Why export HTML instead of a PDF or image?

HTML carries merge variables, so one template becomes thousands of personalised postcards without re-rendering a file for each one. It is also the format Lob and PostGrid render natively, and it stays editable as text.

Can I still get a PDF or PNG?

Yes. Every design also exports as a 300 DPI PDF and as PNG previews at any width. HTML is the default because it is what print-and-mail APIs use.

Do other design editors export HTML?

Most design editors export images or PDFs. Some offer an HTML conversion, but it is not built for print. In DesignerTool the HTML is the print file itself, sized with bleed and checked against Lob and PostGrid preflight.

Can I white-label the editor?

Yes, on the Platform plan. Your logo, colours, fonts and domain. Your users never see DesignerTool branding unless you want them to.

Can users upload their own fonts and images?

Yes. Images are checked for print resolution at the placed size. Fonts can be uploaded as WOFF2 or picked from Google Fonts, and are embedded in the export.

Which mail APIs does the exported HTML work with?

Lob and PostGrid today, with merge syntax exported in each provider's format. Direct Mail Manager and Shopify connect through our integrations. Any press that accepts HTML at 300 DPI can print the export.

How do merge fields map to my CSV or API?

You declare the field names when you mount the editor. They appear in the merge picker and export as merge variables, so a column called first_name becomes {{first_name}} in the HTML.

Is there a per-postcard fee?

No. Plans are flat monthly or yearly. Postage and printing are billed by your mail provider, not by us.

Where is data stored?

Designs and uploads are stored in the EU or US region you pick at signup. With the S3 add-on, assets live in your own bucket.

HTML postcard designer for direct mail

The HTML postcard designer your platform can ship this week.

Your users design postcards and letters visually. You get the result as print-ready HTML, not an image or PDF, with merge variables already in place for Lob, PostGrid or your own press.

Try the editor See the embed docs

Exports HTML, not images Passes Lob and PostGrid preflight No per-postcard fee

DesignerTool HTML postcard designer embedded in a direct mail platform

What is an HTML postcard designer?

An HTML postcard designer is a visual editor whose output is an HTML file instead of an image or a PDF. Print-and-mail APIs like Lob and PostGrid render postcards from HTML, so the design can carry merge variables such as {{first_name}} and be personalised for every recipient at print time.

DesignerTool is an HTML postcard designer built for direct mail. Your users design postcards and letters on a familiar canvas; you get front and back HTML with inline CSS, embedded fonts, bleed and 300 DPI images, checked against Lob and PostGrid preflight.

Comparison	Image or PDF editors	DesignerTool
Output	PNG, JPG or PDF	Print-ready HTML (PDF and PNG too)
Personalisation	Re-render a file per variation	Merge variables live in the HTML
Lob / PostGrid	Upload a flat file	Native HTML in each provider's merge syntax
Text	Flattened into pixels	Live text with embedded fonts
Templates	Binary files	Code you can store, version and reuse

Size:

Side:

Passes Lob and PostGrid preflight Click any text on the postcard to edit it. The HTML updates as you type.

Sends through

One editor, two ways to use it

Embed it in your platform, or open the studio yourself.

Same editor, same print-ready HTML. Platforms white-label it inside their product. Marketers use it as a self-service postcard studio and send through the provider they already have.

app.acmemail.com/campaigns/spring-listings/design

Acme Mail

CampaignsDesignsAudiencesReports

Spring listings · DesignSend to 1,240

Just listedHi {{ first_name }}

TextFill

Your brand · embedded

For platforms

Inside your product

Mount the editor on your domain with your logo and colours. Your users never leave your app, and you get the print-ready HTML back in a browser event the moment they save.

One web component, any framework
Per-user uploads, unlimited users
Merge fields mapped to your send pipeline

See the embed docs Platform plan →

Embedded by

studio.designertool.io/designs

Postcard Studio+ New postcard

Maple StSent · Lob

Recall Q3Exported

Win-backDraft

OpeningSent · PostGrid

RenewalsExported

Elm AveDraft

For marketers and agencies

Postcard Studio, self-service

Open the studio, pick a template, personalise from a CSV and send through Lob or PostGrid. No developer, no HTML, no plugin.

Templates sized for 4×6, 6×9, 6×11 and letters
Recipient preview that catches overflow before print
Export HTML or PDF, or send with one click

Start free Studio plan →

Sends through

DesignerTool HTML postcard designer canvas with a postcard being designed

Printed as designed

Why platforms embed DesignerTool

Design inside your product. Print anywhere.

Three things your users get on day one, without your team building an editor.

Embeds in an afternoon

One web component. Theme it to your brand, pass a user id, listen for the save event. Works on your domain.

The HTML is the print file

What users see on the canvas is the HTML that gets printed. Bleed, safe zones and 300 DPI images are enforced while they design, so the export passes Lob and PostGrid preflight the first time.

Variable data built in

Merge fields, per-recipient preview and CSV upload without a plugin. Fields map straight to your mail API's merge variables.

How it works

From blank to mailbox in three steps

Size and template first, so nothing you design can print wrong. Then export, or send straight through your provider.

01
4×66×96×11Letter
Pick a size and template
Bleed, safe zone and the address block are already placed for every size. Start from ours or from your brand kit.
02
Just listed on Maple StreetHi {{ first_name }}, a home like yours sold in 9 days.
Design, or let your users design
Text, shapes, images, layers and merge fields in an editor that feels like the tools people already know. Images are checked at print size.
03
front.html
back.html
Sent · 1,240 pieces
Export HTML, or send straight through
Download front and back HTML that passes preflight, or push to Lob, PostGrid and Direct Mail Manager with merge variables attached.

Everything a designer needs. Every element exports as HTML.

Shapes, images, text and layers work like the design tools your users already know. The difference is what comes out: clean HTML with inline CSS and embedded fonts, ready to print.

Shapes

Draw and resize shapes on the canvas. Each one exports as lightweight HTML and CSS, so it prints sharp at any size.

Images

Upload or pick from the library. Images are checked at print size and exported at 300 DPI, linked from a signed URL inside the HTML.

Text

Text stays live text in the HTML, not pixels. Fonts are embedded, and merge fields like {{first_name}} drop straight into a headline.

Layers

Stack, lock and reorder elements. The layer order is the HTML order, so what you arrange is exactly what prints.

For developers

One tag to embed. One event to export.

Drop the HTML postcard designer into any page with your API key, and get front and back HTML back in a browser event the moment your user saves.

A single web component that works in any framework, or none
Events for html-button-click (the HTML) and exit
Merge variables as {{merge_tag}}, the syntax Lob and PostGrid read

Read the docs Get sandbox keys

index.html

<postcard-designer
  id="designer"
  api-key="YOUR_API_KEY"
  config='{"size":{"w":6,"h":4},"htmlButtonBehaviour":"save","user_id":"user-123"}'
></postcard-designer>

<script type="module">
  import { register } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/designertool-cdn-loader/+esm';
  await register();

  const designer = document.getElementById('designer');

  // Fires when the user saves: one HTML document per side
  designer.addEventListener('html-button-click', (event) => {
    const { front, back } = event.detail[0];
    saveDesign(front.HTMLContent, back?.HTMLContent);
  });

  designer.addEventListener('exit', () => closeEditor());
</script>

From the platforms

What the teams embedding it say

Three platforms run the editor in production.

Every new customer used to mean a round of PDFs and proofs before their first mailing went out. Now they design the postcard themselves inside Direct Mail Manager, and what they see is what gets printed. It's the first thing I show on a demo.

9 days

From first embed to the editor live for every Direct Mail Manager customer

Eric Rice

Sales, DirectMailManager.com

MailStream

We'd scoped building our own editor and kept pushing it back. Embedding DesignerTool took it off the roadmap, and the team went back to the parts of MailStream only we can build.

Jeff Kingsford

CEO, MailStream

MailFlow

Customers want personal mail without learning a design tool. They drop the first name and the offer straight onto the card and send it. We get far fewer calls asking us to fix a template.

Myke Hannah

Sales, MailFlow

HTML postcard designer pricing

Simple pricing. No per-postcard fee.

Start free, upgrade when you export HTML for real. Yearly billing gives you two months free.

Sandbox

Trying it out, developers

$0forever

Create free account

Full editor, all templates
3 watermarked HTML exports a month
Test API keys

Studio

Marketers and agencies

$49per month

Start with Studio

Unlimited HTML exports, no watermark
Merge fields and CSV preview
Send via Lob and PostGrid
3 team seats

For platforms

Platform

Embedding in your product

$399per month

Start with Platform

Everything in Studio
White-label embed on your domain
Unlimited end users, SSO tokens
Production API keys
Priority support

Compare all plans and add-ons →

FAQ

Questions we get before people sign up

A postcard whose print file is an HTML document instead of an image or PDF. Print-and-mail APIs like Lob and PostGrid render it at print time, which means text stays sharp and merge variables can be filled per recipient.

Free to try · no card · no per-postcard fee

Ship an HTML postcard designer this week.

Try the editor right now without an account. When you're ready, embed it in an afternoon or book twenty minutes and we'll walk through it with your team.

Try the editor

Passes Lob and PostGrid preflight Cancel any time Sandbox keys never expire