With that said, there are certainly a few things that you can do as a customer to help us make sure that your product looks great.
PHOTOS
This is perhaps the most important section of this blog post. PaperStyle offers a wonderful selection of photo cards (though we're a bit biased, aren't we), but in order for that card to look its very best, the photo should be equally as wonderful. It’s particularly important that your photo is of good quality. Our TypeStylists have the technology to edit your photo to an extent, but in order for the photo to print well on your card, it needs to be a good photo to begin with. Here’s what we mean:
When providing us with a photo, check for pixel measurement and resolution (often referred to as dpi [dots per inch] or ppi [pixels per inch]). The difference between the two is that ppi measures the pixel resolution of your photo on either your camera or computer screen; dpi refers to the resolution of your printed image. A photo with a minimum resolution of 300 ppi or dpi will print very well, given that the measurement of your photo directly relates to the size of the photo on the invite. If the space provided is a small square, your photo should have a high resolution, but doesn’t need to be large. However, if your photo fits into half or all of the design, your photo will print best if it’s large and has a high resolution. Submitting a picture with a lower resolution means that your photo will potentially be unclear at the time of printing.
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| If you have a PC, viewing the properties of a picture is pretty straightforward. Right-click on the photo or file and a menu box will pop up. Click on the "Properties" option and another box will pop up listing the image properties of your photo. The image above is 4608px by 3072px at 300 dpi. That's a pretty big image. This image could be printed at a very large size and it would still be clear. |
It’s also important to note that if you’re scanning a photo, most scanners allow you to choose your ppi when you scan and store your file. 300 captures more detail of the scanned image, so if you have the option to store your file at that resolution, do it. Also, when you scan your picture(s), please be sure to save them as .jpegs. Sending us a file saved in a PDF format isn't something we can use and will most likely delay the shipment of your order. Though this may seem like a lot of information, we highly encourage you to scan your photos, rather than taking a picture of a picture. Chances are, that photo will be distorted and discolored.
It's important to understand that the orientation of your photo should match the orientation of the photo space on your card. Adding portrait-oriented pictures into landscape-oriented spaces will leave empty space on the sides of your photo; doing the reverse will cut off much of your picture.
On that same note, be careful with cropped photos. Cropping reduces the size of your photo, which means that even a high resolution photo could be unclear if it’s too small for the space on your invitation/announcement. It’s better to send or insert the whole photo into the photo space, then leave a note for a TypeStylist in the "special instructions box" on the personalization page to crop how you’d like it. If it’s possible, our TypeStylists or PaperStylists will be more than happy to help you out.
WORDING
When it comes to the wording of your invitation, announcement, thank you note, etc., the biggest piece of advice that we can give you is to double, triple, even quadruple-check your order before submitting. A good way to be sure that you have all your pertinent information on your card is to have a checklist. Do you have...
- Date
- Time
- Place
- Rsvp (date to RSVP by & necessary contact info, such as phone number or email address)
- Extra requests: proper attire, parking information, early arrival time for surprise parties, host or cash bars, etc.
We review every invitation and try very hard to catch any errors before your order leaves our facility, however, some things may slip by. Our TypeStylists and Quality Control team members check for grammar, spelling and spacing errors, but by ensuring that everything on your invitation is correct before you submit your order to us, there is less room for us to interpret something incorrectly. For example, we often receive invitation orders with no RSVP information on them. It’s difficult for us to interpret whether you purposely omitted the RSVP info, or simply forgot to include it.
SPACING & ALIGNMENT
The spacing of your invitation shouldn't be something you worry too much about. Our TypeStylists are here to help ensure that your product is going to look beautiful. However, we have seen plenty of TypeStylist notes in the "special instructions" box about customers having difficulty adding new text lines to their invitation. So, here's a (hopefully) helpful visual to show you how to add extra lines to your invitation, should you need them:
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| As you can see, there is an "Add Line" option in the toolbar that will appear above your item on the personalization page. Clicking that option will create a new, empty line in the center of the design that you can fill with your desired text, then move to the appropriate space using your mouse or the arrow keys on the left-side toolbar. |
If you still find yourself struggling to get it to look the way you want it to, feel free to leave a note in the "special instructions" box.
Now, that was pretty painless, right? Lots of reading, we know, but it's good for you, like eating your vegetables. We like to think that with this handy-dandy little blog post, you're well on your way to becoming a pro at ordering online invitations (from PaperStyle, obviously...).
As always, we want our customers to know that we are always available to assist you with your order, whatever the issue might be. We work very hard to ensure your complete satisfaction with your products.
Like all the info you've gotten from this post? Be sure to check out our (frequently updated) Invitation Resource Board on Pinterest, for all sorts of tips, tricks, and articles to help you out.
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