All You Need to Know about Letterpress Wedding Invitations

We all want our wedding invitations to look special, beautiful, and stand out from the rest. Wedding is a very special occasion and the invitation should obviously symbolize and embody the specialness and sacredness of the occasion. Regular invitations, no matter how expensive, just do not have that special feeling. Fortunately, you have a better, classier alternative in the form of letterpress wedding invitations. 

What Are They?

They are invitations that are printed using the letterpress printing method. Regular invitations are printed using offset printing or digital printing methods and typically have a generic, run-of-the-mill appeal to them. Letterpress wedding invitations, on the other hand, look different from the rest, have deep impressions, and are beautiful to look at. 

How Are They Printed?

The process of letterpress printing goes way back in time to the age of Gutenberg. It is one of the oldest printing methods and was employed extensively by Gutenberg himself, and other men of letters from the era, to get their works published. 

The method itself is quite laborious and takes a lot of time and effort. A wooden or metal type, which contains a raised surface with the text and images to be printed, is coated with ink. It is then locked onto the printing machine and pressed against a sheet of paper with lots of pressure. As a result, the text and images get reproduced on the paper. 

Initially, the process used to be quite cumbersome, with people having to arrange all the letters and images on the type meticulously by hand. Over the years, however, the printing method itself has undergone lots of changes, which has made the whole process simpler and faster. 

These days, wooden and metal types are hardly used by printers and have been replaced by photopolymer plates. These plates are far easier to use, maintain, and replace when compared to the wooden and metal blocks used back in the old days. 

The printing process is quite the same – the polymer plate with a raised surface, which contains the text and images to be printed, is smeared with ink and pressed against a sheet of paper or card. For every color that needs to be added to the invitation, a separate plate is used. 

The introduction of polymer plates has widened the scope of designs that could be printed. The artwork and designs could be created digitally and then transferred onto a polymer plate. So, there is really no limitation as to what kind of designs you can get printed. 

The common aspect of the old and new printing methods is that the type or plate is pressed against paper with a great amount of pressure. In fact, the modern method – commonly referred to as de-bossing – puts a lot more pressure to ensure that the impressions created are very deep. Actually, it is one of the reasons why many people are opting for letterpress wedding invitations these days. The impressions are so deep that you could feel the text and the artwork by running your fingertips over them. It makes the invitation look like a piece of art rather than a mere card. 

The inking process also plays a key role in determining the overall quality and aesthetic appeal of the invitations. If the plate is coated with too much ink, it will result in a sloppy, smeary print. If the ink added is too little, the print looks faded and colorless. So, adding exactly the right amount of ink is absolutely essential when it comes to letterpress wedding invitations. 

Things to Remember

Letterpress printing is a very laborious process and it takes at least a couple of weeks to get everything printed. So, make sure you place your order at least two to three weeks before the wedding. It is always advisable to get the invitations ready a week or two before the wedding, so that if there are any changes to be made, you could still get it done and have the invitations ready at the right time. 

Letterpress printing houses in Australia usually have an in-house graphic designer who is in charge of designing your invitation. Tell him exactly what kind of invitation you need and make as many changes as you want to the draft he comes up with. Once you finalize the design, there should be no going back and forth. This will avoid last minute delays and make sure you get your letterpress wedding invitations on time. 

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