Category: Printing Tips

Invitation curling will sometimes happen on printers with paper paths that are not straight through. Many of the printer manufacturers have such models. If curling does occur, one suggestion is to take a stack of the curled invitations, and gently bend the stack back and forth. Generally speaking, this will take the curl out of the cards. If you do have access to a straight path printer, such as Canon, Epson, or Lexmark, I suggest that you use them as a first choice.

I have found various types of printers to work better than others. Inkjet printers (printers with a downward feeding mechanism) have a more direct path through the printer. Some bottom-feeding printers might cause certain card stocks to curl more than others.

It is always a good idea to try printing on the printer being considered before making a purchase. Likewise, if there are any concerns regarding whether certain card stocks will perform well on printers that you already have, it is advisable to order samples before making a complete purchase.

Smudging on invitation card stock might be due to one of two things: the type of paper card stock or the type of ink.

• Particular paper card stocks perform best with certain printing processes. Some common printing processes are: inkjet, laser printing, offset, and letterpress. It is best to refer to your printer guidelines to ensure that you are using the right card stock.
• Ink from particular ink manufactures requires more drying time.

Each printer typically will be accompanied by a specification manual from the manufacturer. In the printer manual, there should be a note regarding paper weight handling.

Many times, a printer guide will suggest that the printer can handle up to 110# Index which is not the same as 100# Cover Stock. The unit of measurement Index weight is a much lighter sheet than Cover Stock weight. Therefore 80# or 100# Cover Stock is still a heavier sheet than 110# Index.

Be cautious when testing your papers. Most 80# Cover Stocks will work flawlessly. However, you will need to use care when printing on conventional home printers when considering a heavier weight card stock.