Not only are their wedding invitations beautiful, but their shower—bridal and baby—invitations, bachelorette party invitations, and thank you notes also straddle that line between fun chic and whimsy romance. You are bound to find something perfect for adding a bit of ‘extra’ to your wedding correspondence.
We typically reserve our spotlight feature for photographers but when I came across Dolce Press I was immediately drawn in by their letterpress style invitations and wanted to introduce them to our readers. Dolce Press offers a wide array of products from wedding invitations to business cards and more. They are truly a dynamic company with plenty of style to share.
“Our letterpress wedding invitations are unique creations perfectly suited for your wedding or special event. Why? Because we have a wide variety of designs everyone of which can be customized down to the last detail.”
I knew absolutely nothing about my options for printing our wedding invitations. I thought everything was the same so it was no big deal. So wrong. You have numerous choices that will work with the feeling you want to convey.
Beau Coup has outlined several printing methods to help narrow down your decisions:
Your invitation can be printed in more ways than you thought possible. Nowadays, different techniques can be incorporated into the printing of your invitation. Beware, some of these techniques can cost much more than others. It all depends on how you want your invitation to look and what your budget will allow.
Thermography
If you want the look of engraved printing but you can’t afford it, then this method is a less costly alternative that comes close to the real thing. If an invitation looks engraved but the paper behind the printing is smooth, you have thermographed printing. This printing process is fast-becoming the most popular choice for invitations. Recommendations: Thermography is one of the most popular printing method today. It is great for formal looking wedding invitations, colored inks, and if you can’t wait 4 – 5 weeks to receive your invitations.
Engraving
This process dates back to the seventeenth century and is the oldest form of printing. It begins by etching the design and/or text into a copper plate from a negative. This type of printing is quite a bit more expensive than thermography, so engraving is usually done for ultra-formal wedding invites, formal parties in general, or when there are few budgetary constraints. Engraving is also suitable for events with a large guest list since it becomes more cost effective in larger quantities. You will also have to allow for longer printing times, up to 4 weeks with some of brands.
Foil Stamping
Foil stamping begins by etching the design and/or text into a copper plate from a film negative. The foil (not always shiny in color, as the name “foil” implies), which is a special mylar backed material, is applied to paper where the heated copper plate is stamped onto the foil, making it adhere to the surface. This is used most commonly for formal wedding invitations with paper that have heavy texture and grooves. This type of printing is expensive, and comparable in price to engraving.
Letterpress
This type of printing utilizes a movable type machine. The inked raised type is stamped onto the paper. The various typestyles on the market today are not available with this printing process, since the characters are pre-set and determined based on the machine itself (think of it like a typewriter). This process is used most commonly for invitations that have unusual textured paper and is much more expensive than most other types of printing. It has been made popular again by Martha Stewart.
Lithography, Offset
This type of printing is probably what you’re probably most familiar with where an inked impression is made to a plate or a rubber cylinder and transferred to paper. Ink colors are mixed in cans from Pantone or RGB colors for exact matches. The printing appears as a flat image. Recommendations: This type of printing is most commonly used for textured papers or paper that can’t be produced via thermography, engraving or digital. It is probably the easiest printing method and one of the least expensive printing options.
Digital Printing
These prints produce remarkable results based on digitally-rendered files. The native digital file is sent directly to the digital printer, losing no image quality. Colors can cover the entire rainbow spectrum, and are as bold, vibrant and as comparable to color offset printing. The printing appears as a flat image.
Recommendations: This type of printing is most commonly used for smooth or lightly textured papers. It is the most economical way of printing (next to printing yourself on your own inkjet or laser printer) and a perfect solution for those wanting professional print quality at reasonable prices.
Embossing
No ink is involved with this method. Metal plates that are etched with letters are stamped into paper so what is left behind is the imprint of the letter. You’ll be able to see this printing type on the borders of many invitations, addresses, and monograms. Recommendations: Embossing is best when used to accent an invitation as with borders, monograms, motifs, and the return address on the envelope flap. Embossing is an added cost, but well worth the visual 3-Dimensional effect it creates. You will only want to order embossing if you have 3-4 weeks to wait for your invitations to be printed.
Calligraphy
For a fancy handwritten appearance calligraphy is always a beautiful option. Special pens and special ink along with someone who is skilled in the art of calligraphy can perform this task usually done for addressing. Calligraphy is an option for invitations for a small wedding, unless you have an endless budget. More commonly, people have their guests’ addresses done in calligraphy on their inner and outer envelopes. The return address is usually printed on the envelope flap. If you are having a calligrapher address your envelopes, we recommend ordering your envelopes to be sent in advance, so when your invitations arrive your envelopes will already be addressed and ready to be stuffed.
Computerized Calligraphy
This method can be used for addressing and printing invitations. Many typestyles are available today that look just like calligraphy writing, but may be printed so that your entire ensemble, including addressed envelopes, will match in a calligraphic typestyle. Mygatsby.com has capabilities, in-house, to address your envelopes to match the typestyle of your invitations, depending on the typestyle you’ve selected or to print a calligraphic style. Recommendations: If you are a stickler for perfection, looking for a uniform typestyle, or would like calligraphy without the high price, this is a splendid option. You can have your envelopes addressed in the same typestyle as your invitation wording; everything will match perfectly and it will cost less than having them hand done by a calligrapher.
Finding the perfect wording for wedding invitations helps set the mood of your event. We believe this detail should reflect your personalities and give people a teaser of what’s to come. If you and the hubby-to-be are not the traditional type then have fun with your invitations and find humorous quotes to put on them. Or, if you are the whimsical and romantic couple, incorporate a love song on your invites.
Invitation Consultants have a great website to help get you started.
