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4x6 Invitation and Postcard Templates
4 × 6 is the save-the-date and the postcard: small, cheap to print, cheap to mail, and the one invitation size that can go through the post with no envelope at all. 3 templates, portrait and landscape, at 300 DPI with 0.125 inch of bleed.
| Trim sizes | 6 × 4 in · 4 × 6 in |
|---|---|
| Bleed | 0.125 in |
| Resolution target | 300 DPI |
| Templates | 3 |
| Pages | 3 |
4x6 templates (3)
Blush and Oat Elegant 4×6 Wedding Table Number4 × 6 in4 × 6 in, 0.125 in bleed. Printed double-sided or stood in a holder — the numeral is set large enough to read from the door.
Clay and Bone Simple 4×6 Postcard Back with Address Panel6 × 4 in4 × 6 in postcard BACK, landscape, 0.125 in bleed — the matching file the thank you front refers to. Message on the left, stamp box and address block on the right, and the bottom 0.625 in drawn as the USPS barcode clear zone, which must stay lighter than 20%% gray or the routing barcode will not read.
Clay and Bone Simple 4×6 Thank You Postcard6 × 4 in4 × 6 in postcard, landscape, 0.125 in bleed. The back of a postcard is a separate file — this is the front.The numbers
| Trim | 4 × 6 in, or 6 × 4 landscape |
|---|---|
| With bleed | 4.25 × 6.25 in |
| File at 300 DPI | 1,275 × 1,875 px with bleed |
| Envelope | A6 — 4.75 × 6.5 in |
| Text safe area | 0.25 in inside the trim |
| Mails without an envelope | yes — 4 × 6 is inside the US postcard size range |
The postcard rate is the reason to choose this size
A 4 × 6 card mails as a postcard, at the postcard rate, with no envelope. That is the single practical advantage this size has over a 5 × 7, and for a save-the-date going to a hundred and twenty households it is a real amount of money and a real amount of stuffing and licking that does not happen.
To qualify as a postcard in the US mail, the card must be at least 3.5 × 5 inches and no more than 4.25 × 6 inches, and between 0.007 and 0.016 inch thick. A 4 × 6 card sits inside that range, which is not a coincidence. A 5 × 7 does not — it is too large, and it mails at the letter rate whether or not you put it in an envelope.
Two things that follow if you are mailing it bare:
- Leave the address side alone. The right-hand half of the back is the address area and should carry nothing but the address, the stamp area at top right, and a clear zone at the bottom where the sorting machine prints its barcode — the bottom 0.625 inch across the full width. Anything there gets printed over.
- Card weight matters both ways. Too thin and it is rejected or shredded; too thick and it leaves the postcard category. Around 100 lb cover is a safe middle.
Rates and dimension limits change. Check the current specification with the postal service before printing a large run — it is one page on their site and it is worth reading rather than trusting a template.
Portrait or landscape
Both are in this set and they are genuinely different products.
Landscape 6 × 4 is the postcard shape: a photograph across the front, a message and an address on the back. It reads as something sent.
Portrait 4 × 6 is the small invitation shape: it stacks with other cards, sits on a fridge or a mantelpiece the right way up, and holds a date in the way a poster does. It reads as something kept.
For a save-the-date going on somebody's fridge for eight months, portrait usually wins.
Bleed and the small-card trim rule
0.125 inch on all four sides. As with every small card, avoid a thin border — a trimming variation the eye ignores on a poster is obvious on a 4 × 6. Full bleed or a generous border; nothing in between.
Keep text 0.25 inch inside the trim, leaving a 3.5 × 5.5 inch working area. That is enough for a date, two names and a line — which is exactly what a save-the-date should carry, since the details are coming later on the invitation itself.
Questions
What size is a save the date?
4 × 6 inches is the usual size — small, cheap and mailable as a postcard at the postcard rate. 5 × 7 is also used and looks more formal, but it must go in an envelope and mails at the letter rate.
Can I mail a 4x6 card without an envelope?
Yes, in the US — 4 × 6 sits inside the postcard size range and mails at the postcard rate. Keep the right half of the back clear for the address, leave the bottom 0.625 inch clear for the sorting barcode, and check the current postal specification before a large run.
What envelope fits a 4x6 card?
A6 — 4.75 × 6.5 inches. That is roughly a quarter inch larger than the card in each direction.
Should a 4x6 be portrait or landscape?
Landscape reads as a postcard, with an image across the front. Portrait reads as a small invitation and sits the right way up on a fridge or a mantelpiece, which is where a save-the-date lives for months. Both are here.
Does a 4x6 card need bleed?
0.125 inch on each side if any color reaches the edge, giving a 4.25 × 6.25 file. And avoid thin borders on a card this small — the trim will not be even enough for them to look intentional.
4x6 or 5x7 — which should I use?
4 × 6 for save-the-dates and anything going out in volume, because of the postcard rate. 5 × 7 for the invitation itself, because it is the formal size, it fits the most widely stocked envelope, and it has room for the full wording.