Wedding Budget Tip #43: Choose flat printed invitations

This post is part of a recurring series here on BSB where we share wedding budget tips to help you save money on your wedding! You can access all the wedding budget tips on a single page for your convenience and future reference. This post outlines how choosing flat printed invitations can save you on your wedding invitations and other paper goods!

Wedding Budget Tip #43:

Choose flat printing over pricey letterpress or engraving to save money on paper items.

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One way you can easily keep costs in check with your paper items is to select an economical printing method. Choose digital or flat printing over offset, letterpress or engraving to save significantly. These highly artistic and luxurious print styles can cost a pretty penny and when you’re looking at doing multiple pieces for your invitations, programs, etc it can add up quickly.

Do you know the difference between the different printing styles? Let’s examine them below:

Printing Styles for Wedding Invitations

1. Flat

Flat Printing means the ink is printed flat onto paper using a plate. The printer will use an actual press to apply the ink to your paper. This is typically done in a single color for the most economical price.

2. Digital

Digital Printing gives you the most options for colors by using a digital printer to create the text and art on your design. The quality is comparable to flat printing but allows for a larger range of options in terms of colors, graphics, and coverage.

3. Letterpress

Letterpress printing is an art form that has been passed down for centuries. For letterpress printing, custom plates are created, then manually inked, calibrated and pressed into the paper. The letterpress impression leaves colored indentions on your invitations. It’s a time-consuming and expensive process, but the results are incredibly beautiful!

4. Thermography

Thermography printing gives the opposite effect of Letterpress. Instead of impressing the design and typography into the paper, it offers a raised and textured effect to your design. The ink is flatly applied to your paper and while it is still wet, a light powder is applied and then heated to create the raised texture. It creates an elegant effect and actually tends to cost up to half as much as letterpress or engraving.

5. Engraving

Engraving is a printing process that uses copper plates that are carved to your customized design. The image is then pressed into the paper so that it leaves an indention on the reverse side of your invitation, forcing the paper to be raised slightly in the front. Engraved stationery creates luxurious and tactile formal pieces, but is unfortunately very expensive.

6. Embossing

Blind embossing is a process that creates a raised impression like engraving but doesn’t include any ink or foil. Embossing adds texture and glamour to your design without adding extra color, for a truly sophisticated style. Choose embossed invitations for a luxe look.

7. Foil Stamping

Foil stamping is a process that involves creating a die of your design or typography, which is then pressed against a special type of foil to transfer the design onto paper under heat and pressure. Printing foil comes in a variety of colorful metallic shades and can add an extra dose of glitz and sheen to your invitation designs.

Choose Digital or Flat Printing to Save

There are so many options for printing processes to choose from for your wedding invitations. If you’re on a budget, stick with digital or flat printed invitations to keep costs down. To up the WOW factor while keeping your costs low, add DIY elements to your invitations! Further, get creative with jewels, ribbons, or belly bands for added pizazz on the cheap.

Not into DIY? Check out these flat printed, affordable all-in-one wedding invitations from Minted!