Minted's site is easy to use, and the photo card samples we ordered were some of the best photo cards of any company in this comparison. Minted is a mid-price photo card service which delivers on value if you’re looking to impress, but they only take orders in fives and there’s a minimum order of 25 cards, meaning you’re better off shopping with Shutterfly if you don’t want to bulk buy.
We tested 5x7, folded cards with three photos on each of our tests and we found that we 100 for $234 including taxes and shipping. Minted does offer seasonal discounts and coupon codes but these aren’t as impressive as some of the other sites we reviewed such as Mixbook. We were charged for both standard shipping and taxes. The amount this will total depends on the state you live in and your proximity to Minted’s printers. However, shipping with Minted was cheaper for us than with other sites such as Paper Source, meaning there’s no nasty surprises when you get to checkout.
Minted Photo Cards review: Quality and services
- Good paper and envelope quality
- Expensive-feeling printing
- Good color accuracy
Our in-house experts were impressed by Minted's paper and envelope quality, but the print quality, while providing accurate color, was a little fuzzy. Testers found our sample of the most basic paper offered by Minted to be noticeably good. The standard envelope was thick and sturdy, much better than others in our comparison. It has a feeling of classy stationery more than bargain-level convenience. The already-gorgeous designs are accented with customization options like your choice in backer patterns for flat cards or interiors of folded cards. You can customize further with the option to have your card cut with scalloped edges and other distinct borders. The image quality was really good as was the color accuracy.
We also ordered a set of 25 Triple Thick cards. You might even call these ridiculously-fancy thick. They feel more like wood or foam core and will more likely snap in half than crease. But that’s unlikely since they are such sturdy cards. The color accuracy was good but the images appeared a little blurry compared to the other cards. Minted’s logo is printed on the backside of the card in small letters as is the name of the artist who designed the card.
Minted Photo Cards review: Product options and creation
- Lots of filters make it easy to find the perfect card
- Designs made by independent artists offer stylish templates
- Limited editing options
This online service makes it easy to find the card that would work best with your photos by offering a range of search filters. You can narrow your template selection to the number of photos you have and whether they are vertical, horizontal or square. You can also upload a photo and see how it would look in many templates with just a couple of clicks.
Minted has some of the most tasteful photo card designs we have seen in our tests. This company hosts designs by independent artists, making room for more variety. This also allows Minted to carry greeting card designs people actually want to buy rather than having dozens of stock designs. Unlike other photo card publishers, this company is more like a collective of independent designers than a big corporation - Simply to Impress puts more of an emphasis on big-name brands. Minted puts the focus on great art, which really shows in its selection of personalized holiday cards. You can even pay a Minted artist to create a custom design for your special event.
The best photo cards are the ones you can make on your own, and Minted allows that in many ways. One way is the wide selection of paper for your photo cards and envelopes. You can line envelopes with different papers that complement your design as well. Although we weren’t massively impressed by the options when editing the front of the card, we found the variety of options for the inside a really lovely touch which is unmatched by other services. You can treat the inside of a folded card as a spread, with options to add timelines or lots photos with captions and original artwork which matches the card design. It does cost extra to edit the back of the card, but with so many options when editing the inside of the card we think you can happily give this a miss and still get a great card.
Minted also features an alert for poor photo quality, meaning you can be confident that your card will be high-quality. There’s the option to get free digital proofing with the option to edit the card after placing your order, and if you choose the alternative express shipping option you’ll save money on your order and shipping costs.
We could not find any completely blank designs, but you can find just about everything else on the website – birthday cards, Christmas cards, baby shower invitations, graduation invitations and many more, ready to customize with your own text and photos with Minted's easy interface. What’s more, there’s the option to have a completely custom design made in collaboration with a Minted designer. The offerings for the holidays were especially impressive and cover a truly wide range of special days, including Thanksgiving, New Year's, Kwanzaa and more.
This site lacks a few of the added features we saw with other photo card services. Minted does not mail your cards for you, but it prints your addresses on the envelopes to save time. You can even have recipients' addresses written in a creative font that coordinates with your photo card.
Minted does offer paper proofs, but you’ll need to specify that you want one when checking out. The smallest number of cards you can order is 25. In addition, you can get a high-quality digital proof, created by a designer, which is almost as telling as a paper proof in regard to what your final card will be.
When it comes to envelopes, Minted offers a large selection of envelope designs and free recipient addressing, which is a nice touch you’d pay for with other sites. However, you will have to pay extra for an envelope which deviates from the standard white option.
Minted Photo Cards review: Customer service
- Proof-checking as standard
- Live chat, phone and email
Minted got our cards to us decently fast. Delivery times depend on many factors, including how far you live from whichever photo card maker you choose, but we were impressed with our experience with this company. Once you make an order, Minted will email you a digital proof of your card. You must approve this design before the cards will be printed and mailed.
If you ever get confused, you can refer to Minted's strong customer service, which is available via live chat, phone and email. A detailed FAQs page also offers the answer to many questions so you do not have to wait in line for a response.
Should you order Minted Photo Cards?
Minted won’t let you order less than 25 cards, but this company's photo card designs are sophisticated and memorable. You can tell that talented designers are involved in every step of the process with Minted photo cards. It’s probably due to this that the cards are some of the more expensive we reviewed. However, if you’re looking for a card with all the extras, from a gorgeous array of options for a folded design to a stylish addressing on the envelope, these all come included in the price in your card, making this deceptively good value if you want to impress on a bulk order.
