Greeting Cards Key Terms

Understand what certain terms and phrases mean when shopping for greeting cards

By Rhyah Fletcher

Every person can think of a time when he or she purchased a greeting card. Individuals and businesses use greeting cards for an added personal touch for an acquaintance or business associate. Businesses use greeting cards to wish clients well during the holidays or for their birthdays. Greeting cards also work well for showing gratitude or expressing feelings you may not be able to verbalize. When shopping for greeting cards or greeting card products, know the key terms.

Custom greeting cards

Custom greeting cards are ones designed specifically for you. They bypass the generic poems and drawings for a custom logo or graphic, including a photo. These greeting cards include custom verses, colors, fonts, borders and personal artwork.
Try: Cards Direct offers a more in-depth look at custom greeting cards, including pricing.

Photo greeting cards

Photo greeting cards are cards that utilize a personal photo as the image on the card. These are popular with holiday greeting cards and birth announcement cards. Photo cards can include one photo, a montage of photos or a larger family photo. Most photo cards are in postcard format, but there are some foldable cards available.
Try: Tiny Prints is a great place to see a large selection of photo greeting cards.

Greeting card software

Greeting card software is a computer program that allows the users to create and design their own greeting cards. The programs come equipped with a variety of designs, layouts, clip art and fonts. These programs also allow you to create and animate electronic greeting cards.
Try: Top Ten Reviews goes into in-depth information about the pros and cons of greeting card software.

Card stock

Anyone wanting to print or create individual greeting cards will need card stock. This is a thicker, heavier paper used for printing and greeting card crafts.
Try: William H. Geoghegan discusses the differences in card stock based on weight.

Online greeting cards or e-cards

E-cards are similar to paper cards, but online cards use digital media to create or animate a greeting card sent through e-mail. The receivers either receive the card in their inbox or they receive a link to collect the card from a Web site.
Try: American Greetings offers free e-cards that you just pick and send.

Printable greeting cards, or printables

Printables are greeting cards found on Web sites. You choose from graphics and words to create a printable card. The site will then explain how to set up your printer or paper to print the greeting card.
Try: Print Free offers a huge list of free printable cards and explains the process.