Designing Our Own Invites, where/how to print?

ShellLillian

I am not a trained graphic designer, but I do have a fair amount of experience with layout and design, and since we can't find a single invitation we like, I'm thinking I'm going to design them myself. However, I still want them to look professionally printed.

Should I send them to be printed somewhere or print them myself? If it's the first, where do you recommend, and if it's the second, where should I get the paper?

I've started to look around a little but it's a bit intimidating. Just to note we want the paper to be at least partially recycled, and Vistaprint is not an option.

emmyg65

We printed our inserts and programs at Kinko's and they came out great. We bought our paper from Paper Source.

doeydo

I think it would be best to send them to somewhere to be printed.  If you print them yourself, you have to spend money on special paper and ink and the invites might not even turn out.  Some places to go:
Vistaprint: http://www.vistaprint.ca/gallery/IEEAXQYBAAAAAAA=/invitations-announcements/upload-your-own-design.aspx?filter=24%3a10074%7c%7c1%2c24%3a10073%7c%7c1%2c24%3a10076%7c%7c1%2c24%3a10075%7c%7c1%2c24%3a10351%7c%7c1%2c24%3a10352%7c%7c1&xnav=gnbreadcrumb
Wedding Paper Divas: http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/product/13579/professional_printing_service_uniquely_yours_5x7.html

kitty8403

I would send invitations out to be printed--most home office options won't have anywhere near the same quality. I will probably go this route also!

For less-important paper products, like programs or cards, you might be fine with your own printer and supplies from an office or stationery shop. If you want it all to match your invites, though, pick one pro and ask for a volume discount or package deal.

Check locally first--most towns have a nearby print shop. I'd suggest going that route so you can see proofs, ask questions, and talk to real people in case anything major comes up.

ETA: pick your printer BEFORE you design everything. That way, you start out with a spec sheet and have a good basic knowledge of what layouts will or will not work.

daria24

My H designed all our paper goods-we used Cards & Pockets to print our invitation suite (we didn't do pocket folds, just flat cards). We were very happy with the price and printing quality, they have a few paper options that are recycled. C&P will send you printed samples to OK, before printing your whole order. They do custom shapes and sizes, too, which is really great. 

For everything else we just printed at home and bought the materials from Paper Presentation. 

ShellLillian

daria24 said:

My H designed all our paper goods-we used Cards & Pockets to print our invitation suite (we didn't do pocket folds, just flat cards). We were very happy with the price and printing quality, they have a few paper options that are recycled. C&P will send you printed samples to OK, before printing your whole order. They do custom shapes and sizes, too, which is really great. 

For everything else we just printed at home and bought the materials from Paper Presentation. 

I looked at them and was impressed. Maybe I'll go with that.


I'd honestly feel more comfortable having someone else print it, as long as the price difference isn't too ridiculous.

JMalettas

 We designed our own invites and r.s.v.p's, & had them printed through Vistaprint. They're incredibly affordable, & shipped super quick! Make sure to use the '.com' from the U.S, or the '.ca' from Canada. You can order from either site from both countries, but the shipping will be super pricey from one, vs the other. (I made this mistake with one of my orders)! :P

 Good luck!

 *J

ShellLillian

Like I said in the first post, Vistaprint is not an option for us.
I know some people like them, but we've had some bad experiences with the quality just being total garbage and I don't want to put something that important in their hands.

Thanks for the advice, though.

daria24

ShellLillian said:

I looked at them and was impressed. Maybe I'll go with that. 

I'd honestly feel more comfortable having someone else print it, as long as the price difference isn't too ridiculous.

With the amount that we would have spent on cartridges, plus the time to cut each piece (or the added cost of buying pre-cut flat cards) I think it might have been about $20 more to have them print them for us. They give you a customer service rep to email/call/IM with too, so it's so easy to work with them. And I think we had our sample within a week, and our full order took just over a week to receive. I've used VP too before and it was fine for some basic things, but we wanted higher quality paper, as well as colored paper options, so C&P worked better for us. 

JMalettas

ShellLillian said:

Like I said in the first post, Vistaprint is not an option for us.
I know some people like them, but we've had some bad experiences with the quality just being total garbage and I don't want to put something that important in their hands.

Thanks for the advice, though.

 Ah okay. I didn't read your first post! That sucks that you had problems with them! We've ordered from them numerous times, & once, out of all of our orders, they sent us something we didn't like the quality of. They re-printed them though, & gave us a 100% refund. I can understand though, if you've had a bad experience, just wanting to go elsewhere. 

 Good luck searching!

 *J

ShellLillian

I think you've made up my mind for me.
I'll look into them a bit more but it sounds like the best option.
Thanks!