Invitation Advice

We are starting to loosely budget for invitations. I am torn between having them designed and taking them to a printer or just going to an invitation company that could be reasonable. We will need appx 175 invitations. Trying to keep the budget at 1K or less, not including postage. Trying to price the following options:

Cards and pockets with printing by minuteman and custom design by Etsy

Evanstar paperie

Jessica Leigh Paperie

I am also interested in any other companies that I may not know about!

I am semi comfortable with some DIY element; however, I am not confident with printing myself. If anyone has quotes and or samples from these companies I would greatly appreciate it!

Particularly curious about experiences with cards and pockets - I am ignorant about what types of paper to get, etc.

If it is a difference of 200, I am more inclined to just have a professional do it.

Thanks so much!

Assembling cards and pockets isn't too difficult if you have the right materials. Just be weary of heavy, not flexible, or square invites, these will cost you a pretty penny in postage.

Make sure you're printing on stock that's at least 80lbs thick, this is considered light cardstock, and wont fold or wrinkle with light handling.

I'm not familiar with any of the vendors above except a local minuteman press (they are independently run). They have good machinery and should have designers on staff to color and quality check, but I'd personally visit the store to explain what you want.

I do know minuteman only offers digital (flat) printing except on their Birchcraft invtes (which are not produced in house) so if you're looking for other printing processes (Letterpress, engraving, thermography) you'll have to go elsewhere.

You might also look into crane & co, they're a top quality stationery company whose books you can find in american greetings and papyrus stores. They have big binders of invites to either print with your info, or customize the way you'd like. It's kind of nice to see it this way because you can feel the paper and ink, and see all the components (RSVP, escort cards, programs etc.) that you might need.

I hope that helps! If you have any other questions, I designed stationery for 2 years, just let me know!