Budget Weddings Forum

Budget Friendly Printing!

I've been appalled at the prices I see for wedding printing. I work in the graphics and printing industry, so I know what things really cost vs. mark ups. I also know that's how I make my living, so I understand...but weddings are expensive enough. I love Wedding Diva's sample pack, but....can I afford $4 per invite? No.

I saw a lot of articles that said to cut invites or DIY at home to get it cheap. I didn't like either of those options. Here's what I'm doing:

- My print quantity is 100. That gives me a little buffer room. I'm getting printing from an online vendor: Zoo Printing. There are others out there if you look.
- I used the USPS website to check postage rates. For example, too much weight or weird shapes may cost more to mail.
- Save the Dates: 4" x 6" postcard style, front and back, $0.27 each
- Invite: 5" x 7", front/blank back, $0.23 each
- RSVP and Enclosure card: 4"x 6", front/blank back, $0.17 each
- Colored Envelope: $0.50 each
= $1.34 for my STD, Invite, RSVP card, Enclosure card, and Envelope...

Vista Print was $0.50 for JUST the Invite.
They are doing a special right now for free envelopes, but still...
The paper I picked isn't fancy, but it's better than what I could print at home. I'm using dark colored envelopes for an extra pop and tying a ribbon around the Invite, RSVP and Enclosure card. The cards together should also be light enough to stay in the standard $0.49 postage range.

Anyway, hopefully this will help someone! If you don't need an enclosure card or want cheap envelopes, you can bring the price down even more.

Re: Budget Friendly Printing!

  • Just to add, I found the laser printing at FedEx Office to be very reasonable.  I just came in with a Word doc of my two inserts and my own cardstock (they have paper there too) and they were able to print them right then and there.  The cardstock was too thick to do in my home printer, so it was nice that it was so affordable to have them do it.  I cut them myself at home.
    Married 9.12.15
    image
  • I found that making the invitation in word and making text boxes to the size you wanted was cheaper....you can fit more to a pay and play around with sizing...for example your invite could be a on 8.5x11 and that fits 2 invites...8.5x11 fits 3 rsvp cards...8x11 fits 4 accommodation cards! 1) 8.5x11 tends to be cheaper than pre-sized papers 2) when you go to a printer like Office Depot/Office Max they only want 8.5x11 paper and then you pay per cut which was a lot cheaper than having the pre-sized paper printed on at a special printing store. Also find out if anyone you know or anyone in your family/bridal party owns a business sometimes printing places will give you a deal if you are a business owner.

    I purchased all the paper, paid for them to be printed and cut and for 150 invites I spent $200. If you trying them on a budget do something plain and simple when it comes to printing and do cute creative fonts and add something like a bow or a sticker.

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