Every year our holiday cards change. Some years I make them all by hand, some years we sadly wait until the last minute and order quick photo cards at the last minute. This year we had some professional photos taken in Mexico, and I just KNEW that they would make fabulous holiday photo cards- and when Minted.com offered me a promo code to try their holiday card printing service, I was eager to try it out.
Since I’d never used Minted.com, I thought I’d take some screen captures as I went along so you could see how easy it was. But first, here’s a bit about Minted.com:
Minted is a global community of independent graphic designers and an online store that prints and sells the best of their designs in the form of paper goods.
Minted holds monthly design challenges for stationery, invitations, calendars, and other categories and all graphic designers are invited to enter. The Minted community selects the best designs in a highly competitive process, which gives us a top selection of the freshest, finest cards in the world. Winning designers earn cash prizes, a place in the Minted collection, and commissions on all sales of their designs.
So you really feel connected to the designers- you see a little profile of each one as you peruse the designs available. I uploaded a photo, and Minted.com immediately gave me a quick preview of how my photo would look on a variety of designs.
I found one that I loved- “Warm Wishes”- and in just a few moments I was able to edit the text (we chose a different message) and added our family name.
Since I’d chosen postcards, I was excited to see extra options for the back side of the card- including additional photos, a seasonal message, or just pretty pattern. Again, in just a few clicks I was able to fully customize my card. As you can see from the screen shop, I had the chance to click for live chat help, too. But seriously, I didn’t need it at all. The process was simple and intuitive.
After I’d finalized my design, I submitted it to the site. I was notified that a professional would send me a “proof” to approve before my order was actually printed. Within 6 hours- no kidding- I had gotten my email with a link to my proofs. It was a great way to double-check my work for any errors or typos.
I approved my design (on November 27th, as you can see in my screen shot) and my cards didn’t arrive on December 5th, as estimated above. They arrived THREE DAYS LATER. I’m not kidding, that’s the fastest shipping I’ve ever seen!!!
But of course, the easiest process of designing and ordering means nothing if the quality isn’t there when you open the box. I was so very impressed with the cards! Take a peek:
The cards are shipped shrink-wrapped and banded with a grosgrain ribbon, so you feel like you are opening a present!
The envelopes are banded too, and are packaged in sets of 25.
So here’s the thing that is almost impossible to describe via words- the quality of the paper is amazing. It’s about the thickness of 140 weight watercolor paper, but has a smooth, almost coated satin sheen. It’s really luxurious and expensive-feeling.
Beautiful printing on expensive-feeling coated paper. No shiny or flimsy prints here. Luxe all the way.
The colors were crisp and everything in focus!
There is only one thing that might make Minted.com not the right service for you: on all of your cards, they include the Minted.com logo and they credit the designer. On one hand, I understand that the design credit is one of the ways they compensate/honor the designer- but for some folks, having that logo (especially on a postcard) is a bit intrusive and it cheapens the overall look a bit.
You might be able to attach a piece of washi tape to cover that up- or else chalk it up to the “price of admission” for supporting independent designers.
(By the way, if you are ordering wedding or business stationery, you can request that the logo be removed. I asked, and they will not do so for photo holiday cards. )
Also, they have lots of party supplies (like banners and centerpieces, invitations and announcements, photo gifts- even wall art. And if they quality of those items is comparable to the cards I ordered, I wouldn’t hesitate to use Minted.com again.
One parting question- would the logo at the bottom of a greeting/postcard be a deal-breaker for you? Please leave me comment below and share your opinion.
Disclosure: Promo code with a discount provided for review purposes. All opinions are honest and my own.
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While I’m not crazy about the logo, it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me if the price were reasonable. If I pay Big Bucks for cards, I would want them logo-free. But if they’re inexpensive, I’d be ok with it. I’m guessing that the strip that the post office puts on postcards might cover it anyway. By the way, your card is beautiful!
A deal-breaker for me. I paid extra to have it taken off my Moo business size cards. I am happy to tell everyone that I got the cards from Moo, I just don’t think it needs to be printed on each of my cards.
Thanks for a thorough review… again. You do everyone a service with your blog and I’m sure you drive business in the direction of the vendors.
I agree with Diane, I don’t think I’d order personalized cards with someone else’s company logo on them. Otherwise what’s the point of the special order? Now if these are really top quality cards, I’m sure people will ask where they came from, and that’s how you get your advertising. If I can get more cheaply made photo print cards without it, why am I getting quality cards with it?
I wouldn’t want someone else’s logo on my personal cards, so yes – it would be a deal breaker for me!
Deal breaker.
The logo on the postcard wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if the prices were good—I’d simply cover it up if I felt the need to do so. And, since this applies only to Christmas items, I’d have no problem using them for business stationery, etc. Thanks for the review and the walk-thru on ordering…as always a great job!
Hi Jenny, gorgeous cards… Love the pictures and layout. I don’t think the logo would be a deal breaker for me. First, it isn’t large or intrusive on your cards or layout, and second, I would view as any card or product you buy which has copyright info and such on it.