Least $ DIY Printing?

corabeth50

I've designed my own STDs (basic 2-sided postcards) and I'm wondering if it's less expensive to:

a) Have them printed at Kinkos
b) Print through Vista Print (quoted $55 for 250 with some crazy discounts, but this seems too good to be true for some reason).
c) Use my home printer and buy the ink and cardstock. (ink is $36 alone)

Has anyone priced this? Or had good/terrible results with any of the above?
Many thanks!

AurorasEnvy

I had all my stuff printed online from catprint.com.  Came ready to go & be assembled, which is worth it IMO even if it costs a little more than printing at home, and IMO looked nicer than something I could have printed at home.

Cony&Ben

We got our STDs through Vistaprint. We got 100 postcards for free plus $7 shipping. If you place 3 separate orders, you can get 300 for less than $20.

orianita3

I just got my hard copy proofs from Catprint.com and I freaking love them.To be honest, I tried VistaPrint but their crappy website put me off. Catprint lets you customize every step (paper size, paper type, corner cuts, full bleed, back and front printing, etc) and it was very easy to use.
They can send you a digital proof and after you approve that, you can request a hard copy proof as well before you print all of it.

Some tips:
- I used Microsoft Publisher to create the invites, but created the "paper size" three times as big as I needed it.
- Then saved the image as a JPEG
- Then I create another invite just in the right size, and imported the JPEG image I saved before.
- Adjust the size of the image to the new paper size and again, save this image as a JPEG. This will be the image you want to use. Why? If you start with the image right on the size you want it (say a 5x7) you run the risk of the image apperaring pixelated once you receive the digital proof....

PM me if you need more help!

lmlm

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_least-diy-printing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:00f323e6-8b38-46c0-95f5-08882e5859baPost:eb7f7335-51af-4d86-84ea-e1a4ede1cd3f">Re: Least $ DIY Printing?</a>:
[QUOTE]We got our STDs through Vistaprint. We got 100 postcards for free plus $7 shipping. If you place 3 separate orders, you can get 300 for less than $20.
Posted by Cony&Ben[/QUOTE]

This is what I am doing for my invites and RSVP's 2 seperate purchases and you get the actual cards and printing for really cheap.  It makes more sense and leaves you time and energy to do other stuff b/c they will come in the mail ready to go.

corabeth50

Thanks everybody! Def going to order online. Balancing the savings with vistaprint or the customization of catprint, which I'm leaning towards right now. I priced 200 and without the full bleed its about $50 as well (even with rounded corners). And I totally agree about the less-than-enjoyable vistaprint site.

I'm a bit of a graphic designer, so I just designed the images in photoshop. 300dpi (dots per inch) resolution is the lowest I like to go for print. I've already made invites too! Will post pics later!

Thanks again!!