Flyers · Glossary
What is the standard greeting card size? Cards and envelopes
The most common greeting card sizes are 5 by 7 inches, which fits an A7 envelope, and A6, 105 by 148 millimetres or about 4.13 by 5.83 inches, which fits a C6 envelope. Folded cards are printed on a sheet twice as wide, so a 5 by 7 card starts as a 10 by 7 inch flat sheet.
A greeting card is two sizes at once: the folded card people hold and the flat sheet the printer prints. The envelope is the third size, and it is the one that decides whether the card slides in neatly or gets bent at a corner.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Card | Folded size | Flat sheet | Pixels at 300 DPI (folded face) | Envelope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 x 7 in | 5 x 7 in | 10 x 7 in | 1500 x 2100 | A7, 5.25 x 7.25 in |
| A6 | 105 x 148 mm (4.13 x 5.83 in) | A5, 148 x 210 mm | 1240 x 1748 | C6, 114 x 162 mm |
| A5 | 148 x 210 mm | A4, 210 x 297 mm | 1748 x 2480 | C5, 162 x 229 mm |
| 4.25 x 5.5 in | 4.25 x 5.5 in | 8.5 x 5.5 in (half letter) | 1275 x 1650 | A2, 4.375 x 5.75 in |
| Square 5.5 in | 5.5 x 5.5 in | 11 x 5.5 in | 1650 x 1650 | square envelope, larger postage in some countries |
Two size systems for cards
In countries that use ISO paper, cards follow the A series: an A6 card folded from an A5 sheet, or an A5 card folded from A4, with matching C series envelopes. Papersizes.org notes that C6 holds A6 and C5 holds A5 by design. In North America cards follow the announcement envelopes, a series with names such as A2, A6 and A7; papersizes.org lists A7 at 7.25 by 5.25 inches, which takes a 5 by 7 card, and A2 at 5.75 by 4.375, which takes a 4.25 by 5.5 card. MOO prints its greeting cards at 4.13 by 5.83 inches, the A6 size, with a bleed area of 4.21 by 5.98.
Designing a folded card
The printed file is the flat sheet, laid out as two panels side by side for the outside, back on the left and front on the right, and two more for the inside. Keep text and faces at least 4 to 5 millimetres away from the fold and the trim, add bleed to any colour running off the edge, and decide whether the fold is on the left like a book or along the top like a tent. A card stock of about 300 to 350 gsm stands up on a shelf, and anything heavier should be scored before folding so the coating does not crack.
Posting a card
Card and envelope together decide the postage. Australia Post treats a seasonal greeting card up to 130 by 240 millimetres and 5 millimetres thick as a small letter, so A6 and 5 by 7 cards in their envelopes qualify. Square envelopes and lumpy cards with ribbons or badges can fall outside machine handling in some postal systems and cost more, so check before ordering a large batch. For hand delivered cards, any size works.
Common mistakes
The first is sizing the card to the paper and then finding no envelope fits; buy or confirm envelopes first. The second is putting the front image on the left panel of the flat file, so it ends up on the back. The third is a message printed upside down inside a top fold card. The fourth is a dark design printed on uncoated stock without enough drying time, which smudges on the envelope when it is slid in.
Cards and the flyer editor
The flyer editor has no greeting card canvas or fold layout. Its print sizes are A4 portrait and A4 landscape, and an A4 landscape page folded in half gives an A5 card, so the closest route is a two page flyer at A4 landscape, one page for the outside panels and one for the inside, with the fold line kept clear. Exports have no bleed or crop marks, so a print shop may ask for margin to be added with the bleed and trim calculator. For 5 by 7 inch cards, the flyer size resizer converts an export to the right pixels, and the blank PNG above is 1500 by 2100 pixels, a 5 by 7 card face at 300 DPI.
Questions people ask
What size envelope do I need for a 5 by 7 card?
An A7 envelope, 5.25 by 7.25 inches, is the standard fit for a 5 by 7 inch card, leaving an eighth of an inch on each side. In ISO countries there is no exact match; a C5 envelope takes it with room to spare, and some stationers sell 133 by 184 millimetre envelopes made for it.
Is A6 a good size for a greeting card?
Yes. A6 is a common card size in Australia, the UK and Europe, cheap to print because it folds from A5, and it fits a C6 envelope and the small letter rate. For a card with a long handwritten message, A5 gives more room inside.
What paper is best for greeting cards?
Most printed cards use 300 to 350 gsm card stock, uncoated or with a matte finish inside so pens write cleanly. A gloss or soft touch finish on the outside makes images richer, but an all gloss card is hard to write in with ballpoint or gel pens.
How do I print a folded card at home?
Set up the page at the flat size, place the outside panels on one page and the inside panels on another, and print double sided on card stock your printer can feed. Print one test first to check that the inside lines up with the front, since home printers often shift the second side slightly.
Do square cards cost more to post?
In some countries they do. Square envelopes do not run well through letter sorting machines, and postal services may charge a non standard rate for them. Check the current rules for your country before ordering square cards for a large mail out.
Make one with flyers
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Step by step in the builder: Choose your flyer template, theme and size.
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