Invitation printing: sizes, paper and finishes

Envelope matching is the quiet trap. An A5 card slides into a DL envelope only when it is folded once; unfolded it needs a C5. Decide the fold before you design, not after — it changes the layout, and the postman won't care how good it looked open.

• The main invite lives at 300–350gsm. Hold it by one corner and it stays square — that is the test. Below about 250gsm an invitation flops and reads as a flyer, no matter how good the design is.
• Detail and RSVP cards take 250–300gsm. Lighter than the main card keeps the set balanced and the envelope weight down, while still feeling like part of the same run.
• Weight is a feel decision, not a law. We put samples in your hand at the studio — Moorebank locals swing past, everyone else we post them out — because 300gsm matte and 300gsm gloss feel like different cards entirely. The full weights are in our paper stock & GSM guide.

• Matte lamination is the safe luxury choice — soft to the touch, wipes clean, and photographs without glare. Nine out of ten wedding invites we print wear it.
• Gloss lamination makes colour pop — the right call for photo-heavy invites and bold event branding.
• Foiling (gold, silver, rose) lifts names and monograms into metallic — the detail guests keep on the fridge. It adds days to the run, which matters for timing.
• Letterpress-look pressing and rounded corners are the small-budget finishers: a pressed-in impression or a softened edge that makes the card distinct in the hand for cents on the dollar. How each finish behaves is in our finishes explained guide.

• Word counts are brutal at DL size. Names, date, venue and one RSVP line fit comfortably; a full program belongs on an insert card or a website, not crammed into 6-point type nobody reads.
• DIY designs are welcome. A Canva or template design prints beautifully if it arrives as a print-quality PDF — the traps are screen-only RGB colour and fonts that look thin once inked. What makes a file press-ready is in our print-ready files guide.
• Designed sets earn their keep on matched runs. Invitation, RSVP, save-the-date, place cards and signage that share one visual language is a design job, and it is usually cheaper to do once, properly, than to patch five mismatched pieces.

• Print the final guest list plus 10%. Late plus-ones, addressing mistakes and the copies family ask to keep will eat a short run faster than you expect — one print run beats a panicked reprint every time.
• Work back from the send date, not the event. Invitations go out six to eight weeks before a wedding, three to four before a party or corporate event. Printing runs one to two weeks from approved art, and proofs plus specialty finishes add days — so six-plus weeks of margin covers all of it.
• End-of-year events move earlier. December is when suppliers close, so Christmas-party and New Year invitations order by November at the latest. Every quote is exact before anything prints — sizes, stock, finish and delivery in writing.