Have you ever wondered how greeting cards are made? All the floral, musical, funny, optimistic or beautiful greeting cards that we see on the shelves in supermarkets for giving to our loved one – they are all printed in special printers.
The best printers for greeting cards are quite different from the ones we use in our home or at work, because they are designed specially for printing greeting cards.
So what’s special about these printers? The best printers for greeting cards must be able to handle thicker and heavier paper, but they should also be versatile machines that you can use for other purposes.
So, whether you are looking for a printer to make homemade Christmas cards or starting your own greeting card business, your printers should have some special features – as you can learn from this article.
Top 6 Best Printer for Greeting Cards
Here are all the details you need to know about the six most popular and best printers for making and printing greeting cards in the market at the moment.
1. Canon Selphy CP1300 Compact Printer
Greeting cards aren’t very large in size; in general, the largest greeting card we can send someone is smaller than a wall poster.
For this reason, the printers manufactured specifically for making greeting cards or printing on cards are usually compact.
This particular model from Canon – the Canon Selphy CP1300, is also a compact device that is only 7.1” x 5.4” x 2.5” in dimension.
Even though it is a compact device, you can use this printer to create greeting cards of different shapes and sizes.
This printer can print on paper sizes ranging from Postcard size (4” x 6”), L-size (3.5” x 4.7”). Card size (2.1” 3.4”) and square size (2.1” x 2.1”).
Affordable and small in size, you can buy this printer easily and keep it tucked into a drawer of your home office for when you need its help.
This is also a wireless device that you can simply connect to your computer, tablet or smartphone with Wi-Fi connection; via the Canon Print App3, you can print anything directly from your gadgets, your USB stick or your device’s memory card.
Besides running on electricity through direct connection, the Selphy CP1300 also runs with a portable battery which means you can use this compact printer to print your greeting cards for photographs anywhere you are.
The printer comes with a 3.2” LCD screen that you can use to easily edit, print and even choose any picture or design you want to print.
Other features include: a strong paper tray that can hold up to 18 sheets of postcard paper, operating temperature range of 5 to 40-degrees, and a high-quality print resolution up to color 256 levels.
Features:
- Wireless and compact device
- Runs on electricity and battery
- Product dimension: Only 7.1” x 5.4” x 2.5”
- Can print on Postcard size (4” x 6”), L-size (3.5” x 4.7”). Card size (2.1” 3.4”) and square size (2.1” x 2.1”) paper
- Compatible with the Canon Print App3
- Tilting 3.2” LCD screen for choosing, editing and printing image
- Sleek and portable
- Can be used to print directly from USB stick or memory card
- Paper tray holds 18 sheets of postcard paper
- Operating temperature range of 5 to 40-degrees
- Print resolution up to color 256 levels
- Can be used on sticker paper
- Comes with 5 sample postcard-sizer paper and ink
- Can be used to print collage with “Party Shuffle Print” feature
- Compatible with AirPrint and Mopria Device Printin
2. Epson PictureMate PM-400 Compact Printer
Another compact and small printer that you can use to print for photographs and greeting cards is the PictureMate PM-400 by Epson.
This is a great device for printing high-quality borderless photos and cards, in both 4” x 6” and 5” x 7” sizes.
It is also a wireless device that is compatible with any smart device. You can connect your phone, tablet or computer to the printer via Wi-Fi and print anything.
The Epson PictureMate PM-400 can print a 4” x 6” greeting card in less than 36 seconds.
For the best result and for keeping your printer in good condition, it is recommended that you use only Epson cartridges with this printer.
You can carry this compact and portable printer with you anywhere, make prints from your phone. With the 2.7” color display, you can choose, view and print anything you want, directly from the printer.
Features:
- Compact, wireless and portable device
- Can print on 4” x 6” and 5” x 7” paper
- Compatible with the Canon Print App3
- 2.7” color display
- Comes with 100 sheets of smudge-free photo paper and ink cartridges
- Wireless printing and Wi-Fi direct
- Directly prints from any gadget and device
- Prints borderless photographs and cards
- Prints a 4” x 6” photo in less than 37 seconds
3. HP Envy Photo 7855 All-In-One Printer
Finally, a compact but very handy printer that will do more than just print your greeting cards and photographs. Beside high-quality printing, this machine can be also used as a scanner, a copier and a fax machine.
You can make both regular and professional-quality borderless printing with this printer.
This compact printer can be easily connected to any computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone – simply by using the Wi-Fi. The HP Envy Photo 7855 is compatible with AirPrint, so that you can directly use your gadgets to use the printer.
The HP Smart App allows you to do everything from setting up the printer, scan your documents just by using your device camera, print directly from Social Media sites and photos stored in iCloud, Dropbox and Google Drive.
You can even directly print from your SD card or USB stick by sticking them to the printer.
Only HP Original Instant ink is recommended to use with this printer, which gives you the best results and lets you save a lot of money on replacing your ink cartridges.
You can use a whole range of paper sizes in this printer, starting from letter sized paper at 4” x 5”, 4” x 6” and legal sized paper at 5” x 7”, 8” x 10” and No. 10 envelops.
Features:
- Wireless and compact device
- Can print on 4” x 5”, 4” x 6”, 5” x 7”, 8” x 10” and No. 10 envelops
- Recommended use with HP Original Instant Ink
- Compatible with the HP Smart App
- 3” color screen for choosing, editing and printing image
- Can be used to print directly from USB stick or memory card
- Recommended: Original HP Instant Ink for best results
- Comes with free “Canva” software for editing images for 3 months
- Comes with free ink and cartridges
- Both-side printing
- Borderless printing
- Automatic document feeder
- Compatible with iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox
4. Victure Photo Printer
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This is a pocket-sized printer that isn’t much bigger than the photographs or the greeting cards you can print with them. You can connect it to your smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer via Bluetooth, and the printer is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
With the Instant Color App, you can edit your images, add filters and stickers to them, make them into collages or place them in different card templates.
If you like to send off customized and personalized Christmas cards or birthday cards, this is a great printer for you.
For something so small, this printer allows you to print high-quality images, photographs and designs on card papers and photo papers sized 4” x 6”.
With the “Dye Sublimation Thermal Transfer” technology, the photos or greeting cards that you print out will be water-proof, fade-proof and tear-resistant.
In short, whatever you print with this printer is going to last a long time.
Features:
- Small and wireless printer
- Can print on 4” x 6” card paper and photo paper
- Compatible with both iOS and Android devices
- Compatible with “Instant Color App” for editing and designing
- Comes with a Instant Printer paper cassette to hold the paper
- Water-proof, fade-proof and tear-resistant
- Can be used to print directly from any smart devices
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Stable and reliable connection
- Portable and easy to carry
- Borderless printing
- High-quality image
- Automatic Photo Lamination
- Anti-fingerprint smudge and anti-oxidation
5. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 Printer
Another high-quality printer that you can use for printing out extremely high-quality images, greeting cards, photographs and documents.
With this printer, everything you print will be bright and vivid, ultra HD photo-quality that you can use for sending to your loved ones, or use at your work.
Borderless printing is possible with this printer, and you can print anything up to 13” x 19” in size.
Only Epson cartridges are recommended with this printer for the best quality output, but also to make sure your printer works well for years.
The printer comes with 6-color individual cartridges that you can use to print anything, not just greeting cards.
This is a wider printer that can print on A3-sized paper, but 30% smaller in size than other models from the same brand. It easily fits on your desktop or work table, but can print on large paper sizes.
This printer supports both-side printing, borderless printing, and comes with a front tray that can hold 200 sheets of paper.
With the “Dash Replenishment Feature” you will never run out of ink completely, as the printer itself will keep track of ink usage and even order more ink when needed.
Features:
- Wide but compact design; fits easily on a work table
- Can print on paper from 4” x 6” to 13” x 19” in size
- Recommended use with Epson Ink Cartridges only
- Can be used to print high-quality images, photographs and greeting cards
- Comes with 6-color individual cartridges
- 2-side printing and Borderless printing
- Sturdy paper tray can hold 200 sheets of paper
- 30% smaller than previous designs
- “Dash Replenishment” feature tracks and orders ink when needed
- Prints ultra-enhanced black and white images
6. Canon SELPHY CP900 Printer
This is another lightweight and compact printer that runs on battery; it’s so small and portable that you can carry it around with you wherever you are.
Even when you are travelling, you can use this portable printer to print and send postcards and greeting cards to loved ones back home.
From the renowned brand Canon, this wireless printer is compatible with any iOS and Android device; it lets you directly print from your smartphone, tablet or computer using Bluetooth.
With the tilting 2.7” LCD monitor, you can see what you are printing at all times without having to look at your phone.
It is compatible with the KP-108IN color ink set, and the KC-36IP color ink set.
Anything you print with this device – photographs or greeting cards – are water resistant and long-lasting, and take only 47 seconds to print.
Features:
- Small, compact and portable
- Can print on photo paper and card paper
- Compatible with iOS and Android devices
- Recommended use with HP Original Instant Ink
- Compatible with the HP Smart App
- 2.7” tilting LCD screen to edit and select photos
- Red-eye correction
- 5-color effects for editing your images
- Prints in less than 47 seconds
- Directly prints from memory cards and USB sticks
- Built-in wireless connectivity
- Runs on battery
- Compatible with the KP-108IN color ink set and KC-36IP color ink set
- Can be used to print directly from USB stick or memory card
- Both-side and Borderless printing
- Water-resistant and long-lasting prints
What to Look For when Buying a Postcard or Greeting Card Printer?
It’s not always that we buy a printer only for printing out postcards or greeting cards, even when they are small or compact.
However, if you are on the lookout for such a printer, there are some features they should have.
- Size
Unless you are making giant birthday cards or congratulatory cards, the printer needed for making postcards or greeting cards doesn’t have to be very big. In fact, a printer just the size of the cards you want to make are fine.
For example, the Canon SELPHY CP900 Printer and the Victure Photo Printer – two extremely compact and lightweight printers that you can even carry around with you in your bag.
For just printing cards and photographs, you don’t need a very large printer.
However, if you want to use the same printer for making large cards, print out your artworks or documents, there are a lot of other models and brands to choose from.
- Connectivity
Connectivity between printers and devices have changed significantly over the last few years.
These days, most printers are wireless devices that you can directly connect to any device you own via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Simply by connecting your printer to your smartphone, tablet, computer or laptop, you can directly use your printer to print anything, from documents to artwork, photographs to greeting cards.
The easier it is to connect your printer to the source of your image, the better it is for everyone.
Some printers are also compatible with AirPrint and Moprian Device Printing, as well as with Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud.
The HP Envy Photo 7855 All-In-One Printer is one such printer that you can connect to almost anything and easily print your greeting cards and photographs.
With a few printers, you can even print directly from your USB stick or memory card.
- Compatibility with Smart Apps
Everything becomes easier with Apps, which is also true for printing. Some printers – especially the ones from reputed brands – can be controlled via apps on smartphones.
The HP Envy Photo 7855 All-In-One Printer, for example, has the HP Smart APP that you can use to do anything from setting up the printer, scan your documents and print directly from any social media sites and photos stored in the cloud.
The Epson PictureMate PM-400 Compact Printer also has the Canon Print App3 that you can use to directly print anything from your phones and tablets.
- Diversity in Printing
Even when you are only going to print on the same-sized postcards and greeting cards, it helps if you have the option to print on more platforms.
With the Canon Selphy CP1300 Compact Printer, you can print on Postcard size (4” x 6”), L-size (3.5” x 4.7”). Card size (2.1” 3.4”) and square size (2.1” x 2.1”).
With the HP Envy Photo 7855 All-In-One Printer, too, you can print on letter sized paper at 4” x 5”, 4” x 6” and legal sized paper at 5” x 7”, 8” x 10” and No. 10 envelops.
With most other printers, too, you can print on most paper sizes from A4 size to postcard size, and even smaller.
The Canon Selphy CP1300 Compact Printer can also print on sticker paper to make stickers.
- Print Quality
Now this is a feature that you won’t have to worry about if you want to buy a printer for making greeting cards or postcards.
These days, most printers – especially the ones from renowned brands – give high-quality output when printing anything.
Therefore, if you are making greeting cards or postcards with your printer, or if you are printing out your photographs, collages or art – you’re going to get nothing but the high-quality print.
However, for the best print possible, it is always important to choose printers from the renowned brands like Brother, Epson or HP.
Other Features
Some other features in these printers for cards include:
- A LCD/color screen so that you can make edits or give the printer command directly from the printer;
- Dual-side or both-side printing;
- Borderless printing;
- High speed printing;
- Efficient ink usage;
- An automatic paper feeder or a sturdy paper tray;
- Portable battery to run,
- iOS and Android compatibility, and more.
These features are the added benefits in a printer. They aren’t absolutely crucial, but having these in the printer you buy can make your task easier.
How to Print Postcard-size Photo in Printer?
Most of the time, we print our personal photographs in the standard 4” x 6” size, which is also known as the 4R size or the postcard size.
Typically neither too big nor too small, this shape is perfect for putting your photographs into photo albums, making them into a collage for you walls, or even putting them inside photo frames.
Even though photographs can be printed in any size you want, thi 4R or postcard size is the most common size anywhere in the world.
Photo papers, which are the kind of paper used to print photographs on, can be of different sizes, most commonly 4” x 6” and 7” x 5”.
You can buy large sheets or rolls of photo paper and cut them into postcard-sized pieces (4” x 6”) or you can directly buy photo paper in this postcard size.
While you can use photo paper sheets in most printers to print postcard-sized photos, they are best done in the printers that are especially made for such purposes.
These printers are equipped to handle the details in color and shapes needed in printing photographs.
Whichever printer you are using, you can use your laptop or computer to edit your printer’s settings so that you can select the right size for the paper.
If you are using a 4” x 6” or a 7” x 5” sized sheet, you can choose the size in your settings before printing.
If the measurement of your paper size and the measurement of your image size match, be sure to select the “Full page photo” option of similar action.
This way, your image will the printed directly in proportion to the size of the paper you are using.
However, you can also print a smaller image on a large-sized paper and later cut the printed part off.
Depending on the printer you are using, the portion of the image will be printed at a corner or in the middle of the large sheet of paper and you might be able to use the rest of the sheet later.
In all cases, remember to select the highest quality of print possible for the printer, which could be “600 x 600” or a higher number. The higher the number, the more brilliant the ink is going to look after print and drying.
Depending on the printer and the details on the image, it might take a single postcard-sized photo a few seconds or over a minute to print.
It is important that you wait for a few minutes while the ink dries completely, When the ink has dried completely, you can print on the other side of the paper, or repeat the process on another sheet of paper.
How Much Does it Cost to Print a Postcard?
A printer can seem like a huge investment, as they don’t exactly come cheap. The high-quality printers from reputed brands like Epson and HP are quite expensive but they also give the best output.
If you have a postcard business or if your work requires you to print plenty of greeting cards or artwork, one of these printers can be a decent investment.
The papers or the sheets used in printing postcards aren’t very expensive.either. In fact, you can get a whole set of more than 200 sheets of card paper under $10 at your local craft shop or online.
Glossy paper is relatively cheaper than matte paper, and the ones where only one side is coated also happen to be more affordable.
Therefore, if you choose matter paper when both sides are coated and ready for printing on, the price might be a little higher than choosing glossy paper with a coat on only one side.
Even then, hundreds of sheets of paper won’t cost more than $20 or $30.
It’s true that printing postcards takes up a lot of ink, especially if you are using an image full of details.
However, printers come with ink cartridges and replacement ink sometimes, such as the HP Envy Photo 7855 All-In-One Printer, which makes it easier to start printing your postcards.
If you choose a printer that comes with both ink and ink cartridges, it will cost you much less to print postcards.
Therefore, with every estimate, it might take $3.5 to $30 to print sets of 1000 postcards, or any amount in between.
If the design is yours and you don’t have to pay anyone for them, the overall price of printing postcards will be much lower.
What Kind of Paper is Used in Printing Postcards?
You can print your postcards on a number of types of paper, but they come out the best when you are using cardstock, card paper or postcard paper.
There should be some features available on the paper used in printing postcards. For example:
- They should generally be a 16 pt “ultra thick” paper because otherwise, the ink will seep through the sheet;
- They should be “semi gloss” paper stock for a more luxurious feel; and
- If you are using a 14 pt “extra thick” cardstock, they will be more economical.
There you have it – the kinds of cardstock or card paper that you can print postcards on to get the best results at the most affordable prices.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Can I print postcards on regular paper?
A: If by regular paper you mean the kind of paper we write on or print our official documents on, it would be pointless to print postcards on them.
Since postcards are mainly images or photos, regular paper cannot hold the amount of ink needed for them.
The ink will seep through the paper and spoil the whole thing and it will be impossible to print on both sides of the paper.
Besides, postcards are meant to be thick enough to mail them off without needing an envelope, and regular paper cannot handle the environment or the journey via mail without tearing.
Q: Can I print postcards of any size?
A: Yes, it will be possible to print postcards in any size or shape, if you want to or if your design calls for it.
However, postcards are designed and printed to be sent off via the mail, and mail boxes have slots of very specific sizes.
Therefore, if you want to print postcards that you want to send someone via mail, they need to follow the specific sizes for postcards, which are 4” x 6” and 5” x 7”.
Q: Can I print postcards at home?
A: With the kind kind of printer, plenty of colored ink cartridges and the right kind of paper, it is definitely possible to print postcards at home.
In fact, this can be a business that you can conduct from your own home.
Q: How can I design my own postcards?
A: Just like creating any designs, designs or templates for postcards can be created on your computer or laptop, using Photoshop or Illustrator.
Besides, if you want to create postcards with your photographs or a collage of your photos, you can do so directly from your smartphone or tablet by using an App that is compatible with your printer.
Conclusion
Making your own greeting cards or your own postcards can be a hobby, or it can be a profitable business that you can conduct from the comfort of your own home.
Whichever your reason, one of the most important steps is to find the right printer for the process. There are a lot of printers that you can choose from, but the right one can be difficult to find.
However, after you’ve chosen a printer for yourself, it will be incredibly easy to print out your own cards anytime you want to.