Wedding Wednesdays: Wedding Invitations & Printing Options

As a little girl, when you talked about your wedding invitations we are pretty sure the conversation did not go like this: 

“someday when I get married, my invitations will be letter pressed, no wait, embossed, wait, maybe engraved…no, no, no, foil stamped, that’s it…they will be foil stamped!”

Yet, when it comes to deciding on your wedding invitations, these are the words and choices you will come up against.  For some brides, deciding what type of invitation they want is easy. For others, style and budget are big deciding factors. One thing is certain, for all brides, this is the first impression of the wedding that their guests will see so the decision is an important one. It sets the tone for what’s to come!

To help make your decision a little easier, we have created a glossary of stationary definitions to help you sort through your stationer’s verbiage and pick the look that is right for you, your wedding and your budget. 

Letterpress: is a printing method that requires characters being impressed upon the page using special plates, typically done in a single color. Motifs or designs may be added as many letterpress machines use movable plates that must be handset. Your type or image will be indented into the paper. Using a raised surface printing plate or type, the depth of the resulting "bite" will vary depending upon the type of paper. Thicker and softer papers will carry a deeper impression than harder or thin papers.

Letterpress requires that special plates be made and each plate typically needs to be hand set, making it a fairly expensive option of printing.

{letterpress examples}

Offset: is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When the printing plate is exposed, an ink receptive coating is activated at the image area. On the press, the plate is dampened, first by water rollers, then by ink rollers. Ink adheres to the image area and water to the non-image area. Paper passes between the blanket cylinder and the image is transferred to the paper.

Offset printing is extremely popular and cost effective.

{offset examples}

Embossing: is the term used when the shape of a printed image can be seen on both the front and back surfaces of the paper. The surface of the paper is raised by pressing the paper between an engraved female die and an “accommodating” male die.

“Blind” embossing is the term used when embossing and it is not covered with ink.

{embossing examples}

Debossing: is the term used when an image such as a logo, a title, or other design is heat-pressed into the surface of the paper with a die, creating depressions or indentations rather than raised impressions as in embossing. 

{debossing examples}

Digital Printing: is a method in which an image is printed directly from the computer onto the paper. The ink sits flat on top of the paper.  This printing has no texture and a variety of color ranges can be achieved using this method.

Digital printing is extremely economical and most printers can do this type of printing. 

{digital printing examples}

Engraving is a process that requires a design to be cut into a plate made of a relatively hard material. It is a technology with a long history and requires significant skill and experience. The ink is applied to the plate where it fills the cavities. The plate is then wiped clean leaving the recessed areas full of ink.  Intense pressure is then used to transfer the image onto the paper.

The result is a design that is slightly raised above the surface of the paper. 

Engraving results in the sharpest image of all the traditional printing methods. Yet, due to the cost of the process and require expertise, many people opt for thermographic printing which produces similar results.

{engraving example}

Thermography: is a process that involves five stages but can be implemented in a low-cost manufacturing type process. The process involves printing the desired designs or text with an ink that remains wet, rather than drying on contact with the paper. The paper is then dusted with a powdered polymer that adheres to the ink. The paper is vacuumed mechanically or by hand, to remove excess powder, and then heated. The wet ink and polymer bond and dry, resulting in a raised print surface similar to the result of an embossing process.

Thermography is an affordable imitation of engraving but it should not be used with designs that require great detail. This process is also very sensitive to type of material used.  If you go this route, your best bet is to use the highest quality paper you can. 

{thermography examples} 

Foil Stamping: is the application of pigment or metallic foil to paper where a heated die is stamped onto foil. Heat and pressure bond the foil to the paper the design.  The “foils” are often gold or silver, but also come in a large variety of colors and patterns. They can be transparent or opaque and really pop with a shine.

{foil stamp examples}

Woodblock Printing: is where the wood block is prepared as a relief matrix, meaning that the printing parts are left level with the surface of the block and the non-printing parts are removed. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood. The surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink-covered roller leaving ink upon the flat surface but not in the non-printing areas. 

This type of printing yields an old fashioned or rustic look.

{woodblock printing examples}