Wedding Invitation Help

The plate, also know as a cut or die (and other names depending on your location) is about $1.95 per square inch with a minimum price of $40; that is why people gang type together to get the best price and then cut the plate apart to get several dies. Of course printers won’t tell you that because they have a business to support….employees, rent, insurance, etc. and all the government BS that goes with it.
Two colors are more expensive because it usually requires 2 passes through the press….double the amount of press time.
I would be happy to help you with your request for wedding invitations and the other assorted printing needs. I am not new to letterpress….I just love turning a blank piece of paper into something beautiful. Please feel free to contact me. Camille

I would also be happy to help you, ganging plates together is a good way to save on costs. And running items ganged on press when possible can help on costs by saving on press time. And avoiding tight registration can typically make it less expensive too. Paper and envelope choices range pretty wildly but who it is bought from can make a huge difference in price!

Email me I can give you a bid and im happy to work with you and your designer to save design costs if you like or I can help you design it.

OSUGIRL-

Depending on who letterpresses your job, if they are using a boxcar base, that means they use photopolymer plates and the KF152 (“deep relief”) is about .57 cents per square inch (plus a film neg.) I am in Dallas, have 4 presses and a photopolymer machine, if you want a bid just let me know. The film neg is about $20-30. I’ve been doing letterpress for a couple of years now.

Jason

I am sure everyone who has offered their services so far would do a wonderful job, but in case you want to look around a bit more, Hello Lucky (www.hellolucky.com, the “Marry Me!” line) has a selection of predesigned wedding sets that they offer at very reasonable prices, in comparison to a custom job. They have a pretty specific aesthetic, which may or may not be to your taste, but it was one of the more affordable options I found when I was purchasing my wedding invitations last year. Good luck!

Hi - I certainly fit the bill as a beginner, having just completed my first letterpress wedding series. Lots of good experience and advice in the above replies, so I’m only replying to let you know I’m here, too if you need add’l resources in the future. Good luck!

Cathy

Woes of a Printer…In my years and years in printing, dealing with couples to be married, I have experienced people who spend big bucks on a ceremony, flowers, banquet hall, champagne, booze, dinners, limousines, umteen-piece band, honeymoon, gowns, tuxedos, etc., and what is the first thing you hear from them at the printers; “How much are wedding invitations?” Whatever the price, it always seems they can get it cheaper at some friend or relative. We now send them to Kinko’s or some franchise speedy printers, or to our competitors who are deserving of this type of time-consuming customers. One of the deciding factors in this decision is the friend who produced her own wedding invitations on a computer set in 24 point Brush…ALL CAPS! Our advice to her …”Don’t quit your day job!” Thank you and have a nice day!

Amen to that experience. Two customers to avoid: Brides (or, specifically, bride’s mother); and, politicians. Both parties want it now, best quality/lowest price, parse every word, hang at your elbow, yet somehow vanish when time comes to pay. Hand both a crayon and offcut or, better still, as Stan advises, send ‘em to a quick printer.
(That all cap Brush is right up there with all cap Old English!)