Every year I am torn between the personal and the impersonal. Do I send a pre-printed photo card, write in a traditional card, or send an e-greeting? Well now, thanks to Inkly there is another option. I can personalize a real, tangible, greeting card, straight from my phone.The app was launched just last month and allows you to send cards anywhere in the world, a plus for our international family. It is the only app that enables you to add a truly personal message instead of a typed one. You simply write your message on a piece of paper, take a picture of it, and the app converts it for the card. You provide the name and address of the recipient, pay and you are done. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to take a look.
Inkly's claim that the printed message would not be distinguishable from an actual handwritten one intrigued me, and though I was sure it would look cheap, I was suitably impressed with the conversion process. Though most of the humor is not exactly to my taste, there are some excellent design choices. As a British company, it does however lack a Thanksgiving greeting! As far as the humor goes, this is definitely not something you want to let your kids use to send cards.
Otherwise, the app is pretty fantastic and easy to use. You are hindered only by the quality of your camera and ability to type on an iPhone. It takes you through a step-by-step process that lets you set up the whole thing and review it before you are asked for your credit card information. Again, this is a British-based company and so shipping to the US takes longer than regular mail.
Things you should know before converting for your 2012 cards:
- The App is available for free in the App store
- Worldwide delivery stars at £0.49 ($0.75) in postage.
- UK delivery is 1 to 3 days with international destinations taking from 5 to 10 days.
- Inkly currently prints in the UK but is setting up printing locations in the USA and Australia to speed up international delivery.
- Users must have an iPhone 4 or above.
- Inkly has over 500 card designs and adds new designs every month. The artists behind each design receive a commission each time their card is chosen, so this is a great way to support the artistic community this season.
- Features you wish it had that are on the agenda are:
- Facebook integration to remind you of upcoming birthdays and events.
- Integrated Inkly address book to store all your addresses.
- Inkly for Android.
I was provided with a card for free, and as a special for GeekMom readers, Inkly is offering 50% off the first card you send! Just use code WIRED or ADIP50 to receive your trial discount.
Lee Hawkins, Co-Founder of Inkly comments that, "Our goal was to remove the hassle involved in sending greetings cards without losing the personal touch. Sure there are other services that makes sending cards online easy but without a handwritten message you lose that personal connection." Though I don't think this will replace my holiday needs completely, there are a few people in my circles that this would work extremely well for. At $3.99 a pop, it is certainly on par with Hallmark. As someone who always forgets birthdays and sends belated greetings, I may well use this app more often than I predict, and I do think the personal greeting will make a difference when I contemplate sending cards online in the future.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up5jUOOP38k[/youtube]
