More holiday cards! This time: Minted.com. I hadn’t ever heard of Minted – until they offered me a credit toward the cost of 25 cards (flats) from their selection – I was able to upload my photo and decide on design. They also sent me a sample pack of their personalized notecards and a few of their other (very cool) unique items.
Design
The site was impressive from the start. Gorgeous home page and obvious modern, trendy designs. Very cool use of typography and some definite risk-taking with the layouts and colors. Unique graphics and placement. I likey.
I honestly wanted all of them. Luckily, I was limited to 42 (!) choices using the portrait photo orientation. 42! It took me forever to decide.
In addition, they offer some really cool, unique products. The Yearline holiday cards and minibooks are perfect for families like ours who have had an especially exciting, milestone filled year (new baby, wedding, new business – it’s been a big one). They allow you to add more than one or two photos, add a little text – without making an entire photo album. They’re not cheap (like $5-6 each) – but they’re great ’stocking stuffers’ for Gramma and Grampa or close friends.
The search functionality was thoroughly awesome. I love the ability to choose the number of photos on the card (I’m a sucker for many), format, style, occassion and even paper choice. For mine, I wanted to use a vertical photo from our wedding so needed to search by photo orientation.
Personalizing
The photo upload function was easy-peasy – all Ajax so I didn’t have to reload the page or wait or click ‘next’ – little window pops up and it loads.
Adjusting the image is easy – once you figure out that you have to click ‘Adjust Photo’ below the icon of your image. Next you get to edit your text, which is also Ajax-based so it changes on the card as you type or select fonts or font sizes or color. All very cool.
Ordering
The price for these cards was pretty steep – but you get what you pay for. A professional graphic designer oversees your layout, correcting color and placement on your card by hand. The cards cost $64 for 25 cards. Ground shipping was $10 extra. Total: around $80.
When I received my final product – shazam! They’re awesome. They came wrapped in a pretty ribbon with a label with what I assume is the name of the designer who worked on my layout (From: Mary, To: Andrea).
And when I opened them up, the paper quality blew me away. Minted’s “Signature Paper” is thick, luxurious 120lb, 15.5 pt thick with a soft, matte cotton The Escort movie full
texture. Very nice. You can also upgrade to 100% recycled or a cool pearlescent cardstock – both cool choices.
Overall
I’d like to say I’ll order from Minted.com again, because I am in love with their designs and products – but they’re pretty expensive. I send out close to 40 cards every year (and the list continues to grow), so price is definitely a factor. Hopefully I’ll be able to afford them next year – I’m a sucker for good design
About the author: One day, Andi hopes to teach the men in her life that they, too, can pick things up and put them away after they’ve used them. Read more from this author.
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i’ve just seen this site recently & i really like their style, but it is a bit expensive for me, too. maybe someday i’ll be able to afford it…