ShaadiPrints prints letterpress in-house. The same studio also die-cuts, foil-stamps, and embosses invitations. Alongside that work, cards are printed on 14pt cardstock, in matte or gloss, and foil-stamped pieces use 18pt silky matte with raised gold or silver foil. This note is about choosing among those, not about a brand of press.
The invitation catalog is where the flat and foil cards are listed. A piece that does not fit a listed size can go through a custom quote, which is answered within one to two business days.
What letterpress is
Photo coming soon
Letterpress presses the design into the paper, so you can feel the type. The ink is a color mixed for your order, not a four-color photograph. That is why a ceremony card with a host line, the couple's names, and a border suits it. A full-bleed photo of the couple does not.
Because the ink is ordered for that wedding, letterpress takes 10 to 14 business days after you approve the proof. It is the slow one on purpose. Plan it in the stationery timeline before you promise a mail date.
Use letterpress when the card is mostly words, when you want one deep color, and when the extra days are available. Custom ink means you can match a wedding color instead of picking the nearest cyan, magenta, yellow, and black mix. You still approve a proof before any of that starts.
What digital printing is
Digital printing on 14pt cardstock is the full-color option. Matte is soft and easy to write on. Gloss keeps the color bright. Choose matte if guests will write on the card. Choose gloss if the design is a painting or a pattern you want to stay vivid.
This is the process for photographs, illustrated borders with many colors, and maps or portraits. It takes 3 to 5 business days after the proof is approved. When the wedding date is close, this is the realistic ceremony card. It is also the right card for a save-the-date that is mostly a photograph. Those are in the save-the-date catalog.
Digital does not give you the dent of letterpress. The sheet is smooth. If feeling the names matters more than showing a photo, choose letterpress and leave the photo off the card.
Foil, in the studio
Foil stamping is done in the studio. Raised foil is gold or silver, on 18pt silky matte. It is a finish you choose. A gold-colored rule drawn in the artwork is printed ink. It is not foil unless you select the foil finish.
Foil cards take 3 to 5 business days after the proof, the same window as 14pt cards. Foil is a metallic line, a monogram, or a border, not a way to print a color photograph. If you want both a portrait and a foil name, ask for a quote so the two finishes are planned as one piece instead of hoped for in one upload.
A simple way to choose
- Words, one ink color, and time to wait: letterpress, printed in-house.
- A photograph, a painted pattern, or a mail date inside a few weeks: 14pt digital, matte or gloss.
- A metallic monogram or rule: foil on 18pt, stamped in the studio.
- A cut edge or an embossed motif: also studio work, and worth a quote if it is not already on the product page.
Laser-cut pieces, video cards, and canvas are not part of that studio list. They are made with partners and sold by custom quote. You do not have to know who the partner is to order. You do have to leave time for the quote, which comes back within one to two business days.
The proof is the same either way
Nothing is printed because a file was attached. ShaadiPrints sends a digital proof, and printing starts after you approve it. If the design service is on the order, that proof is promised within 24 hours. Read the names, the date, the time, and the city on the proof. A letterpress plate and a digital file both print whatever you approved, including a misspelled parent.
Wording to check against that proof is in Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and fusion invitation wording.