Printing Your Wedding Invitations at the Right Price
Finding a thick paper at a good price is one consideration when planning your wedding invitations on a budget. One of the biggest costs, however, is the printing. There are several options for what kind of printing you can choose, the results and feel, and the price. Finding the right printing technique is a great way to work your budget and create a beautiful memorable wedding invite.
The most traditional printing technique for wedding invitations is engraving. This technique is also the most expensive when it comes to lettering for wedding invites. Engraving is accomplished by incising a design onto a hard surface, like a printing plate. The plate is then inked. The paper is pressed into the plate so that it picks up the ink in the grooves of the plate. The final effect is raised inked letters on the front of the invitation and indented lines on the back of the paper. This time-consuming and expensive technique also requires a thicker paper to be used, which adds to the total expense.
Another option that mirrors engraving is to use thermography for your wedding invitations. Thermography is created by dusting a powder onto wet ink and then melted. This technique creates a raised texture, but the initiations do not have the indented lines on the back of the paper. The letters do end up having a shinier look to them versus engraving. These are the only differences between engraving and thermography, but they are small details that many people today might not even notice. Thermography can also be done on a wider variety of paper, which can reduce the cost even further than engraving.
A third printing option, lithography or off set printing, uses ink but the letters are not raised and are not indented through the back of the paper. This is less costly than engraving or thermography. This printing technique is used often when printing brochures or other printed materials for the business world, so most people know the technique. The technique lets people print directly on to the paper using heat-set inks. The results are smooth, with no raised lettering. Colors, however, are easy to manipulate and not costly to change. This technique is great if you plan on using a photo on your invitation itself, as lithography is great for reproducing photographs.
Understanding the printing techniques is important in order to find the right style and cost for your big day. Enjoy the search!




