A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope and at a lower rate than a letter. Stamp collectors distinguish between postcards (which require a stamp) and postal cards (which have the postage pre-printed on them). While a postcard is usually printed by a private company, individual or organization, a postal card is issued by the relevant postal authority. The United States Postal Service defines a postcard as: rectangular, at least 3-? inches high x 5 inches long x .007 inch thick and no more than 4-? inches high x 6 inches long x .016 inches thick; however, some postcards have deviated from this (for example, shaped postcards).

Create, schedule, prepare and get custom greeting cards in the hands of your customers for the holidays. It's the easy and personal way to thank them for their business and build lasting relationships.

Postcards are one of the top collectibles world-wide, competing with coins and stamps. They can be very inexpensive -- even free, take little space, are usually very artistic, and bring back nostalgic memories. Postcards are also great go-withs to other collections, no matter what you collect there's usually a postcard picturing or commemorating it.

-------- Q: I was planning on making the response cards myself and making them postcards so that the price of postage would be a little cheaper. I was talking to my fiance about it last night and he thought that you couldn't just stick any old stuff in the mail like that... he seemed to think that only approved "envelopes" and other such proper mail formats are acceptable to attach a stamp to? Is he correct?

A; You can gamble that the USPS will deliver just about anything, and for the most part they will. However, there are standards. The minimum size for any mail is 3.5" high x 5" wide, it must be rectangular, and it must be at least .007" thick. Postcards must be no more than 4.25" high x 6"wide and no more than .016" thick. You can get this information off the USPS web site (www.usps.gov).