Branding the tone of your day, create a great first impression

It has been said before that a wedding invitation should set the tone of your day and reflect how you want your wedding to be perceived. With this in mind choosing your invitations is a BIG decision!

Letterpress, everyone loves Letterpress!
To help get an understanding of what Letterpress is, I met with Megan from Megan Creates After meeting with her and really seeing the process, (which is fascinating) all I can say is, WOW! Do I ever have a new appreciation for the art!

These are thin plastic “plates” made from the
original design. This plate goes in the press and gets inked by rollers. The plate gets pressed into the paper, leaving behind an inked impression. Although it’s not considered proper, if you pack the press, you can make the plate bite deep into the paper, particularly when the paper is thick, soft, and cotton. This impression can be seen and felt. This form of printing is particularly popular right now for note cards, weddings, birth announcements and the like. If you run your fingers over it, you can feel the impression in the paper and even see it if you look closely.

• 1. Once you have a design, you send out for plate making (1 plate per color) and this can take about a week. In the meantime, cut the paper to size.
  
• 2. Mix your ink or use a pre-mixed Pantone color (rubber based ink)
  
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• 3. Put a dab of ink on the ink disk and the rollers spread the ink evenly across the disk until it’s a nice even coat covering it.
  
  
• Here she is spreading the ink out evenly.
  
  
• Pieces and parts of the press
  
  
  
  
  
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• 4. Put the plastic plate onto the base, and put the base in the chase. The chase goes into the letterpress.
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• 5. Take an impression and see if it’s straight (adjust the plate accordingly until it is perfect). Also check the ink is even and the print is even all across.
• Make adjustments as necessary until print is perfect.
  
• Each card is printed one at a time by hand and inspected closely for quality. It’s a true art and very time-consuming, but the results are outstanding and well worth the efforts. The resulting paper treasure becomes a keepsake prized by the owner, hidden away in a box or tacked to a wall. It’s just too nice to toss away! When you write special note on a letter pressed card hidden under a pillow or tucked in a lunch box, you can know that it will be treasured and saved for a lifetime.
  
• 6. Put each piece of paper in and print one at a time, until all pieces have been pressed. (this takes the longest). This is also the part that is dangerous. The machine is heavy and goes fast, watch out for those fingers if you want to keep them!
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• Cleaning
• 7. Clean the ink disk and rollers and then repeat above steps if there is a second color to print and then clean it all again!
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• Storage - Boxes of Beautiful Crane Paper!
• Megan creates… uses Crane’s Lettra paper as it’s house paper. It comes in 3 colors: Fluorescent white (a bright crisp white), Pearl White (a soft ivory shade)
  and Ecru (the most yellow of the three–the color reminds us of French Vanilla ice-cream). This paper is soft, fluffy, and luxurious. It’s 100% cotton and
  a favorite for letter-pressers and paper-lovers all over. It feels like it’s been brushed…it has a soft tooth to it making it feel almost fabric-like. As a paper-
  lover, Megan finds herself rubbing her cheek against this paper with happiness. And it takes a beautiful impression from the press…the recipient
  will be in awe of your stationery not just because of the fabulous design, but also the amazing paper!
  
• Maintenance
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• Other Tools of the Trade!
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• The old letters
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• Letterpress is hand-crafted. Each piece of paper is put in one at a time. Each color is done separately. I recently printed a 2 color business card (150 cards) for someone and it took a total of 5 hours to
• print when I count the little adjustments and issues that popped up. That doesn’t include design time, time for ordering plates, paper cutting, expenses for the plates, paper and ink, shipping fees etc.
• Letterpress is NOT for the small budget for these reasons. I call it the “Rolls Royce” of printing.
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• Offset printing is what we know printing to be today. Big presses are loaded up with your job and shot out at lightning speed. The results are
  true to the design and the ink sits flat on the paper. You can’t feel it. The colors are vivid, smooth, and true. Most everything is offset
  printed these days…the flyer’s in the mail, mass-produced greeting cards, magazines, advertising, brochures…the list goes on and on.
  Offset printing can cost less than letterpress for small projects…it is a fine choice when your budget is a concern.
• Thermography: to quote Wikipedia: “Thermography printing is also a post print process done immediately after printing. It can be done inline or
  offline as long as the ink is wet. Thermography powder is applied to the sheet of paper after it leaves the printing press. The sheet is then vacuumed
  or shaken to remove excess powder. This leaves powder only where there is wet ink. The sheet then travels through a heat tunnel; there the heat
  causes the powder to melt which leaves a raised effect. It is commonly used on letterheads, business cards, greetings cards, gift wrap,
  packaging and can also be used to print braille text.”
  It looks and feels like engraving. You can run your fingers over the letters and feel that they are raised up off the page. They have a shiny look to them.
  This technique is used when you need it to feel “more special” than just using regular offset printing. Megan creates… teams up with a great vendor
  for offset printing, engraving, and thermography if you so choose to use these techniques instead of letterpress. Prices will vary and time must be
  alloted to work with the vendor for such projects. It’s all up to you!
• Some Other Ideas. These invitations are some other creations from Megan for clients that were looking for something other then letterpress. These are her offset ink creations
  
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  Inspiration
  
  
• The puppy!
  
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• More great ideas from Megan can be found on her blog
• Reasons to hire a designer. To me one of the most amazing things about working with a designer is how they can help you take your ideas and help you implement it. A designers job is to think beyond your first idea and make sure your idea goes beyond cliché. One story Megan told me about is when she was going to school for advertising an assignment was to take three triangles and come up with some unbelievable amount of combinations. The real point to this was that the real good ideas could be idea number 33, or idea 62.
• What a designer is going to do is to work with the budget at hand and create the best most innovated work, as opposed to a cookie-cutter approach. People who tend to call a designer are looking for something that really sets them apart. Makes an impact on their guest. The brides that are going this extra mile want their guest to go to the mailbox and have that “Wow” factor. “The whole reason I am coming to a designer is that I want my guest to know that this was done custom, made just for me.”

• Amy ABCD designs

• Artist, designer and newly married stylist living in New York City. Amy says she delights in telling a story through collections of lovely things. She considers her blog a digital sketchbook of sorts - images will come, go … and evolve into perfect packages to be sent through the post office.
• Here are some Words from Amy about her designs.
• Invite people to share in lives most memorable moments.
  • Weddings - New Babies - New Homes - Big Announcements
  • Each milestone in life sets the tone.
  • All invitations and announcements created by papercupp will reveal more than just who, what, and where, they will create the first glimpse of your wedding day and more importantly leave a lasting impression for years to come. By quietly telling stories and capturing your memories papercupp designs will become a personal token to mark a special date – your memories made permanent on paper.
  • Papercupp truly believes in this world of e-vites and e-mails there is a place in the postbox for a beautifully designed keepsake. Each invitation suite is a work of art to be packaged and placed in the post. An object d’art that your loved ones will cherish long after the party is over.
  • Many papercupp enthusiasts choose our style of envelope art for the mailing process. By decorating envelopes with custom rubber stamps and personalized postage stamps, each envelope becomes a mini work of art. Perfection is in the imperfection. Each time you press the rubber stamp onto the envelope you get a slightly different image than the last time you stamped. By repeating the image you get a collage effect that is simply stunning. There is nothing more exciting than getting a papercupp envelope in the postbox!
  • To get started…
    If you are located in New York City or the surrounding area, I would be pleased to get together and show you examples of papercupp designs. At that meeting we will discuss your event in detail. Our Greene Street Studio is located in the center of lively Soho. Sipping champagne, espresso (or both!) we will discuss your big day surrounded by turn of the century architecture, velvet pillows and vintage posters. Really, what could be better?
    If you are located in the United Kingdom, I work from Central London six times a year. Why not e-mail papercupp and we can get started on your suite from afar? thirsty@papercupp.com
  • If you’re not local - it is no trouble … Thanks to modern technology papercupp is available to work with any bride or event planner no matter where you are in the world. Since most of our interaction can happen over the phone or through email, we are able to work together on your time. We will work in a way that fits with your schedule and lifestyle. As a matter of fact, I just finished an entire wedding suite where I never actually spoke with the bride-to-be! I don’t prefer to work that way, but sometimes that is just how it works out.
  • This also brings added convenience for the clients located in New York or London who may have limited time to meet in person. Of course, if you are visiting or located in one of these Cities and you would like a personal meeting, this option is always available.
  • How does papercupp work?
  • Each person, each couple, each life event has its own story to be told. My design work is very hands on - I delight in telling your story through the custom wedding stationary that I create from the tales you tell me. Each Wedding Suite, Baby Announcement, and Invitation is unique because the designs are based on your story and style. Papercupp uses traditional images to evoke a turn of the century feeling and updates them with a clean esthetic, eye for detail and energetic graphics.
  • For Weddings, I have a simple questionnaire that I will have the happy couple fill out - it will give me a feel for the mood you want to create on your wedding day. In our initial meeting we discuss colors, mood, and all other details. At this point the bride and groom are welcome and encouraged to provide any magazine tares, fabric swatches, inspirational images, wording and other items that may evoke the mood they want to create.
  • A word about Pricing …
  • A deposit of half my design fee is required to commence the design process. Once we have a completed suite and it is ready for print, the second half is due. Papercupp will walk through the printing process with you. I will be on site for press checks and deliver the suite in a perfect package.
  • Design fee $1000
  • An offset printing package with 150 printed includes 7 pieces (wedding invitation, celebration invitation, directions/information card, belly band, rsvp card, printed rsvp envelope and a thank you card) start at $1500.
  • A side note: Papercupp makes no money on the printing. I simply want them to have the most delightful stationary possible at the most reasonable price - comparable companies lump in the design fee with the printing and will say custom stationary starts at $2500. I have simply broken it down.
  • Papercupp is also available to to the envelope decorating, stuffing and labeling, postage stamp sticking (custom from photostamps.com, of course!) and send them in the post (hand canceled from New York, New York) for an additional fee. Stuffing, packaging, labeling, decorating fee $500
  • On timing …
    At papercupp there are no templates. There are no cookie cutter designs where we simply plug in your name event date. We design truly bespoke stationary fitted especially for you. For this reason, we need at least 8 weeks from our first meeting to deliver your custom wedding suite. Ideally, four months before your mail date is the best time to get started. You should have your invitations in the mail 6 months before a destination wedding and at least 2 months before a local wedding. Other announcements and invitations can be ready to mail in 2-4 weeks.

    • Engagement Party

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    • Engagement Party Thank You

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    • Reserve the Date

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    • Wedding Invitation in order (for real this time!)

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    • Invitation to brunch

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    • Backside of brunch card

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    • Invitation to Shower

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    • Thank you for Shower

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    • Program/Menu/Place Cards/ Table Names - Traveled to 23 places before the wedding, and named each table after a trip together

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    • Wedding Favor Bag and Thank-You Cards

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    • Change of Address

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    • Christmas Cards

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    • New Years Eve Cards

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      Southern Comfort Style
      
      
      
      
      
      First Comes Love, then Comes Baby
      “Sew Proud”
      
      
      
      Kate is Showing and Glowing, Baby Shower Invitation
      
      
      Wheelie Excited
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      Amy’s Business Card! ( How cute! )
      
      Details I LOVE !!!
      
      
      
      Even the Box they came in was cute!
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