What does a windmill have to do with my wedding invitation?

The Heidelberg Windmill has EVERYTHING to do with your letterpress wedding invitation, brides- and grooms-to-be! And instead of me sitting here and typing the process out to you, take a look at this informational video:

Stay tuned in 2012 as we spruce up our Video and YouTube page to give you more inside looks at the letterpress printing process.

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Written by Katie

Invitation Motifs Within Wedding Ceremonies and Receptions

Remember our previous post about recent bride Zena’s wedding? The luxurious design from her wedding invitation carried through to her wedding program, table place cards, menus and more.

Wedding Invitation Detail ~ Send Me My Free Samples of Zena

Programs and Table Place Cards

Wedding Programs

Table Place Cards

Menus and Table Numbers

You can see more beautiful photos from Zena and Ronald’s wedding at wedding photographer, Courtney Davidson’s blog!

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Written by Katie

Go to the Invitation Gallery

Check out our special on letterpress invitations and save!

]]> http://invitationsbyajalon.com/blog/after-the-invite-zena-2/feed/ 2 http://invitationsbyajalon.com/blog/letterpress-digital-printing-methods-part-1/ http://invitationsbyajalon.com/blog/letterpress-digital-printing-methods-part-1/#comments Sun, 28 Nov 2010 11:32:16 +0000 Ajalon http://invitationsbyajalon.com/blog/?p=5146

Letterpress or Digitally Printed Invitations Part 1 of 2

You are probably here because you are curious about the difference between having your wedding invitations letterpress or digitally printed. When you are looking at beautifully designed wedding invitations and all you can see and feel is your computer screen, it is hard to really appreciate the unique characteristics of each printing method.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

Order Samples

No two wedding invitation designs are alike, nor are any two wedding invitation printing vendors the same either. The best way to tell the difference between digitally or letterpress printed wedding invitations is to request a  sample package that includes both printing methods.

Deep Impressions

If you are trying to make a good first impression, no other printing method can even come close to producing the same deep impressions and quality aesthetic as letterpress. With an understated elegance that is unique and refined, your guests’ are sure to love your letterpress wedding invitation designs.

While there are no clear winners in this letterpress vs digital printing debate, each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Up next is the second round of this exciting debate between letterpress and digital printing.

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

Wedding Invitations Should Include Dress Code

Have you ever wondered what type of wedding ceremony you are about to attend? Depending on the celebration venue or the location of the wedding ceremony, it is not always clear what the dress code is. This type of information should typically be conveyed through the wedding invitation, which is why it is important to give clear etiquette instructions on your wedding invitation if there is any specific dress code that needs to be followed.

Black Tie Event

If it is a black tie event, the proper wedding invitation etiquette mandates that you indicate this somewhere visible on your wedding invitation. Including this information on your wedding invitation is not only the proper wedding invitation protocol, but it saves confusion and mix ups among your guests.

click here to request a free sample of our Black Tie design

Casual Events

Depending on the level of formality that you intend your wedding ceremony to follow, using whimsical themes or unconventional fonts and colors will typically indicate to your guests that the dress code is not very rigid.

Outdoor Venues

If you are having a wedding outdoors, particularly in the summer or winter months, it is important to indicate this on your wedding invitation. This way your guests can be prepared for the elements and dress accordingly.

click here to request a free sample of our Key West design

After ordering her custom theme wedding invitation designs, Sharon said:

“Thank you, we received the invitations today. We are very pleased with them. They look beautiful; the letterpress is exquisite and the teal ink color is perfect!”

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

Using photographs of you and your fiancé is a great way to personalize your wedding stationery. In fact, many photographers include an engagement photo session as part of their wedding photography packages. Here are some ways to use your photos:

Engagement Party Invitation/Save the Date Card

Incorporating your photo on your engagement party invitation or save the date card is a great way to share your photos with family and friends

Wedding Invitation

Translucent overlays over your photo offer an elegant way to use your photo on your wedding invitation. You may want to use slots to hold a photo print so your guests can remove and frame your photo

Envelope Liner

Your guests will exclaim “OMG!” when they open your invitation with a photo envelope liner (let’s hope they don’t use a letter opener!)

Program

A lovely way to personalize your program

Table Markers

Use a collection of old photographs of the bride and groom to add a touch of whimsy to your guest’s tables (and no doubt start some conversation!)

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

A recently engaged friend asked me to explain how our letterpress wedding invitation printing press actually works. Trying to demonstrate the process using my hands, a couple pieces of paper and a whole lot of descriptive words, I quickly remembered what my high school English teacher used to always tell me: “Show, don’t tell.”

This trip down memory lane not only made me realize how silly I must have looked trying to play charades as a printing press, but it also got my cinematic juices flowing.

I decided to create a short but sweet video that shows the details behind the movements, exquisite German engineering and printing process of a Heidelberg windmill platen press.

For those of you who do not have access to sound currently, I will include the most important text below:

But trust me, coming from someone who has tried to ‘charade’ this whole process out, without sound the spectacular mechanical labor of this platen press will be slightly diminished.

The Heidelberg windmill letterpress is the culmination of over 100 years of refinement and development by Heidelberg.

Many other platen presses feed the paper with the same motion that it is delivered, the windmill had two arms so that one could be feeding paper and the other delivering paper, thus making the press nearly twice as fast as other platen presses.

The movement of these arms with the sheets of paper in the grippers lead to its name, windmill, as it resembles the arms of a windmill with their sails and fins.

Unlike foot-treadle letterpresses, this Heidelberg is powered by an electric motor. This not only gives a more consistent impression and improves printing quality, but is much faster and more precise too.

The motor spins the fly wheel which creates a large amount of force to provide the power needed to make a firm impression into the paper.

The platen is what comes in contact with the plate, which is held by the chaise. These two surfaces meet at the exact moment that one of the arms places a piece of paper into the proper position.

After the impression is created, the same arm then removes the printed piece and places it in the delivery area. The final product is complete.

If you still want to know more, please feel free to email us at ajalon@ajalon.com or visit our media library for additional instructional videos and information.

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

Have you ever wondered what letterpress printers do? How the printing process actually happens and how is it possible that a design on a computer ends up in your mailbox? As a customer you can be part of the design process, but once that is done the next thing you know your invitation is printed and ready to be delivered. This short video (a little over 2 minutes) details the entire letterpress wedding invitation printing process:

Starting with the design on the computer, watch as an invitation is made into film, created into a letterpress plate, printed on the letterpress and then cut for the final presentation.

If you had any questions before about the whole process, hopefully this will answer them.

If you still want to know more, please feel free to email us at ajalon@ajalon.com or visit our media library for additional instructional videos and information.

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

I am fascinated by history. How common products were invented, where cultural trends originated from, and why we act in certain ways, are all products of an intense historical interaction that has become the world we know today.

Because I think letterpress is so interesting, I decided I wanted to write a (very) brief historical account of its invention and usage.

Contrary to popular Western belief, the Chinese were the first to invent block printing characters. These were used as a method for printing throughout Eurasia starting around 750 C.E. Johannes Gutenberg standardized and mechanized the practice in a more efficient manner around 1450 C.E. He developed what we now understand as the printing press. Presses have been modified, improved, sped up and digitized continuing from the first years of their creation until now.

Starting in the early 1990’s there was a resurgence of artisan and high quality letterpress printing in the United States. Craftsman and customers alike appreciated the quality and appearance of imprinted letterpress text. Combining digital technologies with letterpresses made in the 1950’s or before, printers have generated a handful of innovative techniques and beautiful new designs.

One of the largest markets that are requesting this vintage style of craftsmanship are weddings. Handcrafted letterpress wedding invitations cannot be matched for their unique texture and style. Our use of the latest in technologies make it possible to letterpress images that would previously have been difficult, or even impossible.

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

Youtube is one of the amazing inventions of this era. For any of you that are not familiar with the power of this device, simply go to www.youtube.com and search for any video, clip, speech or song you want and most likely there will be 10 million results.

I was looking for videos on printing and I came across this one. While it is a funny advertisement, it illustrates an interesting point. The written word is a powerful thing.

If you have seen the video, you should know that I do not think you should try this. It is a funny idea but probably would not work for long.

In an era of digital files, electronic mail and wifi, hand crafted and unique printing methods become even more impressionable. Physical properties of a business card can never be replaced by the digitized world of computers. The same goes for wedding invitations. A custom designed, exquisite letterpress wedding invitation is sure to be received with more joy than just a standard invitation. Letterpress offers the premier quality and texture that no other printing methods can offer.

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

I love technology. Using the internet as a resource to find interesting things has limitless possibilities. Today I was searching for information on green printing ideas and I happened upon this website that calculates the amount of energy you can save just by using recycled paper for your printing needs. It measures the difference between the two types of papers (recycled and non) in terms of trees, wastewater disposal, solid waste and CO2 emissions saved from entering our environment.

Based on the item and percent of recycled paper you are using in your printing (25, 50, 75 and 100%), it gives you an estimate of how many gallons, trees and BTU’s* you will be saving by using recycle paper.

It is quite extraordinary that it is so easy now to calculate the resources we are using from the environment in a very specific manner. We have the power to make a very direct impact in open and understandable ways.

For instance, if you order 1,000 pieces of letterhead and 500 business cards and use 100% post-consumer recycled paper, you will be saving nearly a fifth of a tree. That may not seem like much, but for nearly no extra cost and with a couple printing orders per year, that can add up quickly.

Using recycled paper for your printing needs is a small step, but if we all begin to change the way we shop, think and act, we can collectively help our environment in a positive way.

Something to think about:

According to the group Environmental Defense, if all of the magazines in the United States were printed with only 10% recycled paper, we could build a fence 1.8 meters high seven times across the US with the wood from the saved trees. Though realistically, it would probably be better to keep those trees rooted to help out the air supply

* British Thermal Unit (some technical term for energy)

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.