Home Printed QSL cards?

[NA0AA]

After considering the cost and hassle of home printing my own cards on card stock, I finally just custom ordered 1000 3.5" X 5.5" cards from Uprinting.com. It was $100 including shipping for 1000 2-sided, full color, photo quality cards on very nice matte paper.

For $80, I got 1K fully custom color photo cards from K4JSG.com - Jeff designed the cards from my specifications, using my background art, double sided color printing on oversized cards.  It is nearly impossible to compete with prices like that using a home printer.  The hardest part is coming up with only one design!  At the rate I burn QSL cards, a thousand of them last me quite a long time.

That being said, I have no issue with home printed cards, and they offer you a lot more flexibility - I used to make small batches of custom cards for portable operations - if you buy the proper size card stock and are facsile with the design software, it's easy enough.

I'm much more interested in a neat design, or a unique printing method [woodcut anyone?] or a special location regardless of the card quality.

I'm sort of sad that I'm one of a dying breed of physical card users.

[W0FM]

Twirling around 20 meters a couple weeks ago, I happened to call Dick, W1FYI, who had just finished a QSO.  When he responded to me he mentioned that he also heard another station calling him.  We stood by for the third station who turned out to be Bob, W5RF in Texas.  We all had a chuckle about the chances of randomly getting FYI, RF and FM together in a QSO.  Had a nice chat.  I don't normally send cards for stateside QSO's unless requested, but since this QSO was such a great example of the "roll of the dice" that is our hobby, I sent both W1FYI and W5RF QSL cards for the contact.  I grinned as I dropped them in the mail, thinking "why this?"

I got a card back from Dick, W1FYI, and a few days later a note from Bob, W5RF, confirming the contact and noting that he had no QSL cards.  But all the data necessary to confirm this unique QSO was in his handwritten note, along with his business card.  Both quite authentic.

Terry, WØFM

[W1VT]

In the late 1970s I went to the office store and bought the supplies I needed to layout and silkscreen my own QSL cards.  I learned a lot doing that.  I used a photosensitive process that allowed me to use dry transfers on clear film as the master.

Zack W1VT

[K6CPO]

Having a bit of graphics training and having an Adobe software suite in my computer, I decided to "roll my own."  I design the card in Photoshop and then use the PS file to create a layout in Adobe InDesign.  I then print them 4-up on pre-perforated glossy postcard stock using my inkjet printer.  This way I can print as many or as few as I need and I can change the design any time I want. 

I also design and print my own business cards, my club QSL card, our club brochure and edit and layout the club newsletter.

[WB2EOD]

I do my own cards.  I use Microsoft WORD and 8-1/2 x 11 quarter sheet postcard stock.  Much cheaper than photo paper.   

Staples sells the blanks at 25.00 for 50 sheets which yields 200 cards. (12.5 cents/card) with ink at maybe 15 cents per page (4 cards), I estimate I am paying about 16 cents/card.  I make frequent subtle changes so this works fine for me.

The document is an ordinary Microsoft WORD  .DOC file. 
For a copy, email a request to my call at arrl dot net.       

73
WB2EOD