCard

GreatBritain

RoyalMail http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm

90mm140mm

120mm235mm

5mm upto100g

Non-rectangularpostcardsmustbeenclosedinenvelope&mailedatletterrate.

Australia AustraliaPost http://www.auspost.com.au/

88mmx138mm

130mm240mm

5mm upto250g

ImpactMail

Table 2: Postcard Sizes Around the World

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5/9

Its On Time.

Brilliant as ever. I washugely impressed with theturnaround time - as wasthe client. Ordered on

Monday, delivered the nextday- what more could I askfor! You are our best keptsecret printing weapon.

- Melanie Roddam, mc Design Group Ltd

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(Notice3A)isaneasywaytocheckorminimumsize,

properheighttolengthratio,andthicknessoyour

mailpiece.Justalignyourdesignsampleoverthis

whiteplasticcardandseeithecornersallwithinthe

recommendeddimensions(Figure2).Thereseven

aslottotestthemaximumthicknessoyourdesign

sample;iittsthrough,itsOKtomail.Pickupa

templateatyourlocalPostOce.

Reply Mail

Subscriptioncardsinsidemagazinesareanexample

oReplyMailpostcardsmeanttobesentback

tothesource.ThePostOcehasaewoptionsor

thesekindsopostcards:BusinessReplyMail(BRM)

andCourtesyReplyMail(CRM).Iyourpostcard

issentBRM,thesenderpaysorreturnpostage.I

thepostcardissentCRM,sendershavetoaddtheir

ownstamps.ThePostOcedeliversBRMandCRM

postcardsasterthan

standardmail,giving

apossiblebusinessadvantageoseveraldays.

Athirdoption,Meter

ReplyMail,usespre-

printedmeteredpostage

axedtoitthatdoesnt

getchargeduntilitarrives

attheoriginator.But

sincetheMRMormat

hasnospeciallimitations

todesignaround,Iwont

coveritinthisarticle.Therearesomany

restrictionsonBRMand

CRMcardlayoutsthatits

besttousetheocial


Figure 2:AreetemplateromthePostOcehelpscheckmailpiecedimensions.Togetanactualtemplate,contactaPostalBusinessServiceCenter.



6/9

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PostOcedigitaltemplates(Figures3and4).Youcan

downloadMacandWindowslesinseveraltrimsizes

athttp://pe.usps.com/mpdesign/mpdr_addl_all.asp.

Thesewell-structureddocumentshaveanInstructions

Layer,WorkingLayer,andDimensionsLayer.Theyre

availableasIllustrator,AcrobatPDF,andFreehandles,

butunortunatelynotasInDesignles.

Therearemoredetailedlayoutguidelinesor

BRMinQuickServiceGuide507aandorCRMin

QuickServiceGuide507b.Checkyourpostcard

projectagainstallothesecriteriabyusingtheree

AutomationLettersTemplate(Notice67).

Shapes: Beyond the Standard Rectangle

SoarIvecoveredrectangularpostcardswithina

airlynarrowrangeosizeandproportion.Butyoucan

sendalmostanyfatshapethroughthemail.In2005,

theUSPSstartedtheCustomizedMarketMail(CMM)

program,whichallowsordie-cutshapedmailto

besentthroughthepostalsystem.Therstoversized

specialtydie-cutpostcardmailedwasshapedlikea

boxoKrispyKremedoughnuts.

Dontworrythatoddpostcardshapeswillbe

tangledinthemailsorter.Becausethesepiecesare

sentexpresstoeachZIPcodedistributioncenterand

thenhand-sortedbythenalpostalcarrier,theydont

evergothroughanyautomatedmachinery.Minimum

dimensionso3.5"5"and0.007"thickstillapply,but

themaximumsizeorCMMis12"15"0.75"witha

topweightlimito3.3ounces.Uniormthicknessisnot

required,andattachmentsupto"thickareallowed.

Thatmeansyoucangluethingsontoyourpostcard,

suchasaproductsample.Theonlyshapelimitations

arethedie-cuttertolerancesatyourprintnisher.

CMMmaterialscanbeanythingsemi-rigidthat

tswithinthedimensionalcriteria.Thatmeans

materialsthatwouldotherwisebeconsidered


Figure 3:LayoutguidelinesorBusinessReplyMailareintheDimensionsLayerothetemplate. Figure 4:TheDimensionsLayerotheCRMdigitaltemplateshowsthelayoutguidelines.

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unmailablearenowopenorconsideration:clearor

semi-transparent;mirror-refective;roughandheavily

textured;urry;fuy;andspongysuracesareallair

gameorCMM.

Havingyouroddpostcardshapesgentlyhandled

bypeopleduringeverystepothedeliveryprocess

hasitsprice,andsomebenets.Betweentheexpress

deliveryandtheprioritizedhandsorting,CMMcan

actuallybeasterthanFirst-Classmail.Thepostage

itselisnotbad,butthecostoorganizinganddrop-


shippingeachCMMZIP-zonebatchcanaddup.Note:

Duetotheadditionalexpenseodrop-shippingto

eachpostalstation,CMMismorecost-eectivewhen

targetingspecicZIPcodesthanwhensendingto

scatteredaddressesacrossthecountry.

Becauseothemulti-stagedeliveryprocess,CMM

wontbereturnedtothesender,soyoumustinclude

Carrier-LeaveINoResponseonCMMpiecesinthe

locationothereturnaddressorunderthereturn

address,inaminimum8ptontsize.Besuretoleave

a3.375"2.5"areatoincludethemailingaddress,

optionalreturnaddress,indicia,andCarrier-LeaveINoResponse.

Notjustanymailhousecanparticipateinthis

specializeddeliveryprocess.Thepostalservice

requiresthesendertoberegisteredwithcertain

mailingcapabilitiesconrmed.Checkwithyour

printertoseeitheyhavethedie-cuttingandmail-

sortingcapabilitiesrequiredorCMMshipments.

Thespecialstandards ordesigningCustomized

MarketMailareinQuickServiceGuide705a.

Withahugesize,almostanyshape,andminimal

restrictionsonmaterials,CustomizedMarketMailistheplacewherecreativepostcardinspirationcan

fourish.CMMwillcostyouextra,butthedramatic

impactosendingattention-gettingshapesinthe

mailmaybeworththeexpense(Figure5).

Printing Postcards

Postcardprintingisairlystraightorward.Youcan

outputatyourlocalpressorndlotsoaordable

optionsromonlineprinters.

Base Stock.IyouwantthePostOcetoprocess

yourcardsautomatically,thestockmustbebetween

0.007"and0.016"thick,andbar-codedpiecesmore

than4-1/4"highor6"long(eitherdimension)mustbe

atleast0.009"thick.Rigidityisalsoanissue;makesure

thestockisnttoofexible.

Ingeneral,avoidpatterns,textures,andcolors

omorethan10%densityromwhite.Withintheseguidelines,theremaybeplasticsorothernon-paper

materialsthatqualiyorpostcardorletterrate.I

youuseastierplasticorheavilylaminatedstock,

therigiditymaybumpituptoanautomatedfat

rate.CheckstocksampleswiththeMailpieceDesign

AnalystatthenearestPostalBusinessServiceCenter,

becauseonlytheycanmakethenalcall.

Asyoudiscoveredinthesection"Shapes:Beyond

theStandardRectangle,"payingalittleextraorafat

Performing PostcardsThepointoanypostcardistodeliveramessage.Manymarketingpostcardsaremeanttobereturnedtothesendersothemessageimpactcanbemeasured.Whethertheycomebackbymailorinperson,youasthedesignercanimprovethereturnrate.Forexample,usetheBusinessReplyMail(BRM)orCourtesyReplyMail(CRM)layoutormats(seepage22).Thoselittleblackbarshelpwithautomatedpre-sortingorreturndeliverythatcandramaticallyreducetimeintransit.

Astrategythatencouragesin-personreturnsistodesignapostcardthattakesonanadditionalrole:an

eventinvitationcanalsoactasanentranceticket,asaleannouncementcandodoubledutyasacoupon,evenasimplescheduleremindercanbecomeanac-tiveappointmentcard.Peopleliningupwithpostcardsinhandisproothatthemailingwaseective.

Somepostcardsaresentout,andmeanttobesaved.Beautiullydesignedpostcardscanearnapermanentspotonbulletinboards,scrapbooks,wallsorrerigera-tordoorsasartthatconstantlyremindspeopleotheirsourceandmessagewithcreativevisualstheydontminddisplaying.

Figure 5:Thissamplinggivesyouatasteohowyoucanpushthe

limitsoapostcard.

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rateormanualhandlingopensupmanymoreoptions

ormailingpostcardsmadeodierentmaterials.

Varnishes.Floodvarnishesorcoatingscanadda

nicelookandeeltothenishedcard,butthatsnot

everythingtoconsider.Youmaywanttokeepthe

postcardsuraceuncoatedormattesoitseasierto

writeon,especiallyiitsasurveyorappointmentcard.

Foracalendarorreerencepostcardthatsintended

tobekeptandhandledrepeatedly,addingaheavy

laminateorUVcoatingwillmakethecardmore

durable.

Inks.Dontusemetallicinksoraddresses,becausethe

refectionmakesthetextunscannable.Alsobesureto

keeptheaddresscolordarkerthanthesurrounding

area,withacolorcontrastoatleast15%romthe

baseitsprintedon.Blackinkoraddressesisthesaest

choice,andwhatthePostOcerecommends.

Color Control.Thereareamazingdealsonlineor

printinglargequantitiesocolorpostcards.Many

times,thesecardsarebatch-printedwithotherorders,soyourpostcardmaybeonesmallsection

oaganged-uppresssheet.Youmaynothavethe

opportunityorexactingcoloradjustmentsandcan

reasonablyexpecttogetpleasingcolorresultsonly.

Iyourprojectneedsprecisecolorexecution,beware,

butipleasingcolorisacceptable,thenbyallmeans

givetheseoptionsatry.

Tempting Templates

Withallotheseproductioncriteriatoconsider,

optimalpostcarddesignmightbemorecomplex

thanyouoriginallythought.Itstemptingtouse

atemplateorguidance.Postcardtemplatesare

availableromprintersandthepostalservice,and

aspartosupportlesthatshipwithInDesign

Figure 6:Whenyouoverlaythepostalguidelinesorpositioningtextandgraphics,itsclearthatthisInDesignpostcardtemplateisnotagoodlayoutexampletoollow.

andIllustrator.Butbewarethateachsourcehasits

ownagenda.Printersaremostconcernedabout

wheretheinkhitsthepaper,thePostalServiceis

simplyenorcingpre-sortingandautomatedmail

processing,andthedesignprogramsencourage

creativitywithoutworryingaboutcriticalaspectsor

mailing(Figure6).


CLEAR

AREA

FOR

INDICIA

MAILING

ADDRESS

AREA

Danger Zone - Important layout elements in this area may appear too close to trim.

Safe Zone- All importantelements should be within

this area to prevent being

trimmed off.This is also the

minimum border width.

Trim Line - Finished edge

Bleed - All edge elementsshould extend past the trim

to the bleed line.

CLEAR AREA FOR BARCODE & POSTAL MARKINGS

Sendersad

dress

containsas

tateand

Zipcodepos

itioned

BELOWthe

mailing

address,so

thiscard

islikelytob

ereturned

tothesende

r.

Graphicint

he

CLEARareai

s

30%tint,m

ust

be10%tint

orless.

Graphictoo

closetotrim

edge,inthe

dangerzone

.

Textinthe

CLEARareap

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T H E T R A D E P R I N T E R

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Legendary PFL servicenow available to the trade

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Now!

Forcommercialpostcardprintingtemplates

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InDesignCS3andCS4templatesarein Library >

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Asdesignerswecancreatepostcardsthatpeoplemayglanceatandtossout,orthatcatchtheir

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Cathy Palmerisanaward-winninggraphicdesignerwhohas

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