Everyday we answer invitation questions for clients. Pricing, print types, what are their options, and what is the first step. Well no matter what event you might be planning, from a baptism, birthday, corporate party or wedding, the invitation sets the stage for your guests.
Where Do I Start?
The first step is to identify your guest count. Keep in mind that invitations go to a household, not individuals, so first look at how many total guests. Perhaps you have 100 people attending, then normally that would be 50 invitations, if figuring 2 per household. While you might have a few single people, you also might have a few with more than 2, so the rule would still hold true to cut your guest count in half for quantity of invitations to order.
Next is to identify what you like in terms of style. Are you more traditional? Do you prefer contemporary or do you love multiple colors? Clean lines or lots of floral patterns? What style you like defines you as well as the theme of your event. Your style can also determine what print style will work for your invitation, so it is important you choose this before deciding on print type.
Printing Types
Your overall budget can also play a part in making that determination of what invitation might be a best fit. If you love multiple colors and patterns, then letterpress might be the perfect fit for your print style. It’s also the most expensive form of printing though. If that isn’t a fit for your budget, then we can do offset or flat printing. This is where you can use multiple inks and patterns but keeping your budget much lower. Letterpress is created on very soft thick paper, allowing designs to be pressed into it, making it beautiful.
Engraving is also another elegant type of printing. It too is on the higher end of pricing because of the time it takes. The plates that have to be made and the number of passes that have to be done in order to create the multiple inks or patterns you might see. Unlike letterpress, engraving is pushed from the back of the paper up into the paper. This gives the ink a raised feel, but leaves an impression on the back side of the paper.
Thermography is the last form of printing, and was done to mimic engraving, but at around half the cost. Thermography has that raised feel on the top of the paper, but it is created with a plate that lays the ink on top of the paper and then it is heated to adhere to the paper.
Consult the Specialists
You should always look at samples of each type of printing, but looking at invitations can be inundating because there are so many it can get confusing. Our advice is to sit with an invitation specialist and discuss your event, your colors, your vision of what you think is the invite you would want, allow them to guide you, allow them to help you, allow them to understand your budget, and they can then help you to make wise choices, and not fall in love with something that is outside your budget, but find a great fit for all aspects of your needs.
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