When it comes to planning special events, you want everything to be perfect and without breaking the budget. From save-the-dates to weddings to baby showers to charity events, invitations set the tone of the gathering and get your invitees excited to go! Even though we live in a digital world, sending or receiving a physical invitation can speak volumes about your upcoming special occasion. Nowadays we rarely print photos or documents like we used to in the 90s, let alone know anything about the printing process. It can be a challenging task trying to figure out what the best method of invitation printing is best for your style and needs.
We will break down the most common invitation printing techniques to help you make your decision.
The Most Common & Sophisticated Method of Invitation Printing: Letterpress
The reason that the letterpress method is one of the most common techniques for invitation printing is because of its quality. It has a handmade feel to it while still maintaining a formal look. The technique is pressing ink into paper by using plates, which results in the letters look indented into the paper. It’s absolutely stunning and pretty labor intensive. Since every color has to be pressed separately, the letterpress method requires a specific thickness in paper. This typically makes it more expensive, making it more common for only invitation printing use rather than RSVP, menu cards, etc.
The Go-To For Monograms: Embossed
If you’re interested in including a large-scale text or monogram into your invitation printing package, you may want to consider the embossing method. It’s ink-free and uses metal plates to stamp letters onto the paper. This creates what’s known as a raised-relief surface that you don’t often see on invitations; however, you typically see it used for menu cards, reply cards, thank-notes, and the like.
The Affordable Image Style: Digital, Flat, and Offset
Adding a personal touch is important for your invitation printing package. Whether it’s for your save-the-date, day-of paper materials, or invitation enclosures; digital, flat, and offset printing is a great method to consider. What’s the difference between digital, flat, and offset printing? It simply depends on the printer that you’re working with for the project. Digital printing is the most affordable since it’s an easy process of transferring a digital image to paper. With offset printing, it produces a flat image similar to digital printing; however, it’s the more effective choice for certain types of paper, is more vibrant, and contains a more accurate color matching than the others.
Conclusion
There are more invitation printing options other than letterpress, embossing, digital, flat and offset printing. These methods are a great place to start though. Every event is different, which means your invitation needs will vary depending on your style, time frame, and budget. Depending on what you want visually, foil, engraving, laser-cutting, die-cutting, etc. may be better options for you. If you want to learn about our invitation printing choices, Mind’s Eye Cre8tive can answer whatever questions you may have. We are happy to give our professional help to make your printing dream become a reality. Call us today to find out more!
