Stationery - A Vocabulary Lesson

So you don't feel like your overwhelmed, we've come up with a vocabulary lesson to keep you armed and ready to create beautiful and meaningful stationery!

Picking out your stationery or working with an artist to custom-design your invitations is a wee bit more complicated than you may think...there are so many different types of papers, fonts, embellishments and so on to consider. Here are some key terms to know or sound like you know what you're talking about.

Stay tuned as well for a lesson dedicated to PAPER...

Calligraphy: This is the delicate art of penmanship that is usually written in black ink and characterized by formal, dramatic, cursive handwriting. There are various forms of calligraphy - as most stationery is now printed, calligraphy is often employed for the address of the envelope. Speak to a stationery designer about what style will suit your theme.
    Hands: Refers to the range of script styles of calligraphy.

Cardstock (also known as Stock): This is the official term for your chosen paper. It specifically refers to its thickness and weight. Traditionally, wedding invitations are printed on thicker, more luxurious stock.

Dry Embossing: This is a printing technique in which dies are used to create raised fonts and images. The font or design is molded on paper so that it stands out in relief.
    Blind Embossing: The process is the same, but no colour is used.

Wet Embossing: This is a printing technique in which stamps are used to create raised fonts and images on paper. The font or design is stamped onto paper with an ink or other medium. A thermographic powder is then applied and heated so that it stands out in relief.

Engraving: This is a formal printing process, in which steel dies are used to press fonts and imagery into paper. The impressions are evident from the reverse, creating bumps and "bruises on the paper's backside. This is less expensive than letterpress but more expensive than thermography.

Font (also known as Typeface): Font or typeface is the style of lettering chosen. The appearance of the letters is often dictated by the wedding's theme (or vice versa). It is safe to say that the more elaborate the font, the more formal the wedding.
    Point: This refers to the size of the font.

Die: This is the metal plate used to engrave or emboss onto paper. It is used to create the raised fonts, designs or images.

Digital Printing: This method is typical for short print runs of any quantity less than 1,000 copies. A digital printer requires no printing plates, so it is an affordable option. It is used on everyday materials, and it is a good choice if you want to use multiple colours and highly textured paper.

Letterpress: This is the oldest and most elaborate form of printing. The process uses metal plates to manually press and ink an image onto paper. The inked impressions appear raised, creating precise and very opulent fonts and imagery. It enables you to do a lot more and use a greater range of colours, imagery, papers and styles. However, it is also a more expensive printing option. 

Offset Printing: Offset printing uses ink and plates to transfer an image onto paper. Offset printing is a very cost effective option for long, commercial print runs (+1,000)...

Thermography: This is a modern printing technique that mirrors the traditional appearance of engraving. Ink and resin are combined using heated printing sheets to create raised design on paper. This is a very popular printing choice, as it is more affordable than engraving, but it still creates that traditional, sleek effect. The principle difference to engraving is that the impressions are not evident on the paper's backside. 

Vellum: This is a US term for tracing paper commonly used as an overlay for text over an image or the like.