I sat at my computer for three hours Friday night trying to find the right card. The clock struck midnight, and I finally gave up, since I'd missed the Black Friday sales. I'm not sorry though. I had spent an incredible day in the woods with my family, and I have no regrets that I was left with little time to capitalize on the best deals. Besides, there's always Cyber Monday right?
But then I'll be left with the same dilemma. Where to get these cards? I've tried many different printers, so I'll share some of my experiences, as well as some holiday card worthy photos from a few of my recent sessions, since I haven't had time to share otherwise (goodness - this is a busy season for photos).
Paper Culture is by far my favorite for quality and style. They can be a bit pricey, but they offer frequent sales, and there is currently a Groupon special for them too. Each order is printed on heavy matte recycled paper, and comes with the promise to plant a tree. And the best part? They print your addresses at no additional charge. You can import your address book from Google, Excel files, etc. And once they are stored, they remain stored for next year. Great customer service too!
Pear Tree has an amazing variety. While their print quality is not my very favorite of the bunch, it is quite good, and they have the most choices in a variety of shapes and sizes. Pricing is competitive, and customer service is prompt.
Many moons ago, I submitted an image of my kids to be use on the Minted site, and got a credit in return. Fun, right? So of course I got my cards printed there that year. They were beautiful. Minted offers a ton of personalized items for the home in addition to printed products, so you can kinda do all your shopping there.
I LOVE Parabo Press. I order prints from them all the time, and their cards are too cute, and very affordable: only $25 for a box of 24, and $15 for each additional set. Lovely envelopes too. The only problem here is the lack of variety, but there's enough to suit most tastes.
Use code GWRQJC for $10 off your first order!
MPIX is my go-to for photo prints, and their cards are quite nice too. If you've had your holiday photos taken with me this year, you can order from MPIX directly from your gallery.
Time crunch? Staples has your back (check Groupon for this one too!). I succumbed to the lure of the least expensive option, and got 100 cards for $25. Crazy, right? Well, the quality doesn't compare to some of these other options, but it's plenty good enough to sit on a mantle for a couple of weeks before being consigned to the recycling bin. And they were ready in two hours. I'm not complaining.
Ok, so I've picked where to get my cards done, but which photo do I pick?
That's the hardest part, isn't it? You can go with a traditionally lovely photo, or something a bit more out of the box. One big and bold photo, or a storytelling series. My only advice here is to pick the one(s) that make you smile, and it's sure to make others smile too.
