Part of the decision about making your own wedding invitations and stationery should be about what tools and materials you will need to do the job. That, of course, will be highly dependent on the design of the invitations themselves, but I think there are certainly some things in common with all invitations.The first is a pretty basic requirement; card and/or paper. There is a vast, and I mean vast array of card stock available to choose from and it's important that you do a little research from the beginning so that you choose the one that suits your particular project the best. Card stocks come in different weights and are usually measured in gsm (grams per square metre). 80gsm is a paper weight and I would class 170 gsm as a heavy paper weight with card weight starting at 200gsm.
You may of course wonder what on earth these gsm measures actually mean in terms of card thickness and which do you need? For the base card of a folded invitation I would suggest you need between 250gsm and 300gsm. This weight allows for precision folding and has a lovely quality feel in the hand. For a flat invitation (that requires no fold) I prefer to work with 300gsm to 450gsm as it maintains its shape well without warping or curling up. You may it find it more difficult to find 450gsm card stock, especially in small quantities, but if done very carefully and precisely it is possible to attach two layers of card of lesser weight together (called laminating) to end up with a base card of a heavier weight. Any inserts you add onto or into your card can be a paper weight, but I would suggest going for between 100 and 170 gsm as these have they better quality feel to them.
Card stock also comes in a range of finishes. There is smooth, super smooth, hammered, linen, textured, pearlescent, metallic and the list goes on... Card also comes in almost every colour you could ever imagine, however...and it's a fairly big however...you may not get all the weight variations in coloured card stock. Often, they are only offered in the low to medium weight ranges and you may not find it easy to source the colour card you require in a 300 - 400gsm range. White and Ivory is usually available in all the weight ranges however.
The next most basic element that all invitations require is printing (assuming of course that you are not going to be doing hand calligraphy for all your text elements). Now, I can talk all day about printers, printing techniques, ink etc., and I have every intention of covering all these things in detail in future blogs, but for this post I am just going to talk about the basics. If you are going to buy a new printer for doing your invitations, this is not as costly as it might seem. There are some very good desktop printers out there that will do a brilliant job for very little outlay. I can personally recommend Canon printers. I have several and I find them to be reliable and give excellent quality prints. I should point out that I do not work for or on behalf of Canon at all, and there are many other good quality brands that will also work well for you, it's just that I have over the years used many and I personally always come back to my Canons. (My favourite desktop printer is the IP4700 but I think you would only be able to get this second-hand now probably)If you are going to buy a printer, check the technical specification. You want a printer with a manual or rear feed as well as tray feed, you want a maximum weight that it will take through the printer to be as high as possible (300gsm ideally although you wont find many saying they will manage this. My Canon IP4700 takes 450gsm from the rear feed absolutely no problem, but I have had many a printer that has balked at 300gsm) and also check the minimum and maximum size of media it will take. (If you are printing rsvp's it's handy to have a printer that will print on nice small pre cut pieces etc.) Other than that, try not to spend too much money on it because in my experience more money does not necessarily buy you a better or less stressful result.
A third absolutely essential element you will need is adhesive. The exception to this is if you are printing directly onto you base card and adding no embellishments. If your design however is to join a printed insert to a card, flat or folded, or to add ribbon, gems, feather etc. then you will need something to stick it on with. Arm yourself with are good flat glue such as pva. There are hundreds of different brands out there, just avoid those that are too wet (like decorators pva) as this can tend to warp paper and card. Also get some double sided tape, again available all over the internet and in craft and stationery shops. Tape is great for adhering paper to card stock, and as it is dry it doesn't get absorbed by either and so wont lead to warping of the fibres. Tape pens (double sided adhesive dispensers) are great for saving time as there is no backing paper to remove, however they can be costly if you have a lot of sticking to do and the adhesion is not as strong as most double sided tapes. A good dimensional glue, such as Pinflair Glue Gel (highly recommend it) is fantastic for adding on tricky bulky embellishments like feathers, flowers, etc. or for adding height or 'decoupage' (I'll get into what that is at a later date).
The final essential adhesive item you will need is a glue pen with a fine(ish) tip. These are great for gluing inserts into the spines of your folded invitations or Order of Service Booklets.The last basic tool that I think all invitation designs will need is cutting equipment. Scissors, of course will be needed. Possibly a craft knife and ruler if you are confident with them. Definitely a guillotine or paper trimmer will be invaluable. There are again, many brands on the market. Be sure to get one that is suited to the weight and size of the card and paper that you are using, and if this is the only thing that you will be using it for, don't spend too much (i.e. more than £50) because it won't be worth it when you can get something for half that, that does the job just as well and then will get consigned to the cupboard for the rest of it's life.
A few tips:
- Ivory is not the same colour from different suppliers, or even from the same supplier but a different weight. Get samples first to check.
- White is also not the same colour from different suppliers, or manufacturers. White can range from bluish grey through to brilliant white. The bluish grey variety may look white right up until you put something that is actually white with it...then it just looks rubbish! Get samples first if possible, from your supplier/s, of all the different brands of white they do in a particular weight before you place your entire order.
- If you are printing directly onto card stock and you are going to use a printer that you already have, then this will determine the maximum weight of card you can use as each printer will have it's own limit on what it can take through the paper feed. If yours is not taking your card through, make sure to try any manual feed option you have first and be prepared to give the card a little nudge if you need to. If it still wont take your card weight and you do not wish to compromise on this weight, see if a friend has a printer that will take it first and swap printers for the time it takes to make your invitations.
- When using double sided tape, take your time placing things down as generally you get one chance only to get things straight! If you find this too difficult resort to a wet glue that gives you a bit more 'wiggle' room.
- There are so many tips about cutting and guillotines that I am going to devote an entire blog just to that subject. Woo hoo, bet you can't wait!
No comments:
Post a Comment