What are Memorial Cards?
Although memorial cards can sometimes be a broad term used in reference to the greater range of memorial products including wallet cards and bookmarks, generally speaking memorial cards are folding cards that contain a photo, information such as date of birth & address and verses in remembrance of a loved one.
Is there a differance between Memorial and Memoriam Cards?
The short answer is no, memorial and memoriam cards is a word that is used interchangeably to describe what is essentially the same thing. Sometimes they are also called memory cards or mortuary too.
Who should they be sent to?
Unlike acknowledgement cards there is no real tradition as to who should and shouldn’t receive one. What would be best is for the family to make out a list of people from the family and friends circle of the deceased, from experience some people prefer to order a smaller amount of cards and only give them to close members of the family and friends while others prefer to send them out to more extended members of the family and friends.
If the deceased was a member of a sports club or community organisation or had a large family or friends group it may be an idea to order a larger amount of cards to make sure everyone gets one. It may also be an idea to keep a couple aside for people who didn’t receive one and might ask for one in the future.
When should memorial cards be sent?
The timeline for ordering memorial cards tends to vary from one family to another. We deal with a few orders a month where the family want the memorial cards ordered in time to give out at the months mind mass/gathering. We also deal with a lot of orders where the family have waited until the one year anniversary or after to order the memorial cards.
Speaking in general terms the majority of our customers order cards from 11-18 months after their family member has passed away.
Our advice on this would be to decide amongst the family when you think is the right time to order memorial cards. If you are unsure what you would like on the card or what you would like to put on the card it is no harm to take some time to think about that first before ordering as it makes the process easier for you.
Memorial Card sizing & quality
When we were designing our current rage of memorial cards we looked extensively into the best sizing for our cards and settled on 140 x 105mm (when opened) as we found it was the size that best fit the traditional format and the size that best fit the amount of information a memorial card tends to have.
If you prefer you can of course have a bigger size card if you would like more information, photos or a longer verse to go on it. We do this quite a bit on our custom cards so if you would like to discuss options on card sizing please give us a call and we can talk you through what options may be best.
Our cards are printed on Konica Minolta digital presses which produce absolutely great print and tonal quality. As far paper quality our memorial cards are printed on 350gsm silk board and laminated on production grade laminators.
As far as quality I’m sure our cards are up with the best of them in Ireland, if you would like to see for yourself you can always request a sample pack before ordering.
What information goes on a memorial card?
Generally the card has a predominant theme and then a design to factor in with that theme, like above we try to keep the designed themed in the nature/scenic and religious themes. This allows us to cover the majority of the common designs without having an overwhelming amount of categories. Once you have picked the card you would like the next thing would be to decide what to put on the card.
Outside Front: Page 1
On the outside of the our standard cards there is usually a photo or design depending on what theme and design you choose from our range. Along with this there is also usually a heading of your choice, we have a list of some of the more standard options to choose from or you can also include your own custom heading too.
There is also the option to have a photo of the deceased on the front of the card too, if you would like this and are ordering through our website you can upload the additional photo and let us know where you would like it in the additional information box. There is absolutely no extra costs to add photos on the memorial card.
Inside Left: Page 2
I suppose you could call this page the main page or the most important page of the memorial card as this is the page with the photo of the deceased and all the main information such as name and dates.
To start off with the top of the page this is generally where the main photo of the deceased goes and there is a number of framing options for this which are as follows:
- Rectangular: as described the photo is in a rectangular shape and usually has a soft shadow underneath, this can also have a border to match the card if prefered.
- Oval: the same goes for this as with the rectangular frame, there is also a number of border and framing options you can have here too.
- Rectangle Feathered: this is a rectangular shaped photo but has each side lightly faded to make a beautifully soft image to blend into the card.
- Oval Feathered: this option is also the same as the rectangular feathered just in an oval shape.
- Cutout background: this option is a little more complex than the others as it is only suitable for photos that are of good quality and that aren’t too cropped.
If you are unsure of what options might suit the photo you have we can do a couple of versions of the proof with different framing options for you to choose from.
Main Heading: Like the front page it is also common to have a main heading underneath the photo, you can choose from our own list of headings or supply on of your own. You can also leave this out too if you would like.
Deceased Name: Usually under the main heading is the deceased name, from a traditional point of view it is usually just the first and surname but it is also quite common for the maiden name or a nickname to be added in.
Address: Under the name there is an option to have the address of the deceased added in, to be honest I’d say less than half of our customers include it but it is still always an option to have if you prefer. You can have the address whatever way you prefer and if you would like there is also space to include previously resided areas or countries.
Dates: Next is usually the dates you would like included, depending on what dates you actually want on the card there is a number of different ways it can be formatted such as:
- Who died on the 12th June 2021 aged 82 years
- Who passed away on the 12th June 2021 aged 82 years
- 14/05/1939 – 12/06/2021 aged 82 years
- 14/05/1939 – 12/06/2021
If you prefer you can provide your own text for this too, for example some people like to change died to “who left this world on”.
Short Verse: Under the date is usually where a short verse goes, we have a list of some popular short verses on hour website or if you prefer you can also provide your own short verse. If you would prefer to have no short verse this is also no problem.
Inside Right: Page 3
On the inside right which in terms of running order is page three this is usually where a long verse goes. We have a list of compiled long verses to choose that can be viewed here.
Outside Back: Page 4
On page 4 is the same as page 3, this is usually where another long verse goes.
Can I customise my cards?
You can indeed customise the card in any way you like and we are always more than willing to go the extra mile to help you create a beautifully personalised card. Over the past 4 years we have designed hundreds of custom cards and have fulfilled many requests for very unique and complex card designs
What parts be customised?
As far as the design really any part of the card can be customised from the fonts, colours, backgrounds, layouts etc. We can also add on extra photos on any part of the card.
If you are unsure if the card you would like can be done please feel free to call us on (01) 699 1214 and we would be more than happy to talk you through what may be best and what options are available.
Do you charge for design customisations?
No there is absolutely no extra or hidden costs for customising a card, its all included in the price. Unlike some of our competitors we don’t charge extra for adding on photos either!
Memorial Card Pricing
Our memorial card range starts at €82 for 25 memorial cards. The full breakdown of pricing for all of our cards can be found by clicking here.
