- Postage is not in the print cart.
- Address block and barcode zone stay empty of art.
- EDDM is a different form from stamped postcards.
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Answer first: a postcard mailing compliance check happens before the press, not after the carton arrives. CheapFAST postcard printing quotes a packed print total with free ground to your door when air stays closed. Postage, permits, and indicia are not in that number. We do not invent a postcard dollar on this guide.
Take Andre who designed a full-bleed back and covered the address zone. The mailer rejected the drop. He rebuilt with a clear address block, exported PDF Print, and quoted the live postcard form. Ground stayed FREE on the print ship to his office. Stamps stayed a separate receipt.
Circle-prospecting creative is a different guide. This page is the mail rule check.
Checklist before you quote quantity
| Check | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Matches the form chip | Social square crop |
| Address side | Clear zone for address and barcode | Photo through the address |
| Postage | Budgeted outside this cart | Assumed free because Ground is free |
| EDDM vs stamp | Correct form | Note that says make it EDDM |
| Return address | Real and readable | Tiny gray type |
Print ship vs mailbox postage
FREE ground means we ship the carton to you without a dest line on Ground. It does not mean the post office carries your mailing for free. Stamps, meters, and permits are yours. Write both numbers on the worksheet. Do not average them into one fake postcard price.
If you need Every Door Direct Mail, open EDDM postcards. Notes on the regular postcard form do not invent an EDDM indicia.
Art rules that survive a mail scan
Keep contrast high. Keep type out of the barcode clear zone. Export PDF Print at the chip inches. Soft JPGs fail our preflight and can fail a mail scan later. Canva must match the size before you decorate.
Quantity after the checklist passes
Quote the list count plus a spare for spoils. Do not quote a city and hope. Re-quote if the size chip changes. Rural office ZIPs do not add a Ground dest line for the carton to you. Air still prices if you open it.
Scenario: realtor who mixed EDDM and stamped lists
Take a realtor with one farm for EDDM and one past-client list for stamps. Two forms. Two PDFs. One note that said use the right postage failed. She quoted EDDM on the EDDM form and stamped cards on the postcard form. Postage stayed off both print totals.
When a local mail shop still wins
They will stamp and drop a tiny count while you wait. We print and ship the stack to you. We are not the post office. Same-day lobby drops stay local.
One mistake that wastes a mailing
Covering the address zone is the expensive mistake. Another is believing free Ground means free postage. Another is uploading letter flyers from $40.34 and writing cut as postcards. Open the postcard form.
Cards and flyers beside the mailing
Business cards from $36.53 and flyers from $40.34 with FREE ground as of 2026-09-18 are leave-behinds, not the mailed piece. Quote each form. Do not invent those floors into the postcard line.
Client sign-off line
Before you approve quantity, the client should see three lines: print packed total with FREE ground, postage estimate from the meter or the post office, and which form you used (postcard or EDDM). If any line is blank, do not print a thousand. A signature on a blog screenshot is not a sign-off. A signature next to the live form screenshot is.
Keep the postal diagram next to the PDF. When a designer swaps a photo, check the address zone again. Pretty backs cause more rejects than thin stock. Stock questions belong on the stock guide. This page is the drop rule. Do not let a stock debate hide a covered barcode.
Seeds to your own mailbox tell you the scan worked. Count them in the quantity. Pay their postage. Do not ask the plant to mail them. We ship the carton to you. You or your mail house finish the drop.
Spoils, seeds, and the count you quote
Add a small spare for jam and damage, then quote that number. Seed a few pieces to your own address so you see what the mail scan saw. Those seeds are part of quantity, not a free extra. Re-read the packed total after you add them. Postage on the seeds is still postage. FREE ground only brings the carton to the office that will meter or stamp.
If the list has two classes, do not average the postage into the print. Show the postcard form total and the meter total on one sheet the client signs. That sheet is the compliance habit. The art note is not.
Worksheet columns that keep postage honest
Column A is size chip. Column B is stock. Column C is quantity including spoils. Column D is CheapFAST print, FREE ground, packed total. Column E is postage or permit, written from the post office or your meter, not from this page. Column F is EDDM or stamped. If F is EDDM, you are on the wrong form until you open EDDM postcards.
Do not add column E into column D and call it the postcard price. Customers and brokers feel cheated when the second receipt appears. Show both before you approve art.
List hygiene before quantity
Undeliverable addresses waste print even when Ground to your office was free. Clean the list first. Quote the cleaned count plus a small spare. Do not quote the raw export from a dusty spreadsheet. Re-quote if the list shrinks after a hygiene pass.
Return address must be real. Tiny gray type fails in a scan and in a human sort. Keep the barcode zone empty. A premium photo through that zone is the reject, not a design win.
Two drops, two calendars
A farm EDDM drop and a past-client stamped drop do not share a note. Two PDFs if the art differs. Two forms. Ground to your office can be FREE on both cartons. Postage remains two different receipts. Flyers from $40.34 are not a mail class. Cards from $36.53 are leave-behinds. Open each form.
Same-day stamping of twenty pieces can stay at a local mail counter. We print the stack and ship it to you. We are not the post office.
Does CheapFAST postage come with postcard printing?
No. The postcard form prices print and the ship of that carton to you. Ground is FREE when the form shows it. Stamps, meters, and permits are a separate receipt. Do not treat free Ground as free mailbox delivery. Write both numbers before you approve the drop.
How much is postcard printing?
Open the live postcard form, set size, stock, and quantity, then read print, FREE ground, and the packed total. We do not invent a postcard dollar on this guide. Re-quote if a chip changes. A blog package that hides postage is not a compliance check.
What is the difference between postcards and EDDM?
Stamped or metered postcards use the postcard form and your address list. EDDM uses the EDDM form and carrier-route rules. Notes do not convert one into the other. Open the form that matches the drop. Art still needs the clear zones that mail scanning expects.
Where does the address go?
On the side and in the zone your mail class requires, kept clear of photos, dark solids, and barcodes you did not mean to print. Confirm the current postal template yourself. We print the PDF. We do not redraw your address block in a note.
Can I mail flyers as postcards?
No. Flyers from $40.34 with FREE ground as of 2026-09-18 are flat handouts. Postcards are their own size chips. Notes do not crop a letter flyer into a mail piece. Rebuild at the postcard inches and export PDF Print. Re-read the live packed total the morning you buy so the chip on the form matches the number you approved.
Is ground free to my office before I mail?
Yes on Ground to the ship-to you enter, including rural ZIPs. Air prices from the ZIP after you open it. That ship is not postage. Leave the ZIP closed on Ground unless you need the carton faster than Ground. Re-read the live packed total the morning you buy so the chip on the form matches the number you approved.
What file should I upload?
PDF Print at the exact postcard chip, with the address side designed, not a screenshot. Soft JPGs fail. Keep a copy of the postal template next to the PDF so the next mailing does not cover the barcode zone again.
Where do I start?
Finish the checklist, open postcard printing or EDDM if that is the drop, and read the packed print total. Pay Later is available on checkout when a broker pays later. Budget postage in a second column. Do not add it in the art note.
Related: circle prospecting postcards or 100lb cover postcard stock.