The Hagaki printing option refers to a standard printing size in Japan. Though not available on many commercial printers sold in the United States, all inkjet printers produced or marketed in Japan have an option for printing on hagaki inkjet paper. In Japanese, "hagaki" translates literally to "postcard" — hagaki paper, accordingly, is postcard-sized.
What Is the Size of Inkjet Hagaki Paper?
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Standard hagaki inkjet paper measures 100 by148 millimeters, or 3.937 by 5.827 inches. This size fits into the qualifying range to be considered a postcard by the United States Postal Service, which states that a postcard must be rectangular in shape and must have a measurement between 3.5 by 5 inches and 4.25 by 6 inches in size. Hagaki size is the standard postcard size in Japan.
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The Japanese Postcard Printing Option
Certain printers sold in the United States feature Hagaki or Inkjet Hagaki Paper type as a printing option. A few products that support hagaki card include the OfficeJet 7610 from Hewlett-Packard, the Lexmark Pro915 and the Dell All-in-One wireless printer. For these and other printers, hagaki card is listed among the standard paper type and size options that include bright white paper, brochure paper and card stock.
On some other printers, the hagaki size may be referred to as Japanese Postcard. The Japanese Postcard size available on most American printer models has the same dimensions as the Hagaki Card option. There is also a Double Japanese Postcard printing option on many printers, which refers to the expanded 7.87 by 5.83-inch hagaki size.
Hagaki Paper
In Japan, Hagaki card paper is traditionally crafted from 100 percent kozo bark. Kozo is a type of mulberry plant that is native to Japan, China and other countries throughout Asia. The bark of this plant is strong and durable, making it ideal for use in cloth and papermaking.
Genuine kozo hagaki cards can be found at many specialty paper stores online. One of the more popular varieties of the paper is Etchu Hagaki, which is named after the region in Japan where it is made. The Etchu Province, which today is known as the Toyama Prefecture, is one of the oldest papermaking regions in Japan, and it produces some of the highest-quality kozo hagaki card paper.