what is a letterpress wedding invitation?

Hi Bride to be!

There are so many printing techniques out there, but Letterpress invites are known for it's thickness and tactile luxury. You really need to hold one in your hand to feel the difference between a letterpress invite and a standard digital printed invite, this would also help you understand why they tend to cost alot more than printed invites. 

Letterpressing creates an indented, almost "carved-in-look". It is made by taking your designs and making a metal or ploymer plate, a thick paint-like ink is then applied to the plate and then deeply pressed into the super thick card. When you run your hands over it, you will feel the indentation.

Not everyone can letterpress, it requires experience, patience and the right equipment to letterpress, even designing for letterpress is not something every can do. 

If you're thinking of letterpress, I would suggest finding a designer who has letterpress experience, and ordering some samples. 

Feel free to get in touch anytime, if you need some help with your wedding stationery. 

Happy Wedding Planning! 

Lala xo 

Lala Design 

Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing using a printing press. It is a process where copies are produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets of paper. There are movable blocks with different type fonts that are assembled together, creating the artwork on the press/bed. Ink is applied and a paper is pressed over the top of the mold, creating the print.

Awesome question!

I have written a blog post about the details of what goes into making a letterpress invitation:

https://lavastationery.com.au/blog/index.php/2016/08/22/letterpress-invitations-foil-stamping/ 

The short answer is: A specialised plate with your details is made from scratch and then mounted onto a letterpress print press. Your custom ink colours are mixed and then rolled onto the press. Someone has to then manually feed each sheet of paper into the machine as the ink rolls over the plate and then embosses the design onto your paper.

It's very labour intensive and produces exquisite results.

If you have more questions about it, please don't hesitate to get in touch!

Cheers,

Lava @LavaStationery