Addressing your invitations
Here’s the skinny on what to do after you have ordered your lovely invitations to herald your event. The first question you may have is “how should I address them?”
Handwritten envelopes are certainly the most personal way of inviting guests. If you have nice handwriting, this is certainly the sensible way to proceed. However, most of us do not have wonderful penmanship and we would be afraid to waste an abundance of costly envelopes… so, it is time to think about calligraphy!
Hand calligraphy vs. computerized calligraphy
The upside of hand calligraphy is that is beautiful. Talented calligraphers can modify typefaces to match the scripts on your invitations, metallic and white inks look particularly good in hand calligraphy and when your invitation is received, your guests will know it is a special piece of mail. Some envelopes are too thick and complicated to address by computer, so you may not have a choice… and need to spend more to get the job done!
The downside of hand calligraphy is that you are beholden to an individual who goes on vacation or has a family emergency….and while a reputable calligrapher will provide you with a backup plan, they are only human. Hand calligraphy also costs more. I have seen calligraphers charge anywhere from $3.25 to $10.00 an envelope, depending on font, ink and paper. We gladly take hand calligraphy jobs from our customers, and use a handful of dedicated calligraphers who we know to be qualified and talented.
Computerized calligraphy, “ink jet” and “pen and ink” systems at Blacker and Kooby
Computerized calligraphy is a more cost effective way to address a mailing, neatly and on a timely basis. At Blacker and Kooby, we do two kinds of computerized calligraphy.
We run envelopes through an ink jet printer… and depending on your envelopes and ink, they run $1.35 to $2.00 an envelope, plus a small set up fee. Envelopes printed by ink jets are very lovely, and neat. They do not detract from your invitation, and there is not much waste of envelope stock. We have 150 fonts and we can adjust point size and justification, meaning centered, flush left or flush right. For more modern layouts and fonts, most customers prefer using the ink jet system if their envelopes will allow.
With the ink jet, we can match your ink color very closely. Metallics can be a bit of a challenge, but we have samples to show you how we handle gold and silver jobs. We cannot do white ink with the ink jet system, but have no fear, we have another system to service your needs!
Our pen and ink system is fabulous for doing white and metallic inks. These envelopes generally run $3.00 to $4.00 for three lines, plus a small set up fee. Apart from handling tricky ink colors, and allowing us to do thicker envelopes, an added plus of this system is that is looks more hand done. The stylus that inks the envelope is essentially a mechanical hand, and it doubles up over itself to add flourishes, which creates thin and thick lines mimicking hand calligraphy.
In the end, what really matters is that the mode of addressing that you chose adds to, and does not detract from your invitation, and that your mailing will be properly delivered.