FAQs

The top consumer questions we hear at Hallmark are "Where can I submit my designs?" and "Where can I submit my writing?" We care (really), and we know you're talented (truly).

So here you see the results of our sincere attempt to support your creative efforts and to give you a platform from which to speak, so to speak. We are hoping you'll be as excited as we are about making greeting cards and sharing them with the world. Creating cards is a fun and rewarding process. But you probably already know that, don't you?

Thanks for coming along on this journey. Please excuse any bumps along the road as we figure how to blaze the trail together.

Well, beginning Summer 2009, it's like this:
1. You submit a great card to the contest.
2. We put the best cards for sale online. (You win $250.)
3. The very best of the best could be sold in stores, too. (You win another $250.)

Glad you asked. We've gathered up everything we've learned from all our contests so far and combined those learnings with what we've been hearing from people like you through our blog, Facebook and surveys (thanks!). All that knowledge went into making yourGreeting Card Competitions even better.

First, you asked for more contests. Voila—we've added more and will have them more often. You also told us that voting was a hassle, so we've removed it, eliminating the long wait. That way, we can get to the winners and the prizes faster. We've also decided that instead of rewarding just one Grand Prize Winner, we'll be awarding more winners each contest. And with having more contests, more often, that means even more winners. The last thing we heard from you is how much you like seeing the behind-the-scenes action happening at Hallmark. We love giving you this peek into our team's everyday contest duties (and the occasional party), so we've added more of that on Facebook, Twitter and our blog. Thanks for all your feedback. We love to hear what you have to say.

Let's put it this way: do you know anyone without a birthday? People love to give each other birthday cards, and well, birthdays are happening every day. Of course, weddings and anniversaries and other occasions happen, too, but birthdays seem to be the most popular occasion for sending cards. Plus, birthday cards come in all varieties--the card you would send to your best friend for their birthday would probably be totally different from the one you would send to your mom or the one you would send to your co-worker, so the possibilities are endless!

See the cards and get the scoop in the Winners' Gallery.

You'll always be able to see into the near contest future in our Up Next box

Lucky for you, oh-so-many ways. We're sending updates all the time on Twitter. Just follow "HallmarkContest." We're also giving you the full scoop on our Facebook page. Become a fan of "yourGreeting Card Competition," and the updates will go straight to your profile. Or, if you'd rather, you can head on over to our blog at hallmarkcardcompetition.blogspot.com for news, updates, pics and the like.

Afraid not. We review all the entries electronically to make it speedier for everyone, so please don't shy away from submitting electronically. It's painless, we promise.

We like to announce a contest one week before it officially opens, that way you and the rest of the world have a little time to get those creative juices flowing. After that, we’re wide open to accept your card ideas submitted through our website for two weeks. Just keep an eye on the “Submissions Accepted” dates listed on our home page, contest page and calendar.

You. Maybe. Read on. Each contest is open to all persons, age 15 or older as of the day of submission. Current or former employees of Hallmark, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, all direct family members of those employees and employees of American Greetings or Recycled Paper Greetings are not eligible. More information.

Nope! You sure don't. We're finally able to open up the contests to our international friends! Woo-hoo! We're so excited. We'll accept submissions in English from all over the globe. If you're one of our international friends, here's what you need to know: You're definitely eligible to become a winner. You just won't be able to buy your cards in stores in your own country or order them online if you do not have a U.S. billing address. We'll be sure to hook you up with plenty of samples of your own card so any friends and family that also live overseas can bask in your card-star glory, too.

That depends on the contest. We usually allow just one entry, but sometimes we like to mix it up and allow more. We know you've got good card ideas comin' out of your ears, but check out each specific contest page to get the scoop. Besides, with more contests happening more often, you're sure to get another chance to send us more of those stellar card concepts you've been kicking around.

Why, yes! We'd be thrilled to see your winning entries keep coming our way! In fact, we plan to give special recognition to those of you who are on a roll, winning two, three and even more contests in our Repeat Card Stars gallery.

When we get your submission, you will receive an e-mail confirming we got it. Please add contestinfo@hallmark.com to your contact list in your e-mail address book, so your inbox doesn't mistake our e-mails for junk. Because junk they are not!

If you want to keep it simple:
If you're not sure your image is high resolution, don't worry. Our upload tool won't let you submit anything less. Most cell photos won't be high enough resolution to print.

If you want to go for the gold and get all technical:
1. Create a new document in your photo or design program (Photoshop, Illustrator, Paint, Paintshop, etc.).

2. Adjust the document to the right dimensions and dpi:

1100 x 1500 pixels or  5.5" W. X 7.5" H.
200 dpi
Hallmark will format all submissions to fit a vertical card.

3. Copy your photo or design into your document. (Skip this step if you created your design within the program.)
4. Crop your photo or design down to the right dimensions. (Skip this step if you created your design within the program.)
5. Save it as a .jpg.

If you're scanning a physical photo or design:
Make sure to set the scanner to the highest setting you can. (How high is that, you ask? Somewhere around 1200 dpi.)

Note: Use your program's "Help" tool for more information on file formats, file size and image resolution. You might also check your software manual. For some good info on digital photography, scanning, pixels and dpi, we like these online resources:

• Flying Sam
• Bright Hub
• Vivid Light Photography

If you don't already have a program in mind, a couple of programs that save images in .jpg format are Photoshop, Illustrator, Paint and Paintshop. We recommend you use your program's "Help" tool for more information on file formats, file size and image resolution to ensure your photo or design meets the specifications of the competition. If you're still not sure, we'd recommend using an online search engine to find out more.

Make sure to save your design as a .jpg in RGB color format. Our system will not accept design files saved in CMYK color format.

You can try re-scanning your photo at the highest setting on your scanner, probably 1200 dpi. Then try submitting it again.

If this is "Greek" to you and you need step-by-step instructions, there's lots of good information in plain English on the Internet. Type "scan photos" into the Google or Yahoo search bar and check out one of the sites listed.

You might consider taking your photo to Kinko's or a local business with printing services. They can scan your photo for a nominal fee. Just be sure to bring along these requirements: at least 1100 x 1500 pixels (equivalent to 200 dpi).

Sorry, cards for competitions are currently limited to simple black type on the inside. So give us your best shot on the card's cover by putting your photo or design there and only there.

Probably not. A photo or image may seem like it's "out there" on the Internet, but it can't be reproduced on a Hallmark card without permission from the photographer and legal release forms covering prominent persons and places in the shot (like someone's house). This includes anything from stock houses or labeled as "royalty free." Unless you're willing to go the distance and secure all those forms, it's best just to stick to your own stuff.

Unfortunately, YES. Aside from needing to be a high enough resolution/dpi to print well, we will review entries for any trademark or brand name that is prominent (think logos, store-bought props, recognizable locations, and trademarked or branded items) and could lead the owner of that trademark to object. If you're submitting a photo, it needs to be taken by you, or you need to have permission from the person who did. You will also need permission to photograph the people or animals in the photo. If they are kids or pets, get permission from their parents or owners. (If you're chosen as a winner, we'll send you official model release forms but please, oh please, get their permission before you send in the photo.)

Also, at the judges' discretion, entries including unsuitable content, insufficient image resolution, non-English language entries, sexually explicit or inappropriate content, descriptions or images of people or animals in unsafe conditions or content that is in violation of third party rights (including, but not limited to, copyrights) will be immediately disqualified. Hallmark will use its sole discretion in determining whether an entry should be disqualified.

Why, yes. And here they are.

Most likely, no. We're all about keepin' it real when it comes to your card entry. Edits come into play for things like blurry photos, spelling errors, readability, etc. We won't go changing things willy-nilly. And if we do feel the need to edit, we'll run it by you first, so no need to sweat. We want your creation to shine.

No, but you can put it in your pocket and save it for a rainy day. And by rainy day, we mean future contests that might better suit your card. And now that we're having contests more often, that rainy day might be sooner than you think!

Yes, you may enter your photo or design in more than one contest, as long as it hasn't been a winner (or a finalist, for you alumni) in a previous contest. We can't let one photo or design hog all the greeting card fame, now can we?

That depends. You can choose the best option for the image and writing you're submitting. No matter what, you'll always have words on the inside of your card. These are your 3 options:

A. No writing on the cover - writing on the inside only
B. Writing embedded in your cover image + writing inside
C. Writing on the cover + writing inside

Ask yourself these 3 things when you are creating your card (or else):

1. Does it stick to the THEME?—Does your card deliver what the contest calls for?

If the contest calls for birthday cards, deliver the birthday. If it calls for thank- you cards, you get the idea. Otherwise, your card will be disqualified.

2. Is it SENDABLE?—Could it be sent by more people than your friends and family?

Imagine all the different people that walk into a store to buy a Hallmark card. Will a lot of them be able to buy your card to send to one of their friends or family? No? Then, keep trying until you've got a real crowd-pleaser.

3. Is it COHESIVE?—Are the visuals and writing a great match?

Sometimes, people enter a card with a great design or photo or they submit wonderful writing, but those submissions don't become winners because we like only ONE part of the card. We want the TOTAL package. Your visuals and writing should go hand-in-hand.

A panel of Hallmark judges who really know their card-making stuff will choose a group of winners from all eligible entries. Entries will be judged based on whether they stick to the theme as well as on sendability and cohesiveness. Get the details.

We'll call you all excited and hope you're just as pumped as we are. (It makes for fun videos on the blog and Facebook, we hear.) We'll then need you to fill out some mighty important information about yourself and get all your legal paperwork and model release forms signed. And we need you to do so rather quickly (72 hours, to be exact), so we can officially call you a winner and start making your card. That's the short road to card stardom.

If you are pronounced a winner by our wise council of judges, they will call you up a.s.a.p. after the final day of judging. Keep tabs on the judging progress on our site, blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed.  We’ll be sharing lots of behind-the-scenes tidbits, and you’ll know to expect a call sometime the week of the judging festivities. You’ll want to keep your phone with you at all times.  Once we call the winners (which could include you), we won’t announce it to the rest of the world on our site ’til about six weeks later.  Winners get special privileges, you know.

Call us commitment phobes, but we're not set on one number for every contest. Some contests will have more winners than others. We'll pick winners that are just begging to be made into real, live cards. We won't pick any cards just to fill a certain number of spots. Capisce? So just WOW us, and you'll have nothing to worry about!

Just as we do for judging, a group of experienced Hallmarkers gets together to decide the right mix of cards to sell in stores. They consider things like the look and "feel" (emotional tone) of each card, who it can be sent to, what it adds to the whole group of cards, and so on. After much discussion and plenty of snacks, everybody agrees (for the most part) on the best of the best. Then, we call and deliver the great news to the card creators, and the cards are printed and shipped to stores.

If you are chosen as a winner, you will receive $250 (U.S. dollars), and your card will be offered at Hallmark.com. Not to mention, you'll be in the bright, card-creating spotlight. If your winning online card is then selected to be printed and sold in stores all over the country (earning you more fame and more fans), you will win $250 (U.S. dollars) more.

Call us bleeding hearts, too, but we think you're all winners. We started thinking about how we'd rather reward more people than just one Grand Prize Winner per contest. For now, that means having more contests and making more of your cards, so more people can become winners—and get all the greeting card fame that comes with that.

You can always find them at Hallmark.com. If you're looking for in-store winners, your best bet is to refer to the web pages for the specific contest you're looking for. That's the spot that'll tell you what stores will be carrying the cards. For international folks, you'll have to get creative. You won't be able to buy the cards at Hallmark.com or in Hallmark Gold Crown stores (unless you travel to the U.S. to do it). We'll send you lotsa card samples so you can share them with friends and family. If you want more, though, you could have a U.S. friend get them and send them to you. Not ideal, we know. We're dreaming of a day when international shipping won't be a problem. Ahh, that'll be a great day.

Well, each contest will have different dates so here's how to stay in-the-know: check the calendar on our site, the blog, our Facebook page or Twitter for updates. We will be sure to shout loud and clear when those winning cards hit the shelves. For those of you who are winners, we'll notify you early in a variety of ways (phone, e-mail, mail) so there's no chance you'll miss the news.

Just refer to our handy-dandy contest calendar on the left. It's got all the dates you need.

You can start by heading over to www.hallmark.com/careers to find out what kind of gig sounds right up your alley.