As a printmaker, I have always loved the tactility of prints on good cotton papers. Naturally, this led me to letterpress printing and eventually to working with brides and grooms on custom wedding invitations. I know that the idea of working with a printer on custom invitations can be a bit overwhelming, but I hope this piece will clarify the process and make the experience a bit less daunting.
For custom letterpress wedding invitations, I think it’s best to start with a printer whose work you love, even if that work isn’t exclusively wedding stationery. There are a lot of great letterpress printers on Etsy who also make and design wedding invitations. A great option is to send a private request to a seller whose work you already love. I suggest purchasing a sample of the printer’s work to get an idea about the quality of the papers and printing offered.
[pullquote]For most of the history of letterpress printing, the inked type just lightly kissed the page and didn’t create an impression. [/pullquote]In contemporary letterpress printing, the tactility of a deep impression on cotton paper is often desired to set the piece apart from other forms of printing. Many printers now use photopolymer plates instead of lead type, which allow more options for typefaces and illustration elements (see more about how this works here). It’s a good idea to talk to the printer if you would like a very specific impression.
Letterpress printing is generally a bit more expensive than other forms of printing because the labor involved is often much greater. The paper must be fed through the press separately for every color printed, which will be a large factor in your pricing quote. To keep costs down, many couples opt to go with a two-color invitation and one-color response cards, thank you notes and menus. Depending on the complexity of the illustration you want and how many pieces are being designed, complete custom design work can range from $300-$800 in addition to the cost for printing, which can range from $500-$2000. This generally includes one design direction and about three rounds of revisions. For custom work, it’s especially helpful to have a clear idea of what you would like the finished product to look like because additional revisions can increase your overall price.
Having a solid idea about the kind of wedding you’re planning is key when you start looking for invitations. Are you going to have a large, traditional wedding or a smaller wedding at a park? Your invitations are the first indication your guests will have about the wedding and they help to set the tone. [pullquote]The more information you can give to your designer, the better![/pullquote] I love knowing where a client is getting married or what colors the bridesmaid dresses will be and incorporating these details into the invitations.
Many letterpress printers have several options available for customizing handmade invitations without having a complete custom design created from scratch. For all of my pre-designed pieces, the couple always has the option of changing ink colors, paper stock, wording, and typefaces. I have a list of available typefaces that I provide to my clients and I often custom-mix the ink colors for the invitations to match a swatch of fabric from a tie or a dress. If the designer already has a card with a design you like, you may want to ask if that specific element can be incorporated into your wedding invitations. This may also cut down on the cost of custom design because the illustration and plate have already been created.
The time frame for custom invitations is generally 4-6 weeks for design work and 4-6 weeks for the printing. The process may be shorter if you know exactly what you want, or longer if you make a lot of changes to the design. [pullquote]I would suggest building in a bit of a cushion in your timeline for addressing the invitations.[/pullquote] Many printers will mail you the envelopes early so that you can start the process of addressing or give them to a calligrapher.
If you’re in love with the work of a designer who isn’t also a letterpress printer, you may want to ask the designer and printer if they would be willing to work with you on the invitations. I have printed for a few clients who either designed their own invitations or worked with another designer and the process was a lot of fun.
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Sign in to add your ownJustAnotherDay says:
Beautiful work! I am saving up for a press! (just a table top though) Hopefully it won't be too long!
16 years ago
sycamorestreetpress says:
great explanation pistachio press! i'm bookmarking it so that i can send clients here. thanks :)
16 years ago
VintageEye says:
Thanks for sharing your process with us!
15 years ago
dragonhouseofyuen says:
Fantastic - thanks pistachiopress - for explaining this - I just love letterpress printing, the texture, the depth, the simplicity of colours.. ohh, I could go on!
15 years ago
ScottieinaCanoe says:
Gorgeous items! Awesome explaining :)
15 years ago
IlluminatedPerfume says:
Ooo gee, I'm missing the Vandercook flatbed. Left it in NYC when I moved to LA. Love all the pics...makes me yearn for a press and that smell of ink! Thanks so much for sharing this!
15 years ago
daniellexo says:
If you ever need an ink swirler, I'm your gal!
15 years ago
MyJunkyTrunk says:
Oh my gosh! It's all so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
15 years ago
ageratum says:
Great story - so much info! Thanks! Hope everyone is having a great day too! :) Donna
15 years ago
EnfinLaVoila says:
I can't wait for my atelier to be finished, I have a Vandercook and a platen press waiting for me.... Until than, I use my 8 color digital press....
15 years ago
TheCraftyRagamuffin says:
This story makes me so happy. After handmaking all of my own wedding invitations I got confused responses from some people wondering why I would bother to spend the time doing it. I'm so happy to see that more and more people are choosing to send lovingly handmade invitations, which I think represent what a marriage is all about...patience, creativity and love!
15 years ago
Ryanplz says:
really interesting. i want to go and do this now!
15 years ago
lucybluestudio says:
Letterpress is such a wonderful printing process. Thanks for sharing.
15 years ago
worksofwhimsy says:
Wow, these are so beautiful.
15 years ago
vitamini says:
What a great little article - thanks!
15 years ago
WoollyWonka says:
Beautiful!
15 years ago
lovelygifts says:
Very nice work. Love the eyelet cards!
15 years ago
baconsquarefarm says:
Great read full of info, thanks for sharing, lovely work as well.
15 years ago
blueberrydeluxe says:
Just BEAUTIFUL. I took letterpress in college and I don't know how you guys do it so perfectly. It's so much WORK! Really divine work here. :) xo Blueberry
15 years ago
PenelopeAndAnastasia says:
Oh I'm so in love with letterpress!! If I won the lottery, I'd have the most beautiful business cards on the planet...and they'd be from Etsy of course!
15 years ago
asundrynotion says:
Absolutely fascinating with such lovely results. I'd like to see the process in person.
15 years ago
mykonos says:
The patterns are sooo pretty!!
15 years ago
PetitOiseau says:
pistachiopress did our wedding invites last October - they were FABULOUS! so happy.
15 years ago
odiliafu says:
Great article. Beautiful work. Thanks for sharing!
15 years ago
TheCottageCheese says:
Oh, these are so beautiful! Pistachiopress does amazing work, it was fun to read her description of the process. I'm not doing invitations, as my wedding will be family only, but I am shopping for announcements, so this article is so exciting!
15 years ago
SavonShoppe says:
Wonderful read. Use to work in a print shop I found the process fascinating... Great work. Bookmarking.
15 years ago
stellahats says:
Beautiful work, I love the pressed designs, they are so crisp!! great papers.
15 years ago
VintagePaperParade says:
Beautiful! I love letterpress. I've taken a few workshops and would love to find a vintage press & explore it more. Thanks for the great article.
15 years ago
uncharted says:
beautiful work!
15 years ago
Tunaj says:
WOW! it is a really interesting work. The works are beautiful.
15 years ago
CutieDynamite says:
Gorgeous!
15 years ago
flyingwishes says:
Another AWESOME handmade work of art!!!
15 years ago
papermenagerie says:
Just lovely! The eyelet cards are my faves. I still need to break in my letterpress.
15 years ago
UptownCreations says:
Wow your stuff is awesome! So beautiful!!!
15 years ago
fatcrowpress says:
This is a very well written article, the explanation is very clear. Good work! I find that in my job as a letterpress printer educating is a large part of it.
15 years ago
Waterrose says:
How beautiful!
15 years ago
SouthwestFlower says:
This is amazing artwork. I think those eyelet cards are amazing!
15 years ago
Nishale says:
Awesome
15 years ago
sandali says:
WOW -- I am amazed with all the prints !! It gorgeous & I LOVE it !!
15 years ago
insecteBrillant says:
i love the choice, so inspiring
15 years ago
MademoiselleG says:
Wow very nice work! It's very nice to see how these cards are made.
15 years ago
DeNovoStyle says:
Wow, these are just amazing!
15 years ago
ManoCelebrates says:
Great work, great job.
15 years ago
SimpleTraditions says:
Wow, everything looks awesome, I love the dandelion letter press!
15 years ago
sarahearn says:
fantastic! great to see rachel & her work "starring" here on etsy! thanks so much!
15 years ago
EpicBones says:
love those pistachiopress invitations!! i'll keep this in mind for my someday wedding. sigh...
15 years ago
rollandtumblepress says:
gotta' love the letterpress!!!
15 years ago
TheNebulousKingdom says:
really gorgeous! I love the Eyelet lace, letterpress card set
15 years ago
asmallbrightidea says:
beautiful! letterpress always makes me sentimental.
15 years ago
Corbaecreative says:
Beautiful! I love the tactile quality of letterpress printing.
15 years ago
ArtFromTheHeartBySue says:
Beautiful work that you do! The amount of time and the meticulous attention to detail is just tremendous!
15 years ago
edor says:
so pretty...
15 years ago
pistachiopress says:
Thank you so much for the wonderful comments! I'm very touched by all of you letterpress enthusiasts!
15 years ago
laurabrownart says:
this is a really great explanation of the process and how letterpress fits into the printmaking family. great piece, so concise and explanatory!
15 years ago
bellasparty says:
Very interesting. Beautiful work!
15 years ago
thestapeliacompany says:
I love letterpress. I think it's beautiful. Especially your work pistachio! ;)
15 years ago
enchantingimages says:
oh very nice!! good to keep in mind for the future :)
15 years ago
OhFaro says:
I'm in love with cards and printed materials that reflect a personality. This is a wonderful article.
15 years ago
puck55 says:
Very good article. Beautiful work.
15 years ago
OriginalsbyParis says:
Great work! I'm going to tell my niece about this. She is getting married next summer. She will love this letterpress stuff!
15 years ago
GeeZees says:
beautifully done Love it!
15 years ago
carinissimo says:
Lovely!!
15 years ago
vintagetrunk says:
Oh I wish I had one of those machines. Beautiful.
15 years ago
SweetGraphics says:
Beautiful pieces and great advise. Oh I love the feel of letterpress...
15 years ago
rustdust says:
I love the look wish I could see the machine at work.
15 years ago
fineartstoneware says:
Very interesting and nice work!
15 years ago
ovgilliesdesigns says:
Amazing work! I love letterpress - it looks so stylish & beautiful!
15 years ago
Mattamorphis says:
I've always want a letter press. What a fab way to create invites
14 years ago
stephaniek says:
My sister and I are discussing designs for her wedding invitations! We're definitely going to consider doing letterpress printing. There's so much beauty in the simplicity of 1 and 2 color design. Just one of many reasons I love hand printmaking! I especially love the elegance of the impressions into the paper.
14 years ago
etsyketsy123 says:
Beautiful. Looks like fun too! I'm thinking of purchasing my own mini letter press because I make cards. What do you think? :P
13 years ago
Eli Goodman from egoodman85 says:
Very nice!
12 years ago
Eli Goodman from egoodman85 says:
I love it!
12 years ago
isfour says:
Anyone can search for the term "letterpress". There are over 10,000 results. How about a curated selection?
11 years ago
Kay from Tyingtheknotinvites says:
I love the quality that letterpress provides and love to create and design new pieces to cater to my clients needs! Great article!
11 years ago
Laura H. Drapac from laurahdrapac says:
Rachael, your advice is applicable on so many levels. Not only are these words of wisdom a great starting point for soon-to-be newlyweds, but also for new letterpress printers(or those who have never had a job printing wedding materials before). BRAVO!
11 years ago
Girlfriend Necklace from Girlfriendnecklace says:
Thanks for the guidance and nice card selection!
11 years ago
messinabella from BandBEstate says:
Great advice!
11 years ago
Wendi Jackson from WendiJacksonPrints says:
Would love to see a step by step of this process. Lovely results! Thank you for sharing.
11 years ago
Samantha Jade from SamanthaJadesInvites says:
Heading to North Carolina for a few days in January to take a class to learn Letterpressing, then I would like to learn foiling.
11 years ago