Nature Photographers Network
This is the preserved archive of the original Nature Photographers Network. The community continues at naturephotographers.network.

Floral Greeting Cards

Discussion

9 replies
Posted by Nathan Buck on June 8, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Hi all.

At this point in my life, I am shooting mainly for myself. I enjoy the interaction and camaraderie of shooting and posting for review in the flora gallery. I have also found one other use for my photos these days that I have thoroughly enjoyed - floral greeting cards.

At this point, I have tried two outfits (Shutterfly and Snapfish) for my cards. Of those two, I have found that personally Snapfish has worked better. If I watch for their sales, I can get cards for around $1 each. With snapfish I am able to put a 'Photo by Nathan Buck' line on the back of the card.

So far, my wife and I are using the cards ourselves and I give some to family and friends.

I just wanted to post here to let you know that as you are posting thoughts and comments on photo after photo from me (including many of the same type of subject) that you are helping me to know which photos appeal to people and which do not.

Has anyone else used their floral photos for greeting cards? Any other printers to suggest?

Nathan
Posted by Ian Wolfenden on June 9, 2012 at 3:34 AM
Nathan : I sometimes do greetings cards through Apple, using the templates provided in their iPhoto programme. On the whole I've been very pleased with them, though occasionally the colour profile seems not quite right. There is plenty of design flexibility too.
Posted by Barbara Sammons on June 9, 2012 at 7:07 AM
Hi Nathan,

I love using my images for greeting cards, but I print my own. I use Red River Paper and buy the 60 lb. Pecos River Gloss, 7"x10" which then folds to a 5"x7". 50 sheets of this paper are $24.45. If you download their templates it's very easy to design your own card and write what you want on the front and back. I love their product. I've been printing my own cards for a while now and my local Arboretum carries them in their gift shop. I buy the white envelopes and clear plastic bag from clearbags.com as they are less expensive. If you are interested in printing your own, just Google Red River Paper.
Posted by Cindy Garwood on June 9, 2012 at 7:28 AM
Hello Nathan,

I have been doing greeting cards for about 4 years now. www.photographeredge.com Photographers Edge. You take a real photo and place it in the card and then I normally sign the front of the photo. I sell them for 3.25 or 3 for 9.00. I have them in Chicago at 4.50 and they are moving slower. I might drop the price to 4.00 at the end of the summer. They have only been in Chicago for 1 month. I was never happy with the look of the printed version from any printer.

Good luck!
Posted by Eleanor Kee Wellma on June 9, 2012 at 9:08 AM
I use Red River 60 lb matte for my 5 x 7 cards. Also, I buy their envelopes and sometimes the clear bags. I get the clear bags from the cheapest source. I sell mine wholesale for $2.50 COD each and $3.00 each On Consignment to several stores and galleries. The retailer sells for 5.00 each.

Cindy, If they aren't selling well for 4.00 maybe the venue is the reason not the price.
Posted by Bruce King on June 9, 2012 at 2:22 PM
Cool. Several people have recently suggested I start doing cards so it's something I have been considering but not really looked into yet. What about including a message for a more specialized card? Are there any copyright issues to consider if using quotes?
Posted by Gary Jacobson on June 11, 2012 at 12:38 AM
Hey Nathan,
I too use Red River 60lb Pecos River Gloss 7x10 that folds to 5x7 cards. I also use clearbags.com for the plastic display bags, be sure to order the B5PC that has the tape on the outside of the envelope so your photos won't be damaged when someone tries to take it out of the bag. I have a few stores that sell my images on consignment, I sell them for $4.00 each with the stores taking one dollar in profit. I also provide the display for the cards. You have some nice images and I'm sure you'll do pretty good on selling them.
Best of luck,
Jake
Posted by Nathan Buck on June 11, 2012 at 5:12 PM
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts.

For you who are printing your own photos, what printer are you using? Right now we have a Canon Pixma ip4300. Honestly, I do not print a lot of my own photos.

Nathan
Posted by Barbara Sammons on June 12, 2012 at 9:54 PM
Nathan, I print everything I can unless it's larger than 13x19 which is the largest paper my printer will handle. I use an Epson 2880 and absolutely love it. The colors on my monitor are true to the colors I get out of the printer. I print a lot of note cards, as I mentioned above, that are carried by the North Carolina Arboretum. I'm able to print and deliver at a moments notice, which is really nice. I'm very happy with this printer, the paper from Red River Paper and envelopes and clear bags from clearbags.com. And Jake is right about the right bags to use for the cards. It makes a difference. Best of luck.
Posted by Gary Jacobson on June 23, 2012 at 1:42 AM
Hey Nathan,
I print my cards on my Canon Pro9000 Mark II printer and it works great!
Best of luck.
Later,
Jake