Question:
Can you give me a list of good printing operations?...I have a friend at work who is trying to make and design her own wedding invites and needs to see how much printing will cost.
Answer:
Thanks for your question, Jenn! It is a very good one.
The advent of the home computer created a whole new world; a world that welcomed a new generation made up of non-professional web designers, graphic designers, and crafters who are having a ball exploring their creativity.
Anyone with a guest list, a big heart and Adobe Photoshop can now create personalized holiday newsletters, party invitations and announcements of all kinds.
However, when it comes to a wedding announcement, a couple of things need to be evaluated. First, is the creator a trained designer? That is, does the designer have the requisite skills needed to fashion an attractive, stylish and memorable wedding announcement? Second, if that isn't the case, is the designer willing to risk what could turn out to be a disaster? The wedding announcement sets the stage of how the wedding event will turn out. It's typically not your backyard barbecue; however, some weddings are! In those cases, non-trained graphic designers have at it!
If her wedding is to be formal, please be sure she is familiar with font style, typeface, type size, the terms: 2/1, 4/2, leading, bleeds, pms (color, not hormones), four-color process, and of course paper stock! There is a wide variety of paper stock in which to choose. Printers enjoy working with trained professionals because they receive high-end digital files and the print operation is a smooth transition. Assuming your friend is not a trained designer, she can look to a graphic design shop or on craigslist.org for a local designer who is willing to work within her budget.
Assuming your friend is a trained designer, she probably already knows the printers in her area. However, what I would do is Google her local directory for "lithographers", "thermographers" or "letterpress" and see what comes up. Thermographers are making somewhat of a comeback. For awhile, it was easy to find a thermographer (raised letters on paper). The art died down a bit and is now making a little bit of a comeback. Letterpress is very much a hot trend for some time now. It's where metal letters which are stored in a California Case (I actually worked with a letterpress in junior high school) and when the type touches the paper, it creates an indent. It's quite beautiful, yet costly.
Your friend will have to call several places and visit each shop to see samples of the printed artwork. She can talk with the owners or the print job coordinators of each place. She can then get quotes of what her designed piece will be. Give the same "specs" to each printer so it's apples to apples numbers. Good luck with the job!
Wedding Announcement History
The Wedding announcement can be traced to 12th Century Europe where the only mass media going was the roar of the Town Crier! Word of mouth is all people had to go on. There weren't any clocks, only the wealthy could read, and the printing press hadn't yet been invented. Anyone within ear shot of the Town Crier who heard news of upcoming nuptials was, by default, invited to the wedding!
By the time we arrive at the Middle Ages we're still looking at a mostly illiterate population, so the Town Crier wasn't out of business quite yet. However, wealthy nobles had begun commissioning monks to hand letter and illuminate wedding announcements. Some announcements even bore the family crest or coat of arms, a tradition that survives to this day.
The ultimate purpose of the wedding announcement is derived from an old catholic mandate which obligated a couple to announce their intention to marry before the community at least three times just in case there was any objection to the union. In modern times wedding announcement protocol is no longer caught up with old world religious obligations. Wedding announcements today are a beautiful and elegant custom and are usually non-religious.
If a Bride-to-Be is going to design her own wedding announcements, she should be advised that they should be classy, elegant and printed on cotton-based paper with raised letters (thermography). If the bride is non-traditional and likes pushing the envelope (no pun intended!) of course, nearly anything goes and she is within her rights to indulge her preferences.
You asked about good printing operations. If your friend has designed her invitation with software that lithographers (a fancy term for "printers") work with, she should be able to Google local printers in her area. They can walk her through set-up on print production and give her reliable cost estimates.
If your friend has a budget, my recommendation would be to hire a local design firm who will assist her in choosing paper stock, ink colors and ribbons, etc. that will be a perfect reflection or glance at her style and what her wedding day theme will be.
Trained designers offer something that the average person doesn't possess - insight into what is new or what has been updated when it comes to wedding announcement styles. A good designer will not veer off the edge of the artist's cliff by recommending a design that is outside classically accepted boundaries. The ability to produce what the Bride-to-Be dreams of while thinking outside the box isn't easily achieved unless a designer with a proven track record is employed.
If your friend ultimately chooses to design her own invitation, she might already know a lot about good design. She should have software programs that are created specifically for professionals such as InDesign by Adobe. She may already be working on the graphic designer's top computer pick: a Macintosh. If that's the case, InDesign is a software program that has print production already in place. All she needs to do is design her announcement and email a printer with her design files.
I hope this helps!
(For more information on Adobe's software, visit their website at: http://www.adobe.com.)
Happy Showering,
Susan "The Shower Diva"
Where Fun Reigns!™
