Calligraphy Q

My aunt who was going to hand-write my invitations BROKE HER HAND!!!!!
I have no more $$ budgeted to hire a calligrapher. I just posted on the vendor side to see if they could give me any printing tips... Anyone out there have any?
I originally didn't want to do them myself on the computer because I'm afraid the enevelopes would come out crooked or get bent, etc... Help me please, my invites are suppossed to go out in the next week or two!!

I did mine myself on the computer.
Here are my tips:

Make sure you have extra env just in case.

Fold or cut some plain paper to your env size to use as trial run.

Make sure you let each one dry before placing another on top of it.

A few times my printer thought it had grabbed an env and started printing even though there was no paper inside. If this happens don't let any more env through. Threre will be ink inside your printer. Just run a few scrap pieces through to blot and wait for it to dry inside. This may not even happen to you.

It all may sound overwhelming but you can do it. I am so glad I did them myself! It really was easy and I didn't have many problems.

Good luck!!

Did you do all the envelopes or just the outers? Since my Aunt was going to do ours, I have all of them to do, including the small response cards, which have me the most concerned!

What kind of printer do you have? You should do a few tests on your printer before deciding to do them yourself. Some printers can do a beautiful job, other smudge. Also, it depends on your paper. Claud2001 found out that her envelopes were too thick for even her work printers to handle.
Was your Aunt going to write the actual invites or just the envelopes? Do you need to do the invites too?
I know a few girls have used Inkspun (a vendor on this site) and they are not expensive for computer calligraphy.

I did inner and outer. The trouble I told you I had was only with the inner and only happened twice.
I ordered the response cards with our return address on them, so I didn't have to do those.

One of the brides had a good idea for small env.
She taped them with the flap over the paper to full sheets so they would feed through more easily. Make sure you do trials to make sure they are set up at the right place.
You did mean return address didn't you?

PS

I got samples form inkspun and All of the samples were smudged. I figured if the samples were smudged, what would the real ones look like? I could smudge them myself for free. (didn't though)

Also, try feeding the env one at a time if they are thick.

That's one of my concerns too: smudges! My printer is an HP Deskjet...but I have lots of printer options through my parents, and work... can anyone recommend a really really good printer to use?! I'm completely paranoid. Also, to answer your questions: yes, I have the invitations printed (thank god!- I don't think I could stomach that!) I just need the outer, inner & response envelopes done. The only problem with doing samples, is that a sheet of reg. paper won't be the same thickness as my envelopes... This *****!

They can be done on a computer! It does require patience and time though. I though they came so nice.

I did mine on an older HP deskjet 832(?)C. It is about 3-4 years old. I tried using my high end laser printer at work and ran into more problems (the heat was too hot for the envelopes.)

I did it all using a mail merge and MS word. I practiced using white paper. I got lucky and the first practice run came perfect!

I did both outer and inner envelopes. The outer envelopes were simple. No smudges, no wrinkles. I loved how they came. The inner envelopes were more problematic because they are thicker (the lining). A few would wrinkle in the upper right corner. It wasn't that noticable but it bothered me at first. I did print them all one at a time (print - current page) so that is what took time. My friend said to print the envelopes opened to avoid the thickness problem but when she told me this I was done already so I never tried it. She said both her and her sister did it that way. If you want to, you do not need to address the inner envelopes (to save time). I hear it in not necessary. A couple people commented on how nice it was that I addressed the inners. I just thought you were suppose to....most invites I have rec'd were addressed on the inner envelope.

I also ordered extra outer envelopes but didn't use that many of the extra. I wishe I would have ordered extra inner instead. Fortunately, I ordered too many invites so I had extra envelopes!