Happy National Stationery Week everyone! Anyone who knows me will know I love stationery, mainly writing sets as I'm an avid pen pal and can't resist cute paper, but other things catch my eye as well. So I wanted to do a post to celebrate National Stationery Week, but what to write? Well I was offered the chance to review Inkly a smartphone app that allows you to create and send postcards or greetings cards to friends and family.
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Typically there is the opportunity to upload photo's to some ready made templates or add a photo inside the card, or with the postcard option there's different borders you can choose from with messages to suit different occasions such as holiday's or party invites, I think I spotted weddings in there as well. Card wise you can choose from him, her, children, different occasions, fine art, humour - most of the normal choices you'd expect from a store.
There's also another element to this app which is being heavily promoted, and that is the ability to add a handwritten message inside the card (there's the option for a typed font as well - but that isn't as fun), using your phones camera.
I was given the opportunity to try the app out and send a card or postcard, and I chose to create one for a friends birthday coming up this week. What impressed me the most about this app was the visuals and layout - it was all easy to read and scroll through, and when I'd finished my order and went to the 'my order' section to check it was there - my card was displayed on a neat little shelf, with clear details on status and who I was sending it to - in terms of user experience and design I'd give it full marks.
I chose to add a handwritten message to the card to try out that feature, and this was seamless - I was expecting to go out the app, take a picture of my message, and go back into it again, but it was all done inside the app. I like the fact I could crop the message and display it at quirky angles as well.
A Few Glitches
One of the let downs for me was no clear indication (apart from the size paper I was using to write the message on) of the card size I was ordering. I had to guess, and I think it should be clear what you are getting for your money - size, card quality printed on etc.
I also found the card choices very limited in some categories compared to others - plenty of fine art
choices, but not so many number/age cards. Perhaps as the app develops they'll add in more choices or the ability to edit certain details/ages etc. to adapt them for different uses. I'm not sure how well the search function is working either as some cards came up that didn't seem relevant to categories/search terms.
Other than that it was an easy and quick process, and now I just have to wait to see if the card arrives safely the other end on time.
The key question is would I use the app again, and I think for me its a no - I am a crafter so make my own cards, and I do occasionally buy from shops or order online - but when I want something different or just feel like customising something as a novelty. At the moment I don't think Inkly compete on price and variety on that score, but I do think they have potential to develop, and maybe offer printing for small businesses as well- handwritten messages would look great on a custom postcard.
*This review opp was kindly gifted to me for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.
To find out more about National Stationery Week visit them on the web at - http://www.nationalstationeryweek.com/ - there's a lot going on, and if you're involved in any way I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.
There's also another element to this app which is being heavily promoted, and that is the ability to add a handwritten message inside the card (there's the option for a typed font as well - but that isn't as fun), using your phones camera.
I was given the opportunity to try the app out and send a card or postcard, and I chose to create one for a friends birthday coming up this week. What impressed me the most about this app was the visuals and layout - it was all easy to read and scroll through, and when I'd finished my order and went to the 'my order' section to check it was there - my card was displayed on a neat little shelf, with clear details on status and who I was sending it to - in terms of user experience and design I'd give it full marks.
I chose to add a handwritten message to the card to try out that feature, and this was seamless - I was expecting to go out the app, take a picture of my message, and go back into it again, but it was all done inside the app. I like the fact I could crop the message and display it at quirky angles as well.
A Few Glitches
One of the let downs for me was no clear indication (apart from the size paper I was using to write the message on) of the card size I was ordering. I had to guess, and I think it should be clear what you are getting for your money - size, card quality printed on etc.
I also found the card choices very limited in some categories compared to others - plenty of fine art
Other than that it was an easy and quick process, and now I just have to wait to see if the card arrives safely the other end on time.
The key question is would I use the app again, and I think for me its a no - I am a crafter so make my own cards, and I do occasionally buy from shops or order online - but when I want something different or just feel like customising something as a novelty. At the moment I don't think Inkly compete on price and variety on that score, but I do think they have potential to develop, and maybe offer printing for small businesses as well- handwritten messages would look great on a custom postcard.
*This review opp was kindly gifted to me for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.
To find out more about National Stationery Week visit them on the web at - http://www.nationalstationeryweek.com/ - there's a lot going on, and if you're involved in any way I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.
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