Tag Archives: pieces

wedding wednesday: a page stationery wedding

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A special treat on this Wedding Wednesday, a real wedding featuring one of our own.  If you ever called our studio, you have probably spoken with Jackie.  Jackie is our production manager and has been with Page for more than 6 years.  In honor of her and her husband’s one year anniversary we’re taking a look back at Jackie’s wedding invitations and how she selected them.

Jackie and Tim on their wedding day in 2011.

Where did you start in your search for the perfect invitation?

I had so many beautiful wedding invitations go thru my hands. I always kept a copy of the invitations that I loved the most in a little bin.  I did this for almost 6 years, thinking “one day I will get married and I can use my favorite design.”  When it came time to select our invitation, I felt overwhelmed, there was so much to choose from! I also had to think about a bilingual invitation and providing information for all of our out of town guests.

Jackie with her dad who is Page Stationery’s master pressman. Yes, Page Stationery is truly a family business! Josue had two important jobs – walking his daughter down the aisle and printing her wedding invitations and day of wedding pieces.

So, how did you decide which wedding invitation was right for you?

I talked to my now husband, and he told me “everyone has different taste, and those brides did what they like, now you just have to do what you like. Make it your own.”  And he was right! Every bride has to make their wedding their own, especially when it comes to the invitation – because that’s the first thing people will see of your wedding.  From there, everything was smooth, Sue helped so much. At the end I got so many compliments from my wedding invitations – both English & Spanish. 

letterpress_bilingual_wedding_invitation_pocketcard

Jackie and Tim’s Letterpress Wedding Invitation was mounted on a topaz border inside a magnolia pocketcard.

If you and your husband were getting  married today, which design would you choose from Page’s new wedding collection?

Quinley + Marc, definitely. I love the lined pocketcard. It is classic, elegant and beautiful.

This elegant suite includes a letterpress printed invitation mounted on a gold pocketcard. The pocket on the back is lined with a quilted magnolia liner and holds the travel information and rsvp card.

What other pieces did you have for your wedding day?

We had a beautiful wedding program with a letterpress printed cover. Our initials, along with the floral design from the invitation, were letterpress printed on the cover.  The program was tied with a matching blue ribbon.

The cover of Jackie and Tim’s wedding program was letterpress printed with their initials.

 

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us Jackie! We couldn’t get through a day at Page Stationery without you!

 

wedding wednesday: art deco invitation inspiration

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We’re excited about the release of our newest collection of letterpress wedding invitations - shipping to stores in early August.  For the next few weeks we’ll be giving you a sneak peek of the new designs and an inside look on what inspired Page Stationery’s founder and creative director Sue Corral in creating these pieces.

With Page’s recent growth in in-house capabilities, our new collection expands beyond letterpress. We’re thrilled to add foil printing into our mix.  We asked Sue to let us in on her jumping off point for the new catherine + blake letterpress wedding suite.

letterpress wedding invitation
With letterpress printing, it’s hard to get a metallic ink to give a true shine, so I was really excited to incorporate foil printing into the new wedding line. As I sat down to work on catherine + blake, the gold foil gave me an Art Deco inspiration.

art deco inspirationArt Deco may have begun in Paris in the 1920s, but as an ex-New Yorker, when I think of Art Deco I think of the top of the Chrysler Building. It’s hard not to picture the way the top spire gleams on one of those perfectly clear and sunny New York days.

Gold Wedding Invitation

I’ll be honest, I am not usually drawn to the art deco style – it can be a bit too elaborate for my tastes – so, I tried to create a modern interpretation of the style, one that represented a fresh take on old New York elegance and glamour.

Elegant Wedding Invitation

Gold Elegant Wedding Invitation

The catherine + blake wedding invitation suite is one of 25 new designs from Page Stationery this Fall. Find a store near you and ask for the Page Stationery wedding collection.

Custom Stationery After the Wedding

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After your wedding you will need custom stationery to compliment your wedding invitations. Your wedding is going to be a beautiful occasion with elegant letterpress wedding invitations. It will mark the joining of two intimate souls with her love and family. The wedding invitation should be perfect for such an occasion. You don’t want to have a wedding invitation that is substandard and doesn’t represent the theme and distinct feeling and creativity around you envision for your wedding. Before you decide on the invitation you would like it’s advisable to have a complete plan and think through carefully through all aspects of your wedding. It also will depend if you have a more traditional wedding or a more modern wedding on what type of invitation you will purchase.

Another aspect of the wedding you will have to consider is the wording for the wedding invitation and the font. You want to make sure you use proper etiquette whether or not you have a traditional wedding invitation or a more modern wedding invitation. You should avoid abbreviations and be sure to clearly spell names and other information such as information for a map or a direction card to the ceremony afterwords.

When you decide on the type of ceremony you’re going to have, you can then spend some time deciding on what type of invitation you will be purchasing. In today’s market there are two major types. The more traditional imitation is a engraved invitation. The more modern wedding invitations version of the engraved invitation is the letterpress printed invitation. Letterpress can be both traditional and modern depending on the style and creativity that you provide.

custom stationery

custom stationery

Once you decide on the proper method of printing such as letterpress, I recommend you begin working with a qualified designer to help with the design and aesthetics of your invitation. I also recommend you use letterpress throughout all pieces of your wedding stationery including the custom stationery. Having a qualified designer will eliminate the need for you to deal with small aspects of the invitation instead, you can focus on the bigger picture that will correspond with your wedding ceremony. The designer will be more focused on the type of fonts and structure of the invitation and those design aspects. Otherwise, you would spend all your time nitpicking in trying to figure out all the little details that you don’t need to be concerned with. So just sit back and let the designer do their job and you focus on the big picture.

There are many aspects of the wedding invitation that you will need to decide. There are things such as the thickness and type of paper that the invitation will be printed on, the type and color of ink that will be used, the font, and which letterpress printing company such as custom letterpress stationery from Page Stationery to use. He fooled by which you might read on some forums, cheaper is not better when it comes to letterpress printing. The best companies have been around for at least 10 years and can guide you in the proper etiquette in the layout of the invitation. This is all done at no cost to you. In this economy there are many discounts available as well. It would be advisable for you to call or e-mail and asked what specials are available at this time. Many are glad to get your direct business and will provide a discount sometimes as much as 25%, or offer a free service such as free return address printing on the outer envelopes or 25 free additional printed invitation pieces or sets of invitations.

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Using Pockefold Invitations For Your Wedding

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Pocketfold invitations are becoming increasingly popular for traditional and modern weddings and save the date cards. If you are not sure what a pocketfold invitation is it is basically a folded piece of quality yardstick that includes an additional folded pocket so you can insert other pieces from your wedding stationery like the rsvp card and envelope or a direction or reception card. It may also include photographs or maps as well.

Pocketfold invitations are more commonly used for wedding enclosure cards especially when you have an response card, direction card and an reception card and an envelope. It really is a great way to organize your invitation and give it a refined look of sophistication and beauty. We all know that being organized will probably help us get a faster response sent back with the reply card from our wedding guest.

If you are considering a pocketfold invitation or just beginning to look at invitation options, pocket invitations are available in a myriad of options, styles and colors to suite any occasion or event be it a modern wedding or a more traditional wedding venue. The pockets range from vertical pocket layouts that open and close vertically to those that open more like a book. On the vertical pockets the invitation is usually mounted on the uppermost vertical fold and then the pocket is below. On the horizontal pocket the invitation can be mounted on either side with the pocket on the right or left. The pocket can also vary being either a horizontal or vertical slit. It is entirely up to you.

Why should you consider pocketfold invitations for your modern wedding invitations? For one thing it can make the assembly a bit easier and easier to check and make sure each piece is there before inserting them into the envelopes. But there is also the task of attaching the invitation to the pocket which you would not have to do for a regular invitation set. Depending on the invitation you select this could be an invitation and a border card beneath that could require an addition layer and time.

Pocketfold invitations can easily be mixed and matched with other aspects of your wedding. There are literally hundreds of combinations that make it easy to accompany and compliment other apexes of your wedding. You can make some amazingly elegant wedding invitations using pocketfold invitsations. Don’t let the look of pocketfolds confine your imagination, they can be simply gorgeous. At the same time, don’t forget they can also be used along traditional lines as well.

Pocketfold invitations a unique way to add a timeless look and feel of sophistication to your wedding invitation or save the dart card. Take as minute to browse through some examples of letterpress wedding invitations that are pocketfold invitations and get a feel for the expanded styles they offer you.

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The Process Of Letterpress Wedding Invitations

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The Process of Creating Letterpress Wedding Invitations and Announcements

Once a design and all the elements of the letterpress wedding invitations have been chosen and approved by the customer, a lot of work has to follow before final delivery.

Our designer must format the selected letterpress design elements of type and illustration to the desired size and shape of the piece. Space relationships are critical at this point to follow the wishes of our customers. One this formatting is complete a photocopy of piece is reviewed and sent to the customer for approval. Any changes are made and the job goes to printing. The selected paper stock is cut and sized as necessary, the ink color is selected or mixed and the letterpress printing begins and is completed.

The pressman, who with years of experience, prints several pieces and inspects them for ink application uniformity and color correctness. Careful attention is paid to the alignment and centering of the elements of the letterpress piece, and several additional samples are printed before the final printing. The same procedures are followed for any envelope requirements. Should there be letterpress envelope liners, they are sized and cut for an exact fit within the envelope. Once these elements have been completed and assembled, they are individually inspected and counted for packaging and shipment to the customer.

Once complete the order is tastefully packaged and insulated for shipment by UPS in the manner selected by the customer. The customer opens the package and is amazed at how beautiful her letterpress invitations are!

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Modern Wedding Invitations For the New Year

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Modern Wedding Invitations

When it comes to designing modern wedding invitations save the date cards, birth announcements, business cards, custom christmas cards and other specialized printing pieces is conceived many factors flow into the decision of the piece.

What does the sender wish to convey to the recipient? In the case of the wedding invitation alone, there are more than a dozen specialized pieces of varying shape and size that can set a the senders piece totally apart from the ordinary and mundane pieces seen in so many mass produced catalogs in store of mass merchandisers and mail order catalogs.

Critical choices in the selection of paper stock and color, type selection, ink color, decorative design elements within the piece will all combine to produce a successful invitation/announcement that reflects the taste and sophistication of the sender. Be it a spring wedding invitation or unique wedding invitations, pieces can become playful, joyful, respectful simple or complex, simply at the will of the sender. It is also easy to introduce the customer’s individual variations of the “stock” designs into a piece(s) within the Page Stationery product lines.

The Page customer, once with catalog in hand, can become a free spirit in creating that special letterpress destination wedding invitations for that special occasion. I encourage you to view the tremendous selection of letterpress wedding stationery they offer.

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Letterpress Wedding Invitations-The Design Element

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The Design Element: Letterpress Invitations

The selection of everything from cars to letterpress wedding invitations always depends on design what we see …do we like it, or do we not like it? In almost every aspect of our daily lives we encounter design as a means of conveying feelings, emotions and influencing our buying decisions. It all comes down to the design of the product and how we perceive it, wedding invitations, birth announcements and custom holiday cards are no different.

So what constitutes a good versus poor design? Many elements enter into the equation, but simply said good design will follow a talented individual that has received specialized training at recognized institutions with proven instruction. The result is a designer that is proficient and skilled in all aspects of type selection, formatting, space relationships, color selections and much more.

The professional designer, such as Page Stationery’s principals can create wedding invitations, birth announcements, stationery, business cards and other printed communications vehicles that are capable of establishing a “mood” or distinct “feeling” that a customer might want to convey. Type selection, space relationships and color can be combined to project happiness, fun, respect and sophistication depending of the wishes of the sender and their relationships with the receiving individual(s), families or companies.

Page Stationery staff members have extensive experience with thousands of wedding invitations and announcements and customers that allow the customer to correctly choose the piece, or pieces that convey those personal feelings of the event to be recognized.You can see see some of our custom christmas cards here.

Making Letterpress Invitations Special

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Firstly, letterpress and using it to make letterpress invitations is nothing new. In fact letterpress died awhile ago and has been resurrected back in the late 90′s thanks to Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. From there, we have all heard about letterpress printing and how it is used for letterpress invitations, stationery and birth announcements but what really makes it so special? Let’s take an abbreviated look at what it takes to turn out your beautiful letterpress wedding invitations or personalized stationery.

Design plays a crucial role in the look and readability of your personalized stationery. This comes from years of design experience and talent and it sets the tone of your piece. Advanced knowledge of software such as Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator and Indesign can be used to make proofs of the stationery and then to make plates. Too much design can make your letterpress invitation may look too busy and too little can make it plain and lacking. You need to find what works for you. Regardless, the design is crucial but what really sets it apart is the way it is printed and the paper stock chosen. The way it is printed refers to the impression or the depth of the impression. Too shallow and it doesn’t provide any depth or tactile feel to it. You want the person reading it to want to reach out and touch it and say “wow! that’s nice!” as they rub their fingers over the text. It is critical though, that the ink not be to heavy and slurred or too lite, where you see kinda of a border order the text of just blank paper and a thin line of ink. It has too be just right or it doesn’t work. All this also depends on the paper as well. You can’t get good impression on thin paper, it needs to be 600gsm and thick preferably cotton to really set it apart.  This is how to do real letterpress printing.

Once the proof of your stationery is approved, a negative is made and the negative is placed on a light sensitive photopolymer plastic plate, placed under vacuum and exposed to light. After the correct time has elapsed, the plate is washed in water to remove the unexposed material and then dried. Once dry, the plate is exposed again to light to harden the material. The plastic is now hard enough to withstand the pressure of the platen press.

The plate is then cut to size that will allow it to fit correctly on the milled aluminum base that will used in the press. The plate is attached to the base with adhesive and then the base is locked in the chase. It is then placed in the press. A first impression is taken to begin setting the project for printing. This process can be tedious. The paper is aligned to the correct specification of the proof and then impressions are taken to see and check ink quality, depth of impression and correct alignment.

Once the alignment, ink and pressure quality standards are met the run begins for that one piece. Each piece of the job is then setup in the same way and careful attention is made to maintain ink consistency so all pieces look the same. A typical letterpress wedding invitation of four pieces may take 3-4 hours to print at a leisurely rate. Personalized stationery may take half that time. It is a very detailed process but the result is a beautifully crafted work of art to many.
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