The
first impression that most people will have of a wedding is the
invitation that they receive. While most couples want to send out a
great first impression of the big event, it is also necessary that most
couples control spending wherever and however possible. Weddings are
expensive and very complicated to plan, so it is wise to try to cut the
budget where it is possible. There are many beautiful inexpensive
wedding invitations available to set the mood for a wide variety of
weddings. They serve the primary purpose of informing the invitees
about the event; well chosen ones can also set the right mood.There are two main differences between more expensive and less expensive printed invitations. First, the weight and quality of the paper (which is called card stock) will be a major factor in price. The thicker and better the card stock, the more elegant and expensive the invitation will be. Luckily, there is a vast variety of card stocks available for those hoping to produce inexpensive wedding invitations tat still look good. a medium grade card stock can cost less than half of the top shelf styles, yet still make a very nice impression. Colored card stock can also add to the appearance of the invitation.
Secondly, the type of printing that is used will effect the look and feel of the finished product. Flat printing produces the image on the card stock with no particular special effect. Thermography printing, on the other hand, uses heated inks that produce a raised image on the paper. Thermographic printing is far more expensive and is usually not considered when pricing out inexpensive wedding invitations. Flat printing these days is generally very high quality, with a vast array of ink colors available to achieve special effects.
At the very low end of the wedding invitation scale are the 'do it your self' invitations and kits that are available for use with a computer and printer. A laser printer will produce much higher quality invitations than an ink jet printer, though the really good inkjet printers are much more reliable than they used to be. It is also very important to compare prices carefully. The cost of inexpensive wedding invitations can actually be less than the home made ones. Print cartridges can be quite expensive, especially for laser printers. When added to the cost of the special papers used, it is possible that the cost of an overall package of professionally produced invitations will be lower.