Travel Postcards

What are travel postcards?

Travel postcards are full-color postcards built for tourism and travel use, printed at 4OVER4 in 14 sizes from a 2.5" x 2.5" square up to a 6" x 11" card, on any of 22 stocks, with ink coverage, finish, rounded corners, and turnaround all set in the live configurator.

People reach for a travel postcard when a plain flyer would not do the job: destination souvenirs on a shop rack, wish you were here cards mailed home, welcome cards left in a hotel room, and promo cards for a tour operator or a travel agency. You print full color on the front, choose a blank, black, or full color back, pick your stock and size, and the price updates live as you go. If you want the plain rectangle instead, the Standard Postcards cover that, and the travel version sits right beside it.

What sizes can travel postcards be?

Travel postcards come in 14 set sizes at 4OVER4, from a 2.5" x 2.5" square up to a 6" x 11" card, with a 2.5" x 2.5" default and presets at 3" x 3", 3" x 4", and 4" x 4". You can order a custom size made to order up to 6" x 11", and add rounded corners at a 1/8" or 3/8" radius.

The right size depends on how the card gets used. A small 2.5" x 2.5" or 3" x 3" square works as a rack card or a gift-shop souvenir. A 3" x 4" or 4" x 4" gives a photo room to breathe. The larger sizes up toward 6" x 11" read like a mini flyer, with space for a map, a message, and a mailing panel. Rounded corners soften the look at a 1/8" or 3/8" radius, and all 14 sizes are grouped below exactly the way the live configurator presents them.

Design it without a designer

You do not need a design background to make a travel postcard look sharp. Start from one of thousands of free, professionally built layouts in our postcards design templates, then swap the photo, colors, and copy in the online editor in minutes. One strong destination image usually carries the whole front.

Already have your artwork? Skip the editor and download a press-ready blank instead. Each blank travel postcard template is built at the real trim size with the 1/8" bleed and safe margin already drawn in, so your design never crowds the cut. Grab the size that matches your order below, drop your art in, and upload.

What paper stocks and finishes can you choose?

4OVER4 offers 22 paper stocks for travel postcards, from gloss and uncoated covers to silk matte, cream uncoated, soft touch, white and premium linen, metallic pearl in ice, champagne, silver and gold, StarLustre, synthetic plastic, and rigid vinyl. Weights run from 10pt up to a thick 26pt. Finish options are Standard or High Gloss UV Coating, and ink prints 4/0 front only, 4/1 front plus black back, or 4/4 full color on both sides.

Stock is where a postcard earns its keep. A gloss or silk cover makes a destination photo pop, while an uncoated or cream stock takes pen ink cleanly on the back, which matters when the card gets mailed with a note. Linen adds texture you can feel, the metallic pearl stocks catch light like foil, and the synthetic plastic and rigid vinyl options shrug off a little rain and wear on the road. Several stocks carry 30% or 100% recycled content if you want a greener card. Finish plain with a Standard coat or add a High Gloss UV Coating to make a photo snap, and set your ink to 4/0, 4/1, or 4/4 depending on whether you print the back.

How much do travel postcards cost?

Travel postcards start at $16.48 for 50 at 4OVER4. The price scales across 40 quantity tiers up to 100,000, so a larger run drops the per-postcard cost fast, from about 33 cents each at 50 to under 2 cents each at 100,000. Stock, finish, and turnaround adjust the total, and the configurator shows the exact number before you commit.

The entry price is $16.48 for your first 50 travel postcards. Order more and the math turns friendly quickly: 800 run $73.60, 7,000 run $176.61, and 25,000 run $491.20, with a full 100,000-card mailing at $1,721.38. A heavier stock, a High Gloss UV coat, or a rush speed shift the total, and every change shows in real time. Want a side-by-side quote? 4OVER4's Price Match beats a real competitor price by an extra 10% - the 110% price-match guarantee.

Most people land on a set of a few hundred to a few thousand for a first campaign, but the sweet spot depends on the mailing. So how many do you actually need? Drag the slider below to set your count and watch both the set total and the true per-postcard cost update live, and find the point where one more step up barely moves the budget.

Can You Print a Name or Code on Each Postcard?

Yes. Turn on variable data and you can drop a unique name, a serial number, a booking code, or a QR link onto every card in the run, so each one ships personalized instead of identical. That turns a travel postcard into a numbered loyalty mailer, a hotel welcome card with a real guest name, or a promo where every code is different. Pair it with full color on both sides and a finish that fits, and one file does the work of a whole personalized batch.

How Do Travel Postcards Compare to the Rest of the Range?

Travel postcards are the value pick when you want a photo front and a writable back, but they are not your only move. If you are weighing a foil accent or a smaller square, it helps to see the trade-off in plain numbers. The chart below lines up travel postcards against their closest siblings, the Metallic Foil Postcards and Mini Cards, so you can compare the starting price on each before you choose.

What do people use travel postcards for?

Travel postcards work as destination souvenirs, hotel and resort welcome mailers, tour and travel agency promos, wish you were here cards, event and trade show handouts, and loyalty or coupon mailers. Full color both sides and variable data printing let each card carry a different name, code, or QR link in a single run.

Because a travel postcard pairs a strong photo with a writable back, it slips into a lot of jobs. Gift shops rack them as souvenirs. Hotels leave them on the pillow with a welcome note. Tour operators mail them to past guests with a returning-traveler code. Wedding and event planners send destination save-the-dates. And travel brands run them as direct mail, with a QR code on the back that jumps straight to a booking page. One card, a photo, and a stamp, and it does real work.

How fast can you get travel postcards printed?

4OVER4 prints travel postcards on four turnaround speeds, from same-day out of the New York City facility to a standard 3 business days, with next-day and 2-day in between. Order by the daily cutoff and a same-day job ships that afternoon, and faster speeds adjust the price.

Deadline before a trip or a mailing drops? Same-day printing exists for exactly that. Order by the cutoff and your travel postcards ship the same afternoon from the NYC plant. If the timeline is roomier, next-day and 2-day sit in the middle, and the standard 3-day keeps the price lowest. Four speeds, one dropdown, and 99.8% of 4OVER4 orders land on time with 82% shipping early, so you are not gambling on the date.

See the Rest of Our Postcards

Travel postcards are one stop in a larger lineup, and you can scan the full print product range any time. If a foil accent, a plain rectangle, or a smaller square would serve you better, the Standard Postcards and Mini Cards are one tap away, each with its own starting price.

Print Your Travel Postcards Today

At 4OVER4.COM, quality comes first, and it's backed by a satisfaction guarantee and 25+ years of printing since 1999. Whatever size, stock or finish you pick, these travel postcards are built to carry a destination well, on a rack or through the mail. Need them before a trip or a campaign? Our Same-Day production keeps you covered. Print your travel postcards today.