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Wedding Stationery Guide: Foil Stamping

Printing Primer· Wedding Stationery Guide

28 Feb

If you’ve been researching wedding invitations for any time at all, you’ve likely come across an image of a design with gorgeous, shiny, gold foil pressed into cotton paper. It’s eye-catching, elegant, and adds a luxurious, formal feel to any invitation suite. You’re not sure what exactly it is, or how it’s printed, but you know you want that for your wedding invitations. Today that changes! I am going to walk you through the foil stamping process and share ways you can incorporate this stunning printing process into your wedding invitation suite.

foil stamping for wedding invitations

As part of the Wedding Stationery Guide, I’ve put together a primer on printing processes to clear up some of the confusion that comes with ordering wedding invitations. See other posts in the series here: Printing Primer

Today we’re talking about foil stamping! you may have heard of it referred to as “hot foil”, “foil pressed”, or “foiling” This luxury printing process has been around for over a century, commonly used for high-end packaging and book covers. In recent years, foil stamping has become highly popular for wedding invitations. (Gold foil invitations are one of the most common requests I get from my brides!) Foil adds elegance and glamour to traditional wedding invitation designs. It is the perfect touch of shine for a sophisticated, typographic layout, or an extra sparkle for an art deco inspired invitation suite. Hot foil stamping is also the only way to print invitations that have a true shiny gold, copper, rose gold, or silver finish.
foil wedding invitations

Foil stamping is similar to letterpress printing – it uses pressure to transfer color from a printing plate to paper. It requires experience, special equipment, and time. Foil stamping uses sheets of thin metallic foil instead of ink, resulting in a pressed design with a shiny finish.
Like letterpress, a custom die (printing plate) is made, and paper is pressed one piece at a time. However, with foil stamping, the die is made out of magnesium and is heated prior to stamping. The heat seals the foil to the paper. You need to make a separate die for each color of foil used in a design. You can see an example of a custom printing plate for foil stamping below.
custom printing plate for foil stamping

Foil will be the last step in the printing process – it is printed after any letterpress or flat print portion of a design. It can also be printed on top of letterpress – this results in a stunning design with lots of texture.

gold foil over blind letterpress

Foil is shiny and opaque as opposed to letterpress inks that are slightly transparent. This means it can be printed on dark papers with no show through. You can also foil stamp on top of a flat print photograph – this makes for a stunning save the date! I offer four metallic foil colors: gold, silver, rose gold, and copper. Other colors (like white, red, shiny black, or bright pink) are also available.

foil stamped save the date

Because it is a labor intensive process, and due to the cost of creating a custom metal printing plate for each invitation design, foil stamping is the most expensive printing process I offer at Banter & Charm. But it is the only way to have a true shiny metallic finish on your invitation. If you love the look of foil stamping but it’s a little too costly, metallic gold silk screen printing can be a budget friendly alternative. I also offer two ready made foil designs that can be paired with flat printing for a lower price point: Refined and Enchanted.

copper foil and blind letterpress invitations

Foil stamping works best on minimal designs without delicate lines or large areas of color. I offer foil wedding invitations, inserts, envelopes, save the dates, and day of stationery. Banter & Charm’s foil stamp wedding invitation collection showcases designs that truly shine in foil! And I’ll gladly adjust other designs to work with metallic foil printing.

Just like letterpress printing, foil stamping needs to be seen in person to be truly appreciated! Head over to the shop and order a sample foil wedding invitation so you can see the shiny gold, silver, rose gold, or copper foil in person!

Previous Post: « Wedding Stationery Guide: Letterpress Printing
Next Post: How to Choose the Right Paper for Your Wedding Invitations | Wedding Stationery Guide »

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MEET SARAH

Hello! I´m Sarah - I am a mom, wife, and stationery designer living in southwest Michigan. I believe in God and good manners, love beautiful typography, adore traditions, and am infatuated with pretty paper.
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ABOUT ME

I’m Sarah, and I create tailor-made wedding stationery for brides that need a simple, classic invitation design with just the right amount of personality.

Banter & Charm is a Michigan wedding invitation design studio based in St. Joseph. Not local? I serve brides throughout Michigan and northern Indiana, Notre Dame, Chicago, the Midwest, and across the US. Read More…

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BANTER & CHARM

205 Main Street #331
St. Joseph, Michigan 49085
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banterandcharm

I'm a mom, wife, and stationery designer specializing in classic and elegant letterpress wedding invitations based in southwest Michigan

Sarah Guse Brown
Since becoming a mom, I have taken lots of photos Since becoming a mom, I have taken lots of photos of my kids. I mean A LOT. I share them on social media, but I’ve found the older family members (who love seeing photos of the kids so much!) miss out on the online photos. So what better way to share pictures with them than on a Christmas card?⁠
These are just a few of my favorites this season - follow the link in my profile to see more!⁠
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Thinking about sending your first Christmas card a Thinking about sending your first Christmas card as a married couple this year? Or how about letting your holiday card do double duty as a save the date announcement? I've got you covered with Banter & Charm's 2023 holiday collection! Follow the link in bio to see a variety of Christmas save the dates and newlywed holiday cards!⁠
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Looking for a holiday card with a bit of humor thi Looking for a holiday card with a bit of humor this year? I have several new designs available this year that are sure to bring a smile to your face! These are just a few of my favorites, follow the link in bio for the full collection.⁠
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#mintedartist #holidaycards #christmascards #sendmoresnailmail #funnychristmascards #christmasmeme #happymail #snailmailrevolution
Expecting a bundle of joy? Why not send out a holi Expecting a bundle of joy? Why not send out a holiday card that does double duty as a pregnancy announcement? I think this card is the perfect mix of sweet and funny ☺️ Ho Ho Oh is available exclusively @minted (link in profile)⁠
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You can't go wrong with a classic black and white You can't go wrong with a classic black and white color scheme for your wedding stationery, and a pop of gold foil is always a perfect way to add a special touch!⁠
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Photo and styling by @peterson.design.photo⁠
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#bronxzoowedding #bronxzoo #letterpress #banterandcharm #customweddinginvitations #venueillustration #fineartweddings #classicinvitations #blackandwhitewedding #foilstamp #goldfoilinvitations
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes .... well, it doesn't always go just like that 😁 but if you're expecting a baby this year, sharing your pregnancy in your Christmas card is a fun way to celebrate the news.⁠
Follow the link in my profile to see more pregnancy announcement Christmas cards!⁠
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#christmascards2023 #holidaycards2023 #stationerydesigner #mintedartist #minteddesigner #mintedholidaycards #pregnancyannouncement #newbaby #sendmoresnailmail #snailmailrevolution
If your wedding is in a stunning location like Ita If your wedding is in a stunning location like Italy, you need an invitation suite to match! These gorgeous pieces in shades of forest green feature a custom illustration of the couple's wedding location - Borgo Stomennano in Tuscany. A wax seal and gorgeous floral vellum wrap were the perfect finishing touch for this stunning invitation.⁠
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Photo and styling by @peterson.design.photo⁠
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#tuscanwedding #destinationweddings #letterpress #customweddinginvitations #venueillustration #fineartweddings #classicinvitations #winerywedding #waxseal #waxsealinvitations
Whether your pets (or kids😄) have been naughty Whether your pets (or kids😄) have been naughty or nice this year, I have a whole collection of fun holiday cards for you! Or maybe you're just not in the holiday spirit this year but still want to send out a card to your family and friends - there's something for everyone.⁠
If you have a puppy (or cat, or kids), make sure to check out these funny Christmas cards and more - link in profile!⁠
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#dogsofinstagram #petholidaycard #minteddesigner #zazzleholiday #holiday2023 #2023holidaycardcollection #christmascards #naughtyornice #funnychristmascards #dogchristmascard #sendmoresnailmail
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