Apps for sending cards and e-cards

Red Stamp Cards is arguably the most comprehensive card app available, as it offers a large selection of cards and templates that can be sent via email or postal mail. Best of all, many of the e-cards can be sent for free. Red Stamp’s selection includes photo cards and premade cards for all occasions, as well as invitations, thank you cards, announcements, and a few designer collections that must be purchased. The app is easy to use and includes some nice features such as saving your drafts and favorites.

For traditionalists, the best place to start is probably an app like Cardstore, because it offers a broad selection of pre-made cards that you can mail anywhere for a fee. The app is easy to use and has cards that look very similar to the ones you’d find in your local drugstore (which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your view). Unfortunately, Cardstore doesn’t support sending cards via email, which limits its usefulness somewhat.

If you send a lot of cards, you will probably prefer Ink Cards. The app allows users to purchase physical cards in bulk for a lower cost, which helps those with large families. The app is oriented around photo cards, and has a variety of pre-made templates for every occasion waiting for you to add your photos, along with a few pre-made offerings. Unfortunately, Ink Cards only supports physical cards sent via the mail, not e-cards.

A less traditional option is to send a photo postcard to family members via an app like Postagram. The app turns your Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, or cropped camera roll photos into actual postcards and then mails them wherever you like for a small fee. You can add a profile picture, and a personal message of up to 180 characters. The coolest part is that the photo pops out of the postcard and becomes a 2.5 inch x 2.5 inch print the recipient can keep.

You can also send a virtual postcard via Postale. This slick app was designed for sharing travel photos, but it works for anything. Choose a postcard layout and theme, then insert a photo and greeting. Pick a pretty stamp, and your virtual postcard is complete. It's even "postmarked" automatically with your location. Send it via email, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you’re a Dr. Seuss fan, then this free app (or one of the developer’s other, Seuss-themed e-card apps) is a must. The app lets you turn any photo into a Dr. Seuss-themed birthday e-card. Choose a frame, add stickers to personalize, and email your creation to the birthday boy or girl.

Animal lovers rejoice! With Pup-e-cards you can send e-cards with adorable photos of puppies whenever you want. Pup-e-cards was created by an English charity for guide dogs for the blind to raise awareness and hopefully donations. The app itself isn’t the most sophisticated, but it is one of the cutest. Users can choose from a gallery of puppies, then browse each puppy’s own gallery of adorable photos before choosing the photo they want to feature on their card. Once a message is added, the e-card can be shared via email, Twitter, and Facebook.

If you become sick of treacly cards, download Someecards and start chuckling. The app lets users browse the many cards offered by the popular website, search for a card, and save favorites. The cards all feature vintage-style drawings with an accompanying sarcastic comment. You can add a personalized message and send your card via email, Facebook, SMS, Twitter, or save it to your phone. The only issue is that the card can only be viewed on the website, not in your email.

If you’re really serious about sending e-cards, you need to try eCard Express HD (or the iPhone version). The app has an impressive assortment of e-card frames and templates for numerous occasions. Most are made to work with a photo and display a single-sided image. You can customize the card with stickers or text placed on or under the main image.

If you forgot to get a present, this Amazon.com app has you covered. Surprise! by Amazon makes it easy to combine an e-card with a gift card to Amazon.com so that your last minute gift seems a little more personal. You can choose from a “simple” card or a “personalized” card that supports adding a photo, video, or audio greeting to one of the pre-made cards. The e-cards are free even if you don’t choose to add an Amazon gift card, and the app informs you when your card has been read.

If you're the type of person who buys a box of cards to send out invitations, Paperless Post has a better way. The app's offers an assortment of elegant looking cards that can be sent via mail or email. The prices are all clearly labeled, which is a plus. Although Paperless Post caters more toward invitations than cards, it does have an impressive selection of pre-made greeting cards that shouldn't be overlooked.

Live Greetings offers something you can’t get at with a physical card: cards with animated videos and the ability to record your message. The app is mostly geared towards humorous cards, and many aren’t free. Still, it’s a fun, different look at what cards can be.

For a more hand-crafted card, Martha Stewart CraftStudio is hands down the one to get. The app is extremely well-designed and surprisingly fun to use, even for the craft-challenged. CraftStudio presents you with all of the tools you would need to create one of the beautiful handmade cards you might see in a Martha Stewart segment, but without any of the mess. The app comes with four themes and offers nine more as in-app purchases. Each theme has its own selection of backgrounds, stamps, glitter pens, cut-outs, and stickers, and you can mix and match. You can also add photos and text to your cards, share them via email, Facebook, Twitter, create a PDF, print, or have them printed by Snapfish (for a fee).

Although it’s not technically an e-card app, Phoster makes beautiful one-sheet posters that can easily be used as cards. Phoster comes with a gallery of graphic templates that are made to highlight your photos. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can add a photo, change the font and colors, and essentially rewrite it to fit your needs. Phoster may require a bit more work than the dedicated e-card apps, but the resulting cards will certainly be unique.