Flipbook

A flipbook mailer is a die-cut direct-mail piece that flips through five printed display panels when the recipient pulls a tab, so the message reveals one frame at a time instead of all at once. It's paper engineering, not a digital flipbook, and each of the five panels can carry its own message, or the five can tell a single story in sequence. The flat brochure is 5" x 3.1875" and opens to 10.18" x 3.18", giving you a compact canvas that still carries a full story arc.

The flipbook works best for campaigns that need to unfold a message in steps, such as product launches, before-and-after reveals, event and enrollment invitations, fundraising appeals, and account-based outreach to high-value prospects. The pull-tab sequence suits a story with a build, a set of steps, or a payoff at the end, which is why marketing and creative teams reach for it over a flat postcard when the pacing carries the idea. Because the per-piece cost is higher than flat mail, it earns its place on shorter, targeted lists rather than mass mail. If the page-flip isn't the right mechanism, our wider moving message mailer line has other interactive formats to compare.

No, current industry research doesn't establish a reliable response-rate advantage for interactive mailers over flat direct mail as a category, though the formats are designed to create more physical engagement than a flat piece. The honest way to measure the flipbook's effect is to test it against a comparable flat control on the same list.

Base flipbook pricing varies by quantity, with unit cost decreasing as the run grows, and the live price for every quantity tier is published on the product page. Mailing services and postage are additional, and optional services such as variable data or other custom work can affect the final project cost. Because the flipbook includes die-cutting and hand-assembly on every piece, the useful comparison isn't against the cost of a postcard on paper. It's against the value of the audience and the campaign the piece is built to serve.

The minimum order is one piece. Our production schedule includes a single-unit tier, so you can order a finished copy of your own artwork to check the die-cut, the pull-tab action, and the print quality before committing to a full run. For any quantity, enter the number on the product page to see current pricing.

No, you don't need to supply a special envelope, and there's no odd-shape postage surcharge. The flipbook mails inside a 5.75" x 4.375" carrier envelope. When we handle the mailing, we insert each piece into that USPS-approved envelope. The envelope also brings the finished piece up to USPS letter size, since the bare brochure itself is smaller than USPS's minimum letter height. Postage is billed separately. We calculate the final amount once your mailing list is processed and paid before we deliver the mail to USPS. Presort and nonprofit rates are available on qualifying mailings.

Yes, we can print and mail the flipbook campaign in one order, so the finished pieces go straight into the mail stream instead of shipping back to you first. You supply the mailing list, and we handle insertion, addressing, and delivery to USPS. The applicable postage method and rate depend on the mailing quantity and eligibility. Handling the mailing in-house folds one delivery step into the same timeline, which matters when the drop has to land before an event or deadline.

Production time runs from a few business days for single units and small runs up to 15 to 20 business days for runs of 10,000 to 25,000 pieces, with quantities above 25,000 requiring a scheduling call. If we handle the mailing, add another 2 to 7 business days of mailing-services processing on top of production. Postal transit time is separate. Production schedules can fluctuate, so it's worth discussing time-sensitive projects with us before ordering.

Start from our flipbook dieline template so your layout lines up with the cut lines and the pull-tab mechanism. Design each of the five panels inside the template, keeping each panel self-contained if you want the reveal to build one frame at a time, then follow the instructions in the downloaded template before uploading. Templates come in Illustrator, IDML, and PDF. If your campaign needs variable data, whether you're addressing each piece to a named recipient or swapping in a per-recipient image, that's an available Red Paper Plane service worth confirming with the team when you set up the order.

Yes, you can order a free sample pack and preview your own design online before committing to a full run. The sample pack lets you hold the flipbook and work the pull-tab in person, so you can spec the campaign around the real piece rather than a photo, and you can build a pack of up to seven free samples to compare formats. To preview your own artwork, our online 3D design tool shows your layout on a virtual model before anything prints, so you can start a moving message sample pack whenever you're weighing the format.