The Skinny on Why Letterpress and Foil Invitations Cost So Much
Letterpress and Foil invitations have the heart of so many people. They look beautiful, and feel just as wonderful. The weight, the texture, the shimmer, I could go on… All of these lovely qualities come with a hefty price tag.
When meeting with new clients, one of the first things I ask is if they have a preferred printing method, and how familiar they are with different printing methods. Most are initially pretty surprised to find out how much costlier letterpress and foil are compared to digital/flat printing. Once I explain how labor intensive these processes are, the price tag makes so much more sense.
First and foremost, these printing methods are very labor intensive and require very specialized machinery.
A letterpress plate, and a piece of paper pressed with this plate.
Photo Credit: Boxcar Press
For both letterpress and foil, a custom plate is made of the design, its actually its mirror image. Different plates may need to be made depending on the design. Say the text is one color, and the floral detail is another. You would need two plates; one for each color.
Each piece of piece of paper is individually run through a press for the image of the plate to be applied. This is where the letterpress and foil processes differ.
In letterpress, a layer of custom, hand-mixed ink is applied to the plate. The paper runs through the press and viola, via hundreds of pounds of pressure (watch those fingers!) the ink is imprinted on the paper. Have more than one color in your design? Now its time to mix the next color, and apply it to the next plate and run that paper through again. A few test sheets need to go through first to make sure its callibrated. Rinse and repeat!
When it comes to foil, a thin sheet of metallic foil is adhered to the same type of plate used in the letterpress method and is run through a similar press to apply pressure to adhere the foil to the paper. Rather than ink, a layer of film covers the surface of the paper to reveal the design. This method also requires another plate and run through the machines if there are different colors in the overall design.
Photo Credit: Boxcar Press
Each step listed in the bulleted points above is done by the hands of a skilled artisan, therefore making it more costly than a machine jetting ink to paper. It’s suffice to say that having multiple colors in your design adds to the total cost, as it requires additional plates and runs through the press.
A substantial enough paper stock is needed to withstand the pressure that the machinery exerts and not tear. If you guessed that a heavier stock of paper costs more, you guessed right!
All that being said, letterpress and foil invitations, beautiful as they are, are not for everyone. And thats okay! They definitely appeal to a niche market that appreciates finer handmade details, and here’s the key..has the budget for them.
xoxo,
Alexandra
