Sizes on this card

Supply your ad at exactly the finished size. No bleed. Every ad sits inside the card with a margin around it, so your artwork is never trimmed. Only the card itself is, and we handle that.

The ads do sit close together, so give text and logos a little room from the edge rather than running them right up to it.

Supplying your own artwork

Format. PDF is best. We also accept AI, EPS, PSD, TIFF and PNG. Avoid JPG for anything with text in it. The compression softens letter edges and it shows in print far more than it does on screen.

Color. CMYK, not RGB. If you send RGB we convert it, and bright screen colors, especially vivid blues and oranges, will shift. If an exact brand color matters, tell us the CMYK or Pantone value and we will match it as closely as the process allows.

Resolution. 300 DPI at final size. A logo pulled off a website is usually 72 DPI and will look soft; send the original file or ask us and we will redraw it.

Fonts. Outline your type, or send the font files with the artwork. Otherwise your fonts get substituted and the ad will not look like the one you approved.

Black. For solid black areas use rich black (C60 M40 Y40 K100). Plain K100 over a large area prints as a washed-out dark grey.

QR codes. Ask us for your tracked link before you build the artwork. A QR made from your own URL still works, but it goes straight to your site and we have no way to count it, so the scan figure we would otherwise send you does not exist. The link we give you redirects wherever you want and can be repointed after the card is printed, which your own URL cannot.

If we are designing it for you

Send these four things and we will do the rest:

1. Your logo. The largest, cleanest file you have. A PDF, AI or EPS is ideal. A screenshot of your logo is not, and we would rather redraw it than print it.
2. The offer. One clear thing. “$25 off your first service” beats a list of everything you do.
3. How people reach you. Phone, website, address, or whichever of those actually gets used.
4. Any photos you want in it. Straight off the camera or phone, not resized down and not pulled from your Facebook page.

You get a proof before anything prints, and one round of changes is included. Nothing goes to press without your approval.

What works on a card like this

Your ad is one of a dozen on a postcard someone is holding over a recycling bin. It has about two seconds. The ads that get used tend to do four things.

One message. Pick the single thing you want someone to do and give it the most room. An ad that says three things says none of them.

A reason to act now. An offer, a deadline, or a discount tied to this card. “Mention LNK Local” also tells you the mailing worked.

Readable at arm’s length. Nothing below 7pt, and avoid light text on a light background. If you have to squint at it on your phone it will be worse in print.

A QR code that goes somewhere specific. Point it at the offer, not your home page. We generate it for you and we can tell you how many times it was scanned.

What we will not print

Artwork we cannot legally or practically print, and ads that are unlawful, misleading or unsuitable for a card delivered unasked to family homes. The full list is in the terms. If we have a problem with your ad we will tell you and give you the chance to change it.

Sending it

Reply to your receipt, or email hello@lnklocal.com with your business name and space code. Anything too big to email can go through Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer or whatever you already have. Just send us the link.