OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Letterpress & Hot Foil Stationery

  • The process behind digital printing simply takes a design/image from a computer and using an electronic printer, it prints the design/image on the surface of the paper. Digital printing inks include cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) toner and ink, which mean digital printing is great for printing photographs. However there are limits to digital printing for example, the heaviest weight of paper that can be used in most digital printers is 300gsm. Also the paper needs to be fairly light in tone as you won’t be able to see the CMYK ink colours on dark shades of paper.

    Whereas letterpress and hot foil are types of relief printing and both need a printing plate to be made. The printing plates that I use come in 2 versions, either a photopolymer or a magnesium version. Letterpress printing uses a photopoylmer plate whereas hot foil printing uses magnesium plates, this is because a hot foil press heats up to around 100 degrees Celsius. Both of these plates gets pushed into the surface of the paper, creating not only a beautiful visual aesthetic but one that you can touch and really feel the tactile embossed and debossed surface of the paper.

    The letterpress & hot foil stationery I print is all printed by hand, feeding each individual piece of paper into the press, (my letterpress printer dates back to the 1920’s!) Letterpress & hot foil stationery differs from digital printing, and creates a beautiful tactile impression into the surface of the paper.

  • The difference between letterpress + hot foil, is that the photopolymer plate used for letterpress printing gets inked up with a very thin layer of special letterpress inks. The paper then gets pushed into the inked photopolymer plate and the ink is left along with a deep impression into the surface of the paper. Whereas hot foil stationery uses a roll of foil which has an adhesive back. This then gets sandwiched between the printing plate and paper, leaving the foil pushed into the surface of the paper.
    I am able to mix pretty much any colour, just be using a few ready made colours, meaning I can match any colour you have in mind. Letterpress inks are also transparent so the best colour paper to use for letterpress printing are white tones. Foils not only come in your typical golds and silvers, but also white, black, matte colours, transparent colours and some special designs too. Meaning foils are great to print with if you want to use a coloured paper.

our ordering process

  • Yes! I always offer clients the choice of having some paper, letterpress, hot foil and general stationery samples sent to you in the post. This means you can see the stationery colours in real life and also feel how amazing and tactile relief printing really is. You can either head to my online shop and order a sample pack from there or get in touch directly if you would like to see more specific samples.

  • I will always send you a digital proof of your design to confirm it before I get set to print. Unfortunately I can’t offer physical proofs as due to the nature of letterpress & hot foil printing this is not possible. The client is responsible for checking that the final digital proof is correct for spelling, grammar and overall design, before I go to print. This is done over email via a design PDF.

  • The choice of letterpress inks is vast as I mix them by hand, meaning you can send me a reference in either HEX or an uncoated Pantone formula to have your stationery printed in. I I will always try and show you the most accurate colour reference when sharing your digital artwork to you, but this colour may vary when I bring your stationery to life. Getting an exact mix to a reference can sometimes not be possible but I do get as close as I can.
    For foil colours, I offer the standard gold, silver and copper, but there are also a wide selection that I can share with you. Depending on the design of your stationery there are fluroescent, matte, special and patterned foils.

  • I aim to get back to you within 2 business days via email.

  • When I send over your quote, this quote will be valid for 30 days. After this, a new quote will need to be re-issued. Quotes are subject to change until your stationery design has been finalised.

  • Yes definitely. The majority of my clients live all over the UK and some actually live internationally.
    Correspondence is mainly done over email to keep a track of our discussion and I am more than happy to send you samples to see in the post.

  • I do not copy any other designer’s work under any circumstances. If you have found a design you like, I suggest that you contact the designer directly and order with them.

  • Yes, our website shows our main stationery products, but if you have some stationery in mind that you haven’t seen, don’t worry… drop us an email and we’ll see if we can design and print it for you.

  • The minimum order quantity starts at 40 pieces per item of stationery and the more you order the cheaper it becomes per unit/piece of stationery

  • Once you have confirmed you would like to proceed with your stationery, I will send you an invoice for the total amount before starting any design or printing services. Payment is settled by BACS.

  • Depending on the size of your order, I post stationery either by Royal Mail or DPD courier. I will let you know the cost of this when sending over your quote. In terms of the environment, this is very important to me and as much as I try to only use eco-friendly packaging when sending your stationery, unfortunately paper can be heavy and if not protected well, it can get damaged. So I do use bubble wrap that’s on it’s second use. Please always try to re-use or recycle the bubble wrap if possible from your parcel instead of throwing it away.

WEDDING STATIONERY

  • Semi-customisable wedding stationery has all the design work done already for you. All you need to do is advise me of your wedding details and pick the colour of your envelopes and design elements. For bespoke stationery I work with you to design a wedding suite/invitation that is truly unique to you. Bespoke stationery has a design fee added, but we can discuss this and your budget when you get in touch.

  • Here are some rough guidelines I suggest to follow for your stationery ahead of your wedding...

    1. Ordering save-the-dates: 1 year in advance or as soon as you know more details about your big day.
    2. Sending save-the-dates: 9 months to 1 year in advance
    3. Ordering wedding invitations: 6-12 months in advance
    4. Sending wedding invitations: 3-6 months in advance

  • Remember you aren’t sending each guest an invitation instead you are sending per household/couple. So as I rough guide I advise couples to order 65-70% of their guest list. It’s also a good idea to have a few spare to allow for mistakes or inviting extra guests.

  • First step is to get in touch with me via our contact form. Then we can chat over email, phone or video call, whatever suits you best. We talk about your big day and your wedding theme / aesthetic (don’t worry if you don’t know the details yet, I can help point you in the right direction). I then send over your first/second/third designs over email and we go back and forth until you are happy. I then get you to check the final artwork for spelling, grammar and overall design. Once you confirm everything is correct, we lock the design in and I move your order into print production. Depending on the amount you are ordering this can take between 3-6 weeks.

  • These are the time-lines I work towards. These are subject to change depending on the design work involved, any extras you would like to add, the quantity of stationery you are ordering and the number of items within your wedding suite.
    For my semi-customisable wedding collections follow the below...
    1. Design turnaround 2-4 weeks
    (subject to couples responding to emails within 2 working days, and vice versa)
    2. Print Production 3-6 weeks
    For bespoke wedding suites the whole process can take around 4 months

  • If you would like to add more personal touches to your chosen wedding design, I can definitely accommodate this. Just let me know as soon as you get in touch and I will advise the extra design fee and slightly longer lead-times involved. We offer extras like venue illustrations, detailed maps, bespoke monogram, and belly bands.

  • Yes I do! I love the idea of your on-the-day wedding stationery matching your invitations. I offer everything from name places, table signs, table plans, welcome signs and order of the day signs. Get in touch to find out more about this products and I can let you know designs and prices.

BUSINESS STATIONERY

  • Semi-customisable business stationery has all the design work done already. All you need to do is advise me of your details and pick the colour of your paper and design elements. Bespoke business stationery I work with you to design a set of stationery that is truly unique to you and your business. Bespoke stationery has a design fee added, but we can discuss your this and your budget when you get in touch.

  • First step is to get in touch with me via our contact form. Then we can chat over email, phone or video call, whatever suits you best. We talk about your business, the stationery you’re after and your brand aesthetic. I then send over your first/second/third designs over email and we go back and forth until you are happy. I then get you to check the final artwork for spelling, grammar and overall design. Once you confirm everything is correct, we lock the design in and I move your order into print production. Depending on the amount you are ordering this can take between 3-6 weeks.

  • These are the time-lines I work towards. These are subject to change depending on the design work involved, the quantity of stationery you are ordering and the print process you have chosen to use.
    For semi-customisable business stationery follow the below...
    1. Design turnaround 2-4 weeks
    (subject to the client responding to emails within 2 working days, and vice versa)
    2. Print Production 3-6 weeks
    For bespoke business stationery the whole process can take anytime from 2 - 4 months

  • Yes, I can print your logo as long as its in a workable format and that it has no shading or different tones. For example it needs to be in a black and white outlined vector format so I can change the colour of it and ideally in an Adobe Illustrator or an EPS file. I will do my best to work with you to get it to a workable format, so please don’t let this put you off getting in touch.

  • I always try and offer as close of a match as I can when it comes to your paper and print colours. I use a paper that has over 50 different colours for you to pick from, and I’m happy to send you swatches in the post so you can them in real life. I mix all my letterpress inks by hand and so can get a close match to a HEX or uncoated Pantone reference.

  • Yes, I love working with clients to design their dream logo. I work with new and existing businesses to create a branding package that is perfect for your business. Just get in touch with me to find out more!

PERSONALISED CORRESPONDENCE

  • Semi-customisable personalised stationery has all the design work done already. All you need to do is advise me of your details and pick the colour of your paper and design elements. Bespoke personalised stationery I work with you to design a set of stationery that is truly unique to you and your requirements. Bespoke stationery has a design fee added, but we can discuss your this and your budget when you get in touch.

  • First step is to get in touch with me via our contact form. Then we can chat over email, phone or video call, whatever suits you best. We talk about the personalised stationery that you’re after and I suggest ways to bring this to life. I then send over your first/second/third designs over email and we go back and forth until you are happy. I then get you to check the final artwork for spelling, grammar and overall design. Once you confirm everything is correct, we lock the design in and I move your order into print production. Depending on the amount you are ordering this can take between 3-6 weeks.

  • These are the time-lines I work towards. These are subject to change depending on the design work involved, the quantity of stationery you are ordering and the print process you have chosen to use.
    For semi-customisable personalised correspondence follow the below...
    1. Design turnaround 2-4 weeks
    (subject to client responding to emails within 2 working days, and vice versa)
    2. Print Production 3-6 weeks
    For bespoke personalised correspondence the whole process can take anytime from 2 - 4 months

  • Yes definitely! I love adding personal touches to your stationery. If you would like to add an illustration of your home then I will advise the cost of this once I find out some more details. Please head over to our “Personalised Correspondence” page where you can see past examples of my illustrations. Also once your illustration is complete you get to keep a PDF copy.

  • Yes definitely! I love adding personal touches to your stationery. Currently I have a library of 40+ motifs all ready for you to pick from. However if you would like to add a bespoke motif that you can’t see I would love to work with you to bring your ideas to life. We can discuss the motif you would like and then I will advise the cost of this before proceeding.