Paperie Printing Methods 101

At MK Event Boutique we love paperie...but especially wedding paperie. Working with brides to design their perfect paperie items is a lot of fun. There are so many options when it comes to paperie that we wanted to share a little wisdom on printing methods to help you when choosing your paperie items. All printing methods are gorgeous and all have their pros and cons. When deciding between printing methods take into consideration your budget, design/feel of your event, and colors you want to use on your paperie items.

The 4 most common printing methods we offer are:

Flat Printing

Flat printing is going to be the most cost effective option. These paperie items are printed with liquid ink, which appears to lay flat atop the paper, and allows the bride to use as many colors as she would like. This is the most commonly used printing method and has the quickest turn around time for production. With flat printing, the ink color chosen has to be darker than the paper option chosen. Lighter colored inks will not show up on darker sheets of paper.

Thermography

Thermography is a raised printing method. Whenever you run your fingers across a thermography piece, you are feeling the writing. It is a very unique printing method. Heat is used to melt powdered ink on to the paper, resulting in a raised effect. This printing method allows you to do lighter ink colors on a dark paper color. For example, since the ink is raised…you would be able to see white ink on a black sheet of paper. This method is going to be more expensive for smaller quantities. Thermography is cheapest when using one ink color. The bride will be paying more for a 2nd or 3rd color incorporated on her paperie item. Matching thermography colors and flat printed colors can be difficult as well since the ink being used is not the same.

Foil Stamping

Foil Stamping is one of our favorite options. You can combine foil stamping and flat printing as well as foil-stamping and letterpress. There are different colors of foil, the most popular being gold & silver. Foil stamping is a little more expensive due to the labor involved in making the dies for the paperie items. Adding that shine to your invitation really makes it stand out from a traditional invitation. A bride will pay more if using more than one color of foil on a paperie piece. This is another option that bride’s have for lighter colored text and design on a darker sheet of paper. Since the foil is shiny and pressed onto the paper, you can do a white or silver foil on a navy blue sheet of paper.

Letterpress

Letterpress is the oldest printing method and is going to be the most expensive. Letterpress is when you run your fingers across the piece and you can feel everything indented into the paper. The paper used in letterpress is limited on colors because it is a thicker paper than the standard invitation paper we use on flat printing, thermography, and foil stamping. This is a luxury printing method that is absolutely gorgeous. You can combine foil stamping and letterpress together to make an over the top invitation. When choosing letterpress, the bride will pay more if she wants to use more than one color.

We love to give our brides as many options as we can! We love paperie and the whole design process. If you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a complimentary paperie consultation please email us at: info@mkeventboutique.com