Creative formatting
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Every form factor starts with your creative, or the content of your mail piece. Lob’s core technology is built around modern APIs that remove the typical complexities and limitations of the print and mail industry. We can accept static PDFs, but similar to email sends, HTML enables dynamic personalization so each and every mail piece is unique.
Artboard or layout templates can be found under each mail format (see ). Or, visit Lob's on our website for pre-designed templates to help you get started; you can download these to use as inspiration and a guide to create your own designs.
We recommend designing your direct mail in HTML to enable personalized content at scale. HTML allows you to include dynamic merge variables, similar to how you would personalize an email campaign, to maximize engagement and conversions.
You can submit your creative file in PDF format, but keep in mind that PDFs are static and don’t support personalization.
All fonts in any PDFs you provide should be embedded. Embedding a font in a PDF ensures that the final printed product will look as it was designed. Fonts can vary greatly in size and shape, even within the same family. If the exact font used to design the artwork is not used to print, the look and placement of the text is not guaranteed to be the same.
We support the following web font formats:
TTF
SVG
EOT
Google web fonts
Type 1 fonts (Exception: standard base14 fonts)
Type 3 fonts
PNG: This is a raster image format that can have a transparent background. It is generally of higher quality than other image formats.
JPEG: This is a raster image format that is often used for photographs. It does not allow for a transparent background.
When using PNGs or JPEGs with Lob, we require a minimum of 300 dpi. The dpi is calculated as (width of image in pixels) / (width of product in inches) and (length of image in pixels) / (length of product in inches). For example: 1275px x 1875px image used to create a 4.25" x 6.25" postcard has a dpi of 300. It is also recommended that you don't greatly exceed 300 dpi, as this will result in unnecessary additional file size.
Submitted images must have the same length-to-width ratio as the chosen product. Images will not be cropped or stretched by the API.
When you pass an image or send HTML in your API request, Lob will then render and host the content.
If you are sending at high volumes, we recommend you host the content yourself on a performant file hosting provider, such as Amazon S3, and send Lob a hosting URL to the content in your API request. This will reduce your API request time.
We highly recommend using the Adobe Creative Suite (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign) to design your content. This will give you design flexibility and multiple export options.
Please note that PNG files are RGB only—to prepare a file for printing, our rendering engine must convert this color profile to CMYK. During this conversion, there may be a slight variance in color that would impact the print result. If you require a very specific color experience (to abide by brand guidelines for example), then we recommend providing a PDF file and/or evaluating the color in Adobe Photoshop Pro.
If you want to take advantage of the personalization opportunities of HTML, we recommend using a developer to convert your PDF designs to HTML. We'd estimate 15 minutes to 2 hours of development time for the average file. Some applications like Adobe Illustrator come with HTML export options, but note that their exports won't typically produce HTML that conforms to Lob's requirements.
To see how your HTML is rendered, create a Test API request either through the API or view a preview in the dashboard (HTML templates). Lob's HTML renderer is based on Webkit. For this reason, using the Safari browser will show previews more accurately.
If using Campaigns in the dashboard, the Creative Proof will render and present a single mail piece. (It will include merge variables, address block, Lob carbon-neutral logo, and indicia, plus return address and QR codes if included.)
We highly recommend sending yourself a printed piece to validate the mail piece's appearance.
We ask that you follow our PDF formatting guidelines outlined in our to help ensure successful and accurate printing. Here are some tips to
We make an exception for "standard fonts," a set of fonts that we have identified as being common. Otherwise, the request will be rejected. See our full list of in our API docs.
Custom fonts within your HTML templates (any links must be to Lob)
OTF ( into another type we support)
(These fonts require white-listing a specific domain, which Lob is unable to do. We recommend hosting the font yourself and using it within your HTML, or finding an appropriate non-Typekit font to replace it with.)
All URLs must be accessible. For example, broken links, missing files, and incorrect permissions will all cause mail pieces to fail. See here if you are experiencing
Need help with converting your creative files to HTML? You can now easily import your creative from popular design programs and quickly spin up merge variables. See for more info on our design tool integrations.
This works for PDFs as well as long as the submitted PDF follows If a PDF not following guidelines is submitted, the rendered proof may not reflect the final printed product.
are an industry-wide issue that has been extensively researched by our Production team. We've found that the USPS's high-speed sorting machines are what typically cause these scuff marks. If postcards or self-mailers get exposed to the belts for a millisecond longer than they're supposed to, they're at the risk of getting abrasions. This is not an isolated incident for our printer or for our mailers. Below links are a few articles that further explain the issue with examples of how these would look like.
