Foiled invitations and other wedding stationery
More information: Luxury Range, Understanding Printing Techniques
Foiled invitations are hugely popular now. Foiling – in gold, silver, rose gold or other metallic colours – is a way to add some glitz and glimmer to your invitations or other wedding stationery, and many of our customers ask how much extra it costs to have custom foiling on their invitations.As with most things, it depends on what you require and how much you’re willing to spend. It’s worth looking at the different processes to see what costs and/or limitations you might need to consider.
We can supply the 3 following types of foiled invitations:
- Custom foil stamping
- Digital foiling
- Pre-foiled borders
Custom foil stamping
SEE ALSO LUXURY RANGE
The foil stamping option is the traditional method of creating a metal die in the form of whatever you would like to be foiled, and then using heat to stamp the die through a layer of foil deep into the card. Foil stamping is a specialist, time-consuming process and has a high price tag to reflect this.
It produces the best results and can be used on any type of card – click on the image on the right above to see the thick textured card.
Because foil stamping requires specialist knowledge and equipment to create the die and to set the job up, it takes up to 2 weeks longer than digital printing and involves set-up costs which apply regardless of the size of the job. Most printers require a minimum run of 50 foiled invitations (even if you only need 30, the fee is for 50).
For this reason, if you’re having custom foiling it’s a good idea to get more cards than you think you’ll need, so you’ll have plenty left over as spares, and this will avoid a second set-up fee and a second minimum run.
We can offer two versions (recommended minimum 60):
- Version A (2-step process): 300gsm card only. Having the foil die stamped into card and then overprinted by us – the big advantage is that you can have a custom foiled area which is unique to you PLUS the flexibility to personalise each invitation by printing your guests’ names on them. Prices for invitations like this are anywhere between $10 and $20 each, depending on volume. Smaller quantities work out more expensive because the setup and stamping fees are fixed per job. Depending on where the foiled area is positioned, you could consider getting a larger number of cards made up initially and retain the blanks to use for other things later, such as menus.
- Version B (generic): Fully foiled without individual guests’ names. You can either leave a space to write the names in by hand, or simply word the invitation generically so that they’re all the same. The setup and stamping costs are fixed, so larger orders are better value. You can choose 300 or 600gsm for these (obviously 600gsm is more expensive). Prices are usually between $12 and $28 per invitation, depending on how many you order. We highly recommend getting a lot of spares regardless of the number you think you’ll need.
Digital foiling
There is an alternative method of custom foiling which does not involve the creation of a printer’s die. A piece of reactive foil can be applied to an area of black laser printing, placed inside a transfer folder and then run through a foil applicator machine. The foil adheres to black laser toner, so you can apply it to just about anything – names, graphics, etc, as long as they are black. The example on the right is rose gold. The biggest advantage is that we can do small runs – even just 20 pieces.
We recommend minimal foiled areas for maximum impact.
The biggest limitation to this method is that it can ONLY be done on cardstock with a very smooth finish. It does not work on any other type of card, so if you want a textured card or even a slightly rough/matte surface, this is not the correct method to choose.
We have smooth card in white and pale cream, and the reactive foil is available in gold, rose gold or silver. The cost for a digitally foiled invitation starts at around $7 each, but can rise to $15 or more, depending on quantity and the area you want to be foiled. The larger the foiled area (or the more separate areas of foil you want), the more expensive it is. Note that we cannot foil a border with this method – much as we would like to, it never works!
Another factor to take into consideration is that the results from digital foiling are not as perfect as foil stamping. There are often tiny areas where the foil does not stick – this will result in the black toner showing through on edges or little spots which have been “skipped” by the foil application, or small specks of foil on areas where they shouldn’t be. So if you want your invitations to stand up to close scrutiny, the reactive digital foil method is not recommended. Having said that, most people would never notice the imperfections – the overall effect is what matters most and it is so stunning!
Pre-foiled borders
If you want quality textured card with a little touch of gold or silver, and you don’t necessarily care about your own names or a custom graphic being foiled, you can choose our gorgeous bordered Classic invitations with pre-foiled gold or silver borders. The borders have been foil stamped onto the cards with our own dies, so they’re the best quality! The card is also the beautiful textured 300gsm card that so many of our clients prefer, available in cream/gold (A5 size only), and white/silver (15cm square size).
The only compromise is that the printing of the invitation itself is simple flat colour. It doesn’t have to be black, but we cannot print in any metallic colours. The only part that is foiled is the border.
The price for our silver or gold bordered invitations is around $6.00 on average, which includes a matching blank envelope. We can personalise them with your guests’ names, print addresses on the envelopes, provide matching cards or print on the back. Our Classic range is unfortunately being retired, so this option is only available while stocks last.