You can go through all the work of designing something beautiful, but when it’s time to print, how can you be sure the print execution matches the beauty of the design? I’ve gotten a few requests on what the step by steps of design to print are once the design is finished, so I’m here to give answers! In this video, I describe 3 options for taking your design from the computer and placing it into your hands as a finished, fully imagined piece. Below the video, I’ve listed all of the resources mentioned in the tutorial for your convenience + confidence in making the right decisions for your specific project 🙂
How to Take Your Design to Print Resources:
Option 1: Printing at Home
Get paper from:
– envelopes.com (+ envelopes, too!)
– Paper Source
– Michael’s
Here’s the screenshot of where to select crop marks when making a pdf
You can see how to manually add score marks in this video if what you’re making needs to be folded (do not make manual crop marks for yours like what’s seen in this video! The setup for creating this greeting card is different than yours should be if you’re creating your own invite – follow instructions on setting up an invite here)
Option 2: Using an Online Printer
Online printers I trust in order of lowest cost to highest
– OvernightPrints
– Uprinting
– Moo
Brick + Mortar Printers
– find one in your area by using InkerLinker
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Rosa | February 16, 2015
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Hi there, I was wondering if you could help me. I have a 5 X 7 invitation in illustrator. I would like to print it as 2 per page and kep the trim marks of 5 X 7 on each invitation. I cannot seem to do this. If i don’t select ignore artboards it prints 1 per page. and then if i select ignore art boards, the trim marks are not around each invitation correctly.
Any help would be appreciated. Really enjoyed your tutorials!
Rosa
TeelaC | Author | February 16, 2015
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Hey Rosa,
Thanks for asking! You have 2 options for this – the first is, you can save a pdf of your invitation when it’s on a 5×7 sized artboard. When you save the pdf, make sure your trim marks are included. Next, in Illustrator, go File > Place and place the pdf on your larger artboard that you’d like to use for both of them. Copy it and print away 🙂 The second option is putting manual trim marks on your document, which I show how to do in this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j5u3lm0q3Y Good luck + I hope that helps!
Rosa | February 17, 2015
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That is great! Thank you thank you very much!! It was driving me nuts! I did the first option and fiddled around with it, until I got it right. I’ll probably be printing somewhere like office max or staples, so hopefully they will work with me to print correctly. I also watched your suggested tutorial and that is great option too! Thanks again, I definitely learned something new! 🙂
Rosa
TeelaC | Author | February 17, 2015
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yay! So glad I could help, that makes me so happy!
Lanisa | April 8, 2015
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Hi Teela, I was thinking of using Uprinting for my wedding invitations. Which paper would you recommend the 13 pt. Cardstock Uncoated or the 14 pt Cardstock Matte? Love your tutorials by the way! Very informative 🙂
TeelaC | Author | April 8, 2015
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Hey Lanisa! For wedding invites I’d go for the 14pt matte option – it’s got a really nice feel to it and because it’s a wedding invite, it’ll feel sturdier/more impressive in the heavier weight 🙂 Thanks for watching!
Marina | August 28, 2015
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Hi Teela, Thank you for the great tutorial! Was wondering what paper should I use for my print portfolio showcasing my UX process?
Thanks, Marina.
Teela | Author | August 28, 2015
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Hey Marina! It really depends on how you’re planning to print – having someone else do it, or doing it yourself? My husband had his printed through Blurb.com and it came out really wonderful – I printed and bound mine myself using a this printer and 11″x17″ matte photo paper (this kind). The matte photo paper really made the colors in my portfolio pop and had an expensive feel. Regardless of the type of work you’re showcasing, a great execution is the most important. If you’re not super crafty, I would highly recommend Blurb. Hope that helps!
Suzi | October 6, 2015
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I can not figure out how to print two 5X7 invitations as a .pdf and account for bleed and have trim marks. When I try to place it on a larger artboard it downsizes to a 4×6. Can you please explain it or do a tutorial?
Teela | Author | October 7, 2015
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Hey Suzi! After you create your 5×7 invite (just the one), save it as a pdf and include your trim marks on that pdf. Next, create a new document the size of the paper both invites need to fit on (say, A4 or 11″x8.5″) then go file > place and select the pdf you just saved (you can place pdfs in Illustrator). The pdf with the trim marks will appear – copy that same pdf and paste it right next to the first one and you should be good to go!
Jamie | October 29, 2015
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Hi,
I was wondering if you had any information on where to print wedding invitations with metallic ink or foiling? Is there special colors or anything else that I may need to use ahead time?
Thanks for your help! Your tutorials have been key in creating the design of the invitations!
Teela | Author | November 11, 2015
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Hey Jamie!
I haven’t had any experience with online printers (local specialty printers is where I’ve always gone for foil) – but I found this online printer and this one that look like they offer it, might be worth checking into – they’ll also provide instructions on file set up – I’ve always set gold elements on their own layer (which I label ‘gold elements’) and colored them magenta on the actual file (so it would be obvious they were a special part of the design). Good luck!
Nicole Del Moral | April 7, 2017
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Hi Teela! In this video you mentioned doing your nephews birthday announcements and that they were double sided, do you have a tutorial on how to make invitations double sided?
Teela | Author | April 9, 2017
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I don’t – but I used uprinting.com to print them, and you just create two different files (one front, one back) and upload each as directed on their site 🙂
Jamie | September 11, 2017
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Great article, i like to use local printers too, i feel like they give more back, especially with digital printing being so accessible and reliable!