The following article summarizes the most important formal requirements so that your letters and postcards can be printed, personalized and sent smoothly. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in increased printing and postage costs. A distinction is made between the front and back of postcards. On the front side there is the address field and postal boundaries. On the back are usually graphics or attractive text designs – there are no postal restrictions here. Letters are usually printed on one side only. Addressing is done in the letterhead on the front. Detailed information and concrete examples of print templates and design guidelines can also be found in your account area on the optilyz platform (under “Start > Design resources > Print templates”)

Print templates

You must observe the following points in your artwork to avoid deviations or loss of quality.

Bleed

Please leave an all-round bleed of 2 mm on all artwork. Elements that fall away from the edge should be placed beyond this edge. Please note that the bleed is overfilled with color so that white flashes cannot occur.

Spacing

You should leave at least 2 mm space between the edge and important elements so that nothing can be cut off during processing.

Color mode

Please create all images, areas and logos in CMYK color mode. If you want to use special colors outside of this color system, this could lead to increased printing costs.

Images

All graphics must have a minimum resolution of 250 dpi. For line drawings at least 1,200 dpi applies.

Fonts

All texts must be embedded in the document so that there is no loss of quality during printing.

File format PDF/X3 or PDF/X1a

You can download the print templates to the platform in PDF format only. Please note that the PDF complies with the PDF/X standard PDF/X3 or PDF/X1a.

Postal specifications

To ensure that you send your postcards at the best possible postage rates, you must observe special areas and specifications on the front.

Post areas

The grey areas must be kept free. They serve solely for processing by Deutsche Post.

Inscription

The inscription includes sender and recipient address. It must not be framed or underlined. It must be left-aligned. It must not exceed a length of 10 cm. Select a font size for the sender address so that it is positioned on one line above the recipient address. We recommend a font size of 11pt for the recipient address.

Maxi Postcard (Front page)

Maxi Postcard (Back page)

DIN A4 letter with window (address field)

Personalization specifications

If you wish to personalize elements such as salutation, voucher codes or text passages, please note the following guidelines.

Page default

We recommend that personalization is only carried out on the addressing side. Although double-sided personalization is possible, it usually provides only limited added value and is associated with additional costs.

Personalization

With offset printing, letters and postcards can be personalized on one side in black. If you personalise only the addressing and the coupon code, we recommend our inexpensive standard personalisation (inkjet). For a complex personalization (e.g. barcodes) please choose our premium option (laser).

With digital printing, all fields, letters on one side and postcards on both sides can be personalised in colour. However, this printing process is associated with significantly higher printing costs and usually only makes sense for low volumes.

Font

As default font we use Roboto 11pt. If you want a font other than the standard font, please let us know by sending an email to data@optilyz.com so that it can be added to your account. If the desired font is not part of the Microsoft Office standard fonts, please attach the appropriate font as a file.

Print template and sample file

For printing, please download two templates as PDF files onto the platform. One is the print template in which the personalization areas are left blank. On the other hand, a “Max Mustermann” template with an exemplary personalization to ensure that the final product meets your expectations. Please see the following examples.

Maxi-postcard without personalisation (print file)

Maxi-postcard with personalisation (John Doe sample)

DIN A4 letter with window without personalisation (print file)

DIN A4 letter with window with personalisation (John Doe sample)