Letterpressed vs. Engraved invites

Any thoughts on either? I'm currently leaning towards the letterpressed, since I love the feel of cotton rag paper. But I'm torn, because I just think that engraved invites are just...nicer, somehow. Hmm.

Did anyone order letterpressed/engraved invites? If so, can I see a picture? Where did you order them from? How long did they take?

Thanks!

Do you mind explaining the difference? We are starting to look at invites and I want to be as knowledgeable as possible....

We had letterpress, but I don't have a pic...sorry.

We had them done at this company in Canada http://www.marsville.com/

They were fine to work with, but they were not cheap.

I personally love letterpress...the paper, the indentation, the feel.

Engraving is about the same or slightly more adn while it is nice, the paper has to be turned to see the indentation created by the plate...with letterpress the indentation is evident because the plate is pressed into the paper. Hope I made sense!

I was deciding between engraved and letterpress and chose letterpress. We ordered our invites from Calligraphy Lady--she writes out the invite in calligraphy and then sends it to

I like the letterpress a little better because with the calligraphy and the textured paper I chose, it had sort of an 'old world' look to it, which I loved. Also, I was told that the engraving plates are more narrow than the letterpress plates so the text is on the small side. I wanted something larger and closer to the margins.

I will be getting my proofs in about a month. I'll be sure to send you an FM. In the meantime, here's the website for Calligraphy Lady if you're interested: www.calligraphylady.com

ETA: Letterpress and engraving take about 2 weeks longer than flat or thermography. I think it depends on where you order it from as far as the entire time frame, but mine are going to take about a month I think.

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Posted by SomethingBlu

I personally love letterpress...the paper, the indentation, the feel.

Engraving is about the same or slightly more adn while it is nice, the paper has to be turned to see the indentation created by the plate...with letterpress the indentation is evident because the plate is pressed into the paper. Hope I made sense!

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I thought the same thing as well and on some paper it was hard to tell that it was engraved versus thermographed (unless the thermo was very shiny).

I am getting letterpress invitations! Very excited about them. I'm using a company in California called DeMilo Designs. The woman has been very responsive and easy to work with. I had wanted to use Marsville, but was unable to get any response from the woman there. I got samples in the mail from her, then never got responses to my emails.

There are quite a few letterpress companies out there, but many of them are VERY pricey. It was a struggle to find something a little more reasonable. And I'm still paying more than most people do for regular invites.

Let me know if you want any more info.

From weddingchannel (one of those 'other' wedding websites):

Engraving: Engraving dates back to the 17th century, and is currently the most expensive form of printing. A negative is used to etch a design into a copper plate, which is inked. Paper is pressed, face down, creating raised lettering on the front and bruising on the back -- the classic identifying features of engraving. (The process of transferring ink to paper from an engraved die is known as 'die-stamping.') Typically the couple will receive the actual copper plate that was used for printing as a keepsake. For formal invitations, it is considered most proper to engrave in black ink.

Engraved is like thermography (raised printing), but you can tell the difference by looking at the back to see if it is indented. Here's an example of engraved.




Letterpress: : For centuries after Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in 1450, letterpress was the only printing method used. It remained the most popular type of printing until recently. Letterpress uses an old-fashioned movable type machine to press inked, raised type onto paper. This method works best on thicker, textured paper, especially handmade paper. Though printers that use this method may be harder to find, letterpress creates a beautiful, antique effect combining texture, color and dimension.

Letterpress is beautiful because the paper it tends to be on looks 'softer.' Also, you can get many different types of colored ink and paper for a more contemparary look.