Above and below are two pre-press proofs that we pulled for Lindsey so she could compare the color of the gradient, the value of the line screen clouds (which were hard to photograph but looked awesome in person) as well as the value of the silver. Above we have a more peachy hue, and below more pink with a lighter silver.

Upon sending images over to the client for final sign off we hit the presses and shipped these babies out!

I’m just slightly infatuated with pantone, if you haven’t noticed. And this year the 2012 color of the year is Tangerine Tango! I love how the yellows are being infiltrated by the oranges now.

This was a wedding suite for a November wedding for Preeya. First off, she was SO fabulous to work with and had the most amazing mood board. (See at the bottom).

She was right on the money regarding color trends and the design was so fun to develop with her.

The suite was printed on 110# cotton paper, 2 inks, paired with gravel envelopes and dark gravel ink. Pieces included Invitation, Directions, Details and RSVP cards for the letterpress pieces, and then place cards and menu for digital pieces for the day of events. To price out an invitation suite like Preeya’s head over to the shop and customize your letterpress suite to your heart’s content!

These were letterpress printed on lettra paper, 220# as a 2-color job. One thing I’m finding is that lettra – while a great paper – seems to exaggerate the “salty” look when printing large ink areas. It seems that paired with the texture and composition of the paper there is less ink absorbancy when printing a flood in comparison to other papers (Mohawk and Arturo come to mind specifically as having better absorbancy).

In the end, I think it depends on what sort of look you are going for. The salty ink coverage can add a very unique texture to a piece, especially if you are going for a more rustic or vintage look to your wedding suite. However if you are looking for a more consistent overlay and less ink transparency then ultimately you’ll want to go with a less textured paper.

Edge painted in hot pink, and paired with hot pink envelopes, I love how the salty print on these add character to the already flowing design. Do you like the salty look? Or do you prefer a more saturated look?

These were letterpress printed on 110# luxe white paper in gravel ink with papaya edge painting.

 Sold in sets of 50, this is a great way to get into a set of calling cards without the investment of meeting the press minimum of 250 cards for a custom print order. Get an estimate here, these are always a big hit for gifts for the holidays and turn around super quick!

These tags shipped for a late summer wedding for Mindy & Brian, who were getting hitched in Aspen, Colorado. I never get tired of printing these tags, partly because I have a special place in my heart for aspen tress and also because their colors are so saturated in the fall. What a beautiful time of year to have a wedding!

Who doesn’t love the story of Tristian and Isolde? I know I do, and in a perfect legend they would have gotten hitched instead of Isolde marrying King Mark of Cornwall. Of course I love Celtic knot patterns and thought it fitting to design a wedding suite for Tristian and Isolde true to her Irish heritage. The thing I’m hung up on are colors and the bridal logo. It’s been harder for me to pull this suite together as a cohesive whole and am looking for feedback. Does the bridal logo look like a soccer ball? How do you feel about the buff/khaki/chocolate with accented chartreuse? It’s hard sometimes to see a digital proof and imagine it in letterpress, what are your thoughts? Should I keep working at it, or pass on it all together?

Option 1: Maple Leaf wedding suite

This concept plays off a beautiful photo of a wedding cake with the maple leaves that the client sent over. Seeing that she had mentioned wanting bright colors, we explored oranges and warm coral/red on this option. We were going for elegant with the calligraphy typeface however wanted to explore some unique layouts for this. The inner envelope would be lined with the maple leaves liner, and the outer envelope is the cream, matching the paper stock used for the invites. The inner envelope is in poppy and both envelopes would look beautiful addressed with chocolate ink for her guests.

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Option 2: Heart Thumbprint wedding invitations

We LOVED the thumbprint heart concept that the client presented and thought it would be a good design to add in the requested plum color and the orange. Because we wanted to place emphasis on the thumbprint, we wanted the remainder of the invitation to invoke a minimalist feel with beautiful large margins and flowing typography to tie it in all together. Since the thumbprint is such a personal element of a human and no two are the same, we wanted to maintain that feel in the invitation with a simple typeface reflecting classic school penmanship. There are added dingbats throughout the layout as well, reflecting back on the symbolism of the heart and tying in the typography with the emblem. The envelop liner on this design is an overprint of purple ink on purple paper, to give the envelope a really stunning pop when opened. It sort of adds the detailing in the other pieces without making it look too elaborate or over the top.

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Option 3: Modern Dahlia wedding invitations

The last option was based off some client provided photos of the dahlias in a beautiful peach color. We wanted to bring in a monochromatic feel to this invite, emphasizing the oranges and peaches that are evident in that photo. Again we wanted to explore a more unique approach to the invitation layout with the typography. The flower pattern is carried across all the invitation pieces, and will make such a beautiful impression when printed.

If you were getting hitched, what suite would you go for?

To raise money for Adam’s life-flight and hospital bill, I am offering a free set of (100) letterpress 2 color wedding invitations and reply cards for every $2000 worth of money raised. That means if we raise $10k there will be (5) FIVE people who could win.

Winners will be randomly selected on July 31st. To qualify, you need to contribute $10 to Adam’s PayPal fund (button below). I know via my stats that I get at least 400 unique visitors a day to this site. That means that if 200 contribute, then we’ve hit our first giveaway package! AND for every $10 you contribute you’ll get an extra entry to up your chances of winning!

You may remember Jessica’s custom design proofs for her suite that was blogged about awhile back. Well it’s time to unveil the finished piece!

Jessica’s invites are a 1 color suite – remember that you are entered to win a 2 color suite! Click to donate and help Adam, all proceeds will go to help pay for his life-flight and hospital stay!

While working on these designs we wanted to explore damask pattern and to juxtapose typography with a simple body layout and elegant script for hierarchy significance.

Often when designing, I go through a series of steps to establish hierarchy within a piece. Wedding invitations are easy as usually the bride & groom’s names are of the most importance. Followed by the Bride’s parents (or the hosting family), and then, if included, the groom’s family. Next the reception/ceremony information and then date/time/venue information.

Not all of these areas in a layout will receive different typographic treatments but it’s good to consider the importance of each element in a piece and where it stands in relation to the next element within the design.

All designs ©2010 Dingbat Press, reproduction or derivative works strictly prohibited.
If used in your own blog, please credit by linking to the image source and Dingbat Press.

We took the shape of the windows and softened them up creating a frame around Kim’s invitation typography. She was looking for a whimsical script typeface, and blind impression of a pattern that flooded the rest of the invite. The final printed piece: 2/0 letterpress printed on 220#/600GSM paper. Paired with pool envelopes and matching dark pool ink.

Photographed by Geri – she’s been working for me since December and has quite the eye for photography. Stop by her blog and say Hi, will ya! She’s fabulous. For an engagement Snowing Hearts photo shoot or you can see her San Francisco trip City by the Bay photos that are amazing too!

Check out that close up! This was such a fun job to print and design. It really came together in the last design round and was so unexpected. Perfect for a fun summer wedding. Below is invitation/envelope, thank you note, and table card.

Jessica was looking for traditional, black and romantic letterpress invitations with a hint of oversized script typography for the bride and groom’s names. She wanted clean, classy and sophisticated with light pink envelopes – this job is in the final design phases and I can’t wait for it to go on press!

This letterpress wedding suite was printed last fall for a Victorian Christmas wedding. Often I have the bride & groom looking for budget letterpress and I usually recommend a wedding suite with one ink color in that situation. So many people shy away from estimates if it includes only one ink color, however I wanted to provide an example of how beautiful a suite with one ink color can look! This couple had their budget pretty conservative but needed a lot of pieces in the suite so on the initial consult I provided an estimate for a 1 color suite. Since I was working with a designer (the groom), he was open to the option as well. In the end, it was printed on the thick 110# paper, and included was the reply/food option insert as well as a directions/map insert along with the initial invitation and outer envelope. When utilizing illustration in your wedding invitation design, you can really pack a lot into your design with only one ink color and still have it impress your recipients, so don’t rule it out from the beginning!

After being enamored with Jessica Morrisy’s business cards and Sweetie’s Bakeshop proofs, Jenn wanted an adaptation for her letterpress wedding invites. Going for a light/dark combo, the next round will explore some brown in replacement of the light blue. Latte maybe? I can’t wait to see how these turn out!

If you are interested in an estimate for wedding invitations contact me and fill out the form, I’d love to work with you!