Wedding Invitation stationary and suites can get expensive very quickly, and that’s why more and more couples are saving their wedding budget for the dress by hand-lettering save-the-dates. Paper and printing can still be pricey without budget-friendly alternatives, but there is another option for elegant and inexpensive design: printing your invitations at home. No, I’m not suggesting you have to design it all because these invitations can be articulated to stationers and graphic designers on Fiverr, and then delivered to you as downloadable .JPG or .PDF. Plus, now you have the freedom to print your invitations in the comfort of your home or sometimes--even more cheaply and conveniently—from your local print shop. This is a great way to cut out unnecessary costs and when done correctly is a fraction of the cost of custom invitation suites that mark up their online printing services. Meantime, you’ll walk away with custom invitations that you ideated, implemented and sent yourself—and they’ll still fit your wedding-style to-the-T. With that in mind, here are 3 Tips for Printing Your Own Wedding Invitations:

1. Get Started Now

Sure, you’re going to save beaucoup bucks printing things your way, but that doesn’t mean it’s a fast process. The more you DIY, the more you Do, so get started imagining your invitations ASAP. A great method is to count backward from your wedding date and decide the increments you’ll need to inform your guests for each invitation i.e. save-the-date and wedding. Then, plan your time with a weeks buffer for printing failures—which is inevitable. Most folks don’t realize that local copy shops eat the cost of multiple prints that never see the light of day, and that’s because printing is an art, just as it is a science. Bottom line: don’t wait to have your design and invitations ready for print—in advance—of when you intend to send them out. Build in your trial-and-error time to ensure your invitations go out on schedule.

       2. Compare Your Costs

Printing at home is sexy when it works perfectly, but take it from the experts at Image Square Print and Graphics Santa Monica—printing rarely goes 100% right the first time. The result is that though you may save money on the paper and ink initially, a second printing may make your budget equal to simply having your local print shop near me do it—especially if you’re using high-quality paper stock or saturated inks. Keep a few questions in mind: what are the dimensions are your invitations? What paper or card  material are printing upon? Are the invitations flat or folded? Is there an embellishment like string or silk tie? The goal of these—or any questions—should be to determine your cost-per-invitation so you can compare your at-home printing versus a local printer or online printing solution. And don’t forget to factor-in postage and envelopes!

          3. No White Ink

We know you want to stand out from the thousands of other weddings you’ve already experienced but, white ink doesn't work. You see, very few printers actually print white ink, and unless you’re using a commercial printer or advanced printing near me local store, we guarantee your at-home printer won’t cut it. Plus, even if you approach this in reverse by printing colored ink onto white paper where the white lettering shows through, you’ll end up spending so much more on ink. Though white ink cartridges do exist, they are not included in the default ink cartridges of home printers for a reason—printing machine manufacturers don’t want to process the inevitable returns and loss of sales. That said, if your heart is set on white ink and you’ll have it no other way, go to your printer near me copy shop, where the cost of using buckets of ink won’t blow up your wedding budget.

Looking for local printing services or online printing solutions? Image Square Print & Graphics Santa Monica is proud to provide local and national clients with creative print marketing solutions. Wedding invitations, canopy tents, decals and brochures are just a few of the products offered. Teams work according to your delivery needs with the highest quality digital printing machines to bring your ideas to life. Call our Santa Monica store at (310) 586-2333 or nationally at (800) 586-0444. Or visit the website for a full breakdown of products and kinkos near me services.