DIY invites- designing myself then printing online. Confused!

Hi, not sure how much help I will be but I will share the little knowledge I have anyway.

I have designed invitations for work and we don't have photoshop and those sorts of packages but I find Publisher is really good. I think it comes with most Microsoft office packages such as word, excel and powerpoint.

It allows you to set your papersize to what you want so that you work within the right size and to the scale you are happy with. You are able to insert images off the internet too. (I think in any file format but I usually use jpg, pdf and png files).

once I have designed the invitation I save it as a jpg and pdf format. At this stage I usually send it to a printing shop such as prontaprint who are national and they print it on card of my choice.

I am not sure how much tweaking of my designs they have had to do behind the scenes but as far as I am aware they don't have to do any and the quality and finish is great with no bleeding or blurred images.

I have never used an online printer before so cant comment on how helpful, cost effective or efficient they are but I would suggest enquiring with a local company to see how they compare for price and I always find it a reassurance to be able to speak to someone directly who is local so I can pop in if needs be.

One other thing to think about is the thickness of the card you want them printed on as you can, in theory, go from as thin as tissue/ tracing paper write up to cardboard thickness. you can also have a variety of matt or shiny card. This would all alter the price and was something I found really useful in going into the shop and being able to feel the card and deciding on how thick I wanted it.

I hope I have explained it well enough to help in some way. I am not a computer wiz kid, its been a case of trial and error! haha

Thank you! That's really helpful. Hadn't thought of microsoft publisher as have never used it, but probably better than using word!

Hmmm was thinking of doing it online as they seemed to have better prices and they sent out free samples of card which was helpful, but I also prefer speaking to people so will have a scout about my area now.

Feeling more reassured that it's possible for an amateur to do now anyway!

Oooh thanks too, cliftonbride. So with the page sizing on powerpoint did you make it a bit bigger than the finished product like they seem to do on the templates? That's my main confusion! They leave a border for them to cut off it seems? If that makes sense!

That's really good that they sent samples of the card, that will help a lot. I know a lot of people who have used Vistaprint in the past and have only ever had really good things to say about the company, the service and the end product.

From my past experience of the printers I have been able to get about 250 invitations (1/3 of an A4 size) printed on 160 mg card (colour both sides) for about £90 including proof reading. I usually get them back within 3 days. That being said, when I get to the stage of sorting mine out I will definitely go with an online company if they are cheaper! haha.

I wouldn't advise using word if you want it to be good quality and like Cliftonbride said the quality of the images sometimes might not as sharp as you would like. Publisher is really easy to use and gives ideas of where to place things and formats should you want double sided etc. I have also not had any bad experiences in terms of image quality. If you have the time I would definitely say give it a try see if you like using it.

Just on a point Cliftonbride made:"I used this site: http://pdf2jpg.net/ to convert the PDF to JPEG."

You don't need to go to the internet to save as a jpg or pdf. If you are using a Microsoft computer (i.e., not a MAC- never used one so not sure how they work!) then when you are ready to save, underneath where you enter the file name for the document it will say "Save as type" if you do it in powerpoint it will say "PowerPoint Presentation". If you click on this box it will give a long list of other file types you can save it to including "PDF" and "JPEG file interchange" format. These are the two types you need. This is a slightly quicker/ easier way. This is found in the same place on Publisher.

Cliftonbride- like I said I have never used a MAC so wouldn't know about that but in connection to a PC the resolution has always been spot on for when I send it to the printers. Maybe an even higher resolution is needed for the online printing companies? But like I said in my first post I am not sure how much tweaking is done behind the scenes at the printers so they very well could change the resolution. However, considering I usually send it to them as a final JPEG I don't think they do!

Like I said also, I usually do it in Publisher which IMO is better than Powerpoint and Word for invitations/ posters so maybe it automatically saves/ converts things to a higher resolution. I'm not sure. In other words I have never had to reset the resolution quality myself, I have always just saved it to the automatic settings.

I designed my invites myself and got them printed from printed.com. I would really recommend them. This was my first time doing something like this and they were so helpful. I designed them in Microsoft publisher and found it really easy to use for a first timer. When creating the document size you can add in the bleed amount. Printed.com asked me to add 3mm bleed to the file. I saved document as a Pdf and uploaded onto printed.com and was really happy with quality of invites. We got 50 invites and RSVPs both double sided, Invite was A5 size and RSVP was postcard size, for less than £40. You should definitely give it a try!

Hi,

I designed my own invites and used Printed.com. I found the templates to be really difficult, so I made mine in word, and then saved it as a PDF. I even downloaded my own fonts, and they turned out beautifully! Printed.com is so reasonable, really fast and efficient delivery. If you need to know anything else just ask!

I received an email invitation and I need to sign it. Tell me how can I make an electronic signature on an invitation in PDF format?

Creating your own design and printing online can be overwhelming. From selecting the right format to ensuring print quality, the process involves many decisions. If you’re confused, start by using professional design tools with high-resolution templates. Consider digital signage solutions for a modern approach, as they offer dynamic, customizable options beyond traditional printing. Before finalizing, check the printer’s guidelines to avoid formatting issues. Many online services provide previews, so review your design carefully. Whether printing banners, business cards, or posters, planning ahead ensures a seamless experience and professional results. Take your time, and soon, you’ll master the process.