Before I start, I just want to put in the disclaimer that I am not a printer, and do not profess to being one in any way. I have, however, been really lucky to work with some great printers who helped me to create my wedding invitations for my clients. But I have had to, over the last year, ask them all the silly questions about printing techniques so that I can create the finished product for my clients that them and I desire. So, this guide should hopefully put the answers to all those silly questions I have asked into a digestible form.
The printing methods that I will be covering are digital, letterpress
and foil blocking.
Digital printing
This style of printing is printing that you will be very familiar with, as it is the style of printing that you will be used to at home at in the office. The main different is that it refers to printing undertaken on a large scale digital printer rather than your normal printer that you would have at home. Digital printing is the most common style of printing for invitations, primarily because it tends to work out cheaper - especially if you are having a smaller quantity of invitations. When printed on a large scale printer, the printing has a nice glossy finish to it, with no bleed to the ink, rather than the slightly duller and more bled finish that you would get if printing on a home printer.
Whilst digital printing can be good for lots of invitation types, and can still enable you to create an elegant and ornate invitation, there is an added finish and 'wow' that is created by speciality printing methods, of which I am going to talk you through two today; Letterpress and Foil Stamping 
Craig and Kate's wedding invitation - digitally printed Ayot and Gray Design
Letterpress
I am just going to put it out there – I reckon this has got
to be my favourite specialty printing technique! This style of printing is
absolutely stunning when it is done well. Letterpress printing was the everyday
printing style for five centuries until more modern techniques took over. It is
however, very on trend at the moment because of the intricacy of printing it
allows and the fabulous overall finish you get with this printing type.
In letterpress printing, ink or tint is applied to a printing
plate (which has a raised surface that includes all the print and design for
the invitation – this is then pressed into card to make an ‘impression’, which
provides the invitation with an indentation where the print has been pressed
into the page.
Whilst this is more expensive that digital printing, letterpress
works out more economical if you are having a larger volume of invitations
printed, as the main costs involved are in creating the printing plate. As a
result, this can work out very expensive if you are only having a few
invitations printed.
Take a look at some
beautiful examples below.
Invitations by Bella Figura
Foil Stamping
Foil stamping is a dry printing method, meaning that no actual ink is used. It works in a similar way to letterpress, in that a plate is made with the design and then a foil sheet is pressed between the plate and the card, and then heated up to keep the foil in place. For this style, in the past the foil has usually always been thought of as being shiny and metallic (usually gold or silver); however, foil comes in many colours and also in many finishes – from matte to super-glossy to clear. The prices for this are very similar to letterpress due to the similarities in the printing technique
Take a look at some examples below.
Black on Grey foil stamped invitation by benign objects
Gold foil stamping by digby rose
So that's all I will take you through today. I hope you have enjoyed the nice eye candy and it has inspired you on some of the printing options available to you. Next time I will carry on my journey through the speciality printing types and will be talking about thermography and embossing
Back soon
L xx
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