Wedding Invitations & Programs - Help

[aprilwalters]

Hello,

I took on the task of making my friends sisters wedding invitations. They came out beautiful and she was thrilled!! I charged $4.50 each - which included envelopes and response cards w/ envelopes. It was quite a few layers as well. The problem with them that I did not foresee was when they were mailed out - the ink on the white cardstock (SU) smeared. She never said a word about it, but I am invited to the wedding so of course that was the first thing I noticed when I opened the invitation.

Now, she has asked me to do the wedding programs as well. They are not going to be as elaborate as the invitations and I am thinking about using white parchment paper - a heavier weight as the outside "cover" and a lighter weight on the inside pages. (Think 2 full sheets folded in half, hole punched in the center and a ribbon through it).

Question is - will the ink smear on the parchment too? Has anyone done these? Wondering if the ink smeared due to the cardstock or is it my printer?

Any ideas on what to charge? I was thinking about $1.25 - $1.50 each (she needs 105).

Thanks!!
April

[JanTInk]

You can try one of these:

Craft Town Hobby Land USA - Where it pays to shop with a friend!

I've also heard of using talcum powder as an option to help ink dry on paper. Did you allow the sheets to dry completely before stacking them? Wedding invites often have a piece of tissue paper inside to help keep any damp ink from offsetting to the inside of the invitation.

[aprilwalters]

Would that be the same as our embossing buddy?? They were printed and then cut and assembled over the course of about 3 days and then another 3-4 days til she actually mailed them out. Guess I should have put the tissue in between them. Now I know for next time.

Thanks

[calgramma]

I have used vellum for invitations many times with great success and I have an ink jet printer. I just let it dry over night before assembling. I have never used parchment, but I would 'test' it first before making 105 of them.

[cat_woman]

I used vellum for my wedding invitations and the ink smeared. What I ended up doing was getting some cheap aerosol hairspray (I think AquaNet) and took everything outside and gave them a light coat. That stopped them from smearing. If you have a spray fixative, that would work too. You have to make sure its a very light coat otherwise the ink will run. You could do a few test pieces to see how much you need and to get the technique down before doing it on the actual pieces. I held the can about a foot above the vellum and sort of let the mist fall onto it rather than spraying directly onto the vellum - that caused the ink to run. Also, make sure they are absolutely dry or they will stick to other papers they're pressed against.

ETA: Sorry, I re-read your post and your using parchment paper. I think the same technique will work for parchment paper. As I said earlier, just test it first on some scraps to make sure it doesn't ruin your work. Good luck!

[mamaxsix]

As another possibility, you take could take your file to a copy store they can print with their laser printer. I think they charge half price when you provide your own paper.

[JanTInk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aprilwalters

Would that be the same as our embossing buddy?? They were printed and then cut and assembled over the course of about 3 days and then another 3-4 days til she actually mailed them out. Guess I should have put the tissue in between them. Now I know for next time.

Thanks

I think it could be about the same. I have also read talcum powder works and that would be easier to apply with the quantity you have to do.

Why not experiment with all the different methods and see what works best?

[Catrick]

You can also try ironing the paper to dry the ink. I know it is done when one creates a background paper with pigment or chalk ink.

I have not had that problem as I am lucky enough to have both an ink jet and a laser printer. I did find that most copy places will not print on your paper but their own. You could try to find someone with a laser printer you could print on.

Cathy