Evorrah

Send exactly this
to your print shop

A complete guide to printing your designs beautifully

Caroline Calloway & Whitaker CallowayBaptismJune 27, 2027St. Cecilia's Chapel, 12 Legare Street, Charleston
01
Step 01

The files your printer needs

Your Evorrah designs are delivered print-ready and wait in your client portal, one PDF per piece. Send the PDF exactly as received — do not resize, re-export, or adjust colours, and do not let a print shop “fix” it for you without telling you what they changed. If a printer asks for a native file, they have misunderstood: a print-ready PDF is the native file.

Format
PDF, print-ready
Colour Mode
CMYK
Resolution
300 DPI minimum
Bleed
0.125″ on all sides
Colour Profile
GRACoL2013 (CRPC6) — the US sheetfed standard, already embedded in your files
Measured on your files — not yet recorded. The specification above is what Evorrah intends for each piece; once your files pass the studio's print preflight, this guide will also carry the trim, bleed and ink coverage measured on the files themselves. Ask Evorrah for the measured sheet before a large run.
02
Step 02

Your pieces, and how many of each

Send these files to a specialty stationery printer. The quantity column is the part to read twice: these pieces do not all count the same way, and a single number applied to every row is how people order ten times more table numbers than they have tables.

PiecePrint specificationsHow many
InvitationPDF · CMYK · 5×7″ · 0.125″ bleedOne per householdcount the envelopes you will post, not the guests — a couple at one address is one
Save the DatePDF · CMYK · 5×7″ · 0.125″ bleedOne per householdcount the envelopes you will post, not the guests — a couple at one address is one
Envelope & LinerPDF · CMYK · confirm trim and stock with your printerOne per householdcount the envelopes you will post, not the guests — a couple at one address is one
Order of ServicePDF · CMYK · A5 Folded (5.83×8.27″) · 0.125″ bleed8274 guests + 8 spare for proofs and mistakes
Luncheon MenuPDF · CMYK · confirm trim and stock with your printer8274 guests + 8 spare for proofs and mistakes
Place CardPDF · CMYK · 2×3.5″ folded · 0.125″ bleed8274 guests + 8 spare for proofs and mistakes
Favour TagPDF · CMYK · 2×3.5″ · 0.125″ bleed8274 guests + 8 spare for proofs and mistakes
Thank You CardPDF · CMYK · 4.25×5.5″ · 0.125″ bleedOne per householdcount the envelopes you will post, not the guests — a couple at one address is one
“One per household” is not a number, and that is deliberate. Evorrah records how many guests you have, not how many addresses you post to — a married couple at one address is one invitation, one reply card, one envelope. Count your envelopes and use that figure, then add ten per cent.
03
Step 03

Paper, ink and finishing

These are the materials you chose in your briefing. Every one of them changes what your printer has to do, what it costs, and how long it takes — so this is the part to read aloud to them.

Paper
Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges
Printing technique
Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths
Finishing
  • Printed envelope liner of the toile garden; no foil — confirm with your printer what this involves and whether they do it in-house.
  • no emboss — confirm with your printer what this involves and whether they do it in-house.
  • no wax seal — confirm with your printer what this involves and whether they do it in-house.
Allow this much time
Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths — 3–5 weeks — letterpress studios often book out weeks in advance. Start this conversation as soon as designs are approved.
04
Step 04

Your printing timetable

Counted backwards from your event. These use typical trade turnarounds for Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths — they are a plan to check against your printer, not a promise from one. The only date here that cannot move is the last.

WhatBy whenWhy
Your files reach youMay 16, 2027from the studio
Place the print orderApril 29, 2027safely — May 13, 2027 is the last date that still works at the fast end of production
Approve your proofMay 16, 2027allow 10 days for a physical proof to reach you and go back
Pieces in your handsJune 20, 2027a week before, never the day before
Your eventJune 27, 2027—
Your files are scheduled to reach you after the last date above. Speak to the studio and to your printer before you commit to a stock or a finish — a faster technique, or splitting the order so the pieces used on the day print first, is the usual way through.
Invitations run on a different clock
Everything above is the timetable for the pieces used on the day. Invitations have to be posted six to eight weeks before the event — ten to twelve if guests are travelling to you — which for June 27, 2027 means posting by around May 2, 2027. Your reply-by date is June 6, 2027, so guests need the invitation in hand well before it. If that date is tight, ask the studio about sending the save the date first.
05
Step 05

What to say to your stationery printer

Send this to your print shop by email, or read it out in person. It contains everything a shop needs to quote without a second exchange.

Your message — copy and send

“Hi, I have print-ready PDFs from my designer at Evorrah — CMYK, 300 DPI, 0.125″ bleed, colour profile GRACoL2013 (CRPC6). I would like them printed on Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges, letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths. Finishing: Printed envelope liner of the toile garden; no foil, no emboss, no wax seal. Quantities: Order of Service ×82, Luncheon Menu ×82, Place Card ×82, Favour Tag ×82. Invitation, Save the Date, Envelope & Liner and Thank You Card are one per household — I will confirm the exact envelope count. Please send me a physical proof on the actual stock before starting the full run. I need the finished pieces by May 16, 2027. Please confirm paper availability, the setup or die charges, and your turnaround before proceeding. Thank you.”

06
Step 06

The specification sheet — forward this page

This is the page to send your printer as it is. It states every piece, its exact finished size, the bleed, the colour mode, the paper, the method and how many — everything a shop needs to quote and to run the job without a second exchange.

PieceSpecificationPaperMethodHow many
Invitation PDF · CMYK · 5×7″ · 0.125″ bleed Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths One per household
Save the Date PDF · CMYK · 5×7″ · 0.125″ bleed Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths One per household
Envelope & Liner PDF · CMYK · confirm trim and stock with your printer Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths One per household
Order of Service PDF · CMYK · A5 Folded (5.83×8.27″) · 0.125″ bleed Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths 82
Luncheon Menu PDF · CMYK · confirm trim and stock with your printer Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths 82
Place Card PDF · CMYK · 2×3.5″ folded · 0.125″ bleed Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths 82
Favour Tag PDF · CMYK · 2×3.5″ · 0.125″ bleed Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths 82
Thank You Card PDF · CMYK · 4.25×5.5″ · 0.125″ bleed Soft-white cotton rag, 600 gsm duplex, deckled on the long edges Letterpress from photopolymer, one blue ink in three tint strengths One per household
Finishing: Printed envelope liner of the toile garden; no foil, no emboss, no wax seal. Colour: CMYK, output intent GRACoL2013 (CRPC6), profile embedded — small type is 100% K only, please do not re-separate. Files: print-ready PDFs supplied by Evorrah. Please do not resize, re-crop or re-typeset anything; if a file will not run as supplied, email hello@evorrah.com before altering it and a corrected file comes back the same day. Proof: a physical proof on the production stock is required before the run — not a laser copy on office paper. In hand by: June 20, 2027. Event: June 27, 2027.
07
Step 07

When the proof arrives

A proof is not a formality and it is not a preview — it is the last moment the job is still free to change. Check these six things, in this order, in daylight rather than under a lamp.

1
Every name, date and time
Read them aloud, and have somebody who did not write them read them too. Names and dates are what actually gets reprinted, far more often than colour.
2
The paper, by hand
Weight, texture and colour of the sheet itself. If it is not the stock you asked for, say so now — this is the one thing that cannot be corrected after the run.
3
Colour, against your other pieces
Lay the proof beside the rest of the suite. Colours drift between stocks and between presses; what matters is that the pieces look like one another, not that they match a screen.
4
The trim edge
Nothing important should sit closer than about 3 mm to the cut. Check the corners of the sheet and the edges of any border — trimming varies by a hair across a run.
5
The smallest type in the suite
Fine type is where a texture, a foil or a technique gives up first. If it has broken up or filled in, it will do so on every copy.
6
The whole thing, assembled
Card in envelope, liner in place, seal on. Ask for one complete assembled sample. A suite can be right piece by piece and still not close.
Approve in writing, and keep the approved proof. If a delivered run does not match it, the proof is what the conversation is about.
A different printer from your stationery
08
Step 08

Large format pieces

Seating charts, welcome signs and signage go to a large-format printer — a shop like FedEx Office, Staples, or a local sign and display printer. This is a separate order from your stationery, usually a few days rather than a few weeks, and it is the one part of your suite you should NOT hand to the stationery shop. Large-format shops supply their own board or paper: send the print-ready PDF and specify the dimensions.

PiecePrint specificationsHow many
Welcome SignPDF · CMYK · 24×36″ · 0.125″ bleed1a single display piece — no spare margin applies
Ask for the board to be mounted on foam board or Dibond if it will stand on an easel, and ask to see it standing before you leave — a 24×36″ print on unmounted paper curls within an hour.
09
Step 09

What to say to your large-format printer

Your message — copy and send

“Hi, I have print-ready PDFs at 300 DPI, CMYK with 0.125″ bleed. I need the following large-format pieces printed: Welcome Sign. Please advise on your available board options and mounting, confirm the exact print dimensions, and send me a digital proof before the full run. I need the pieces by May 16, 2027. Thank you.”

Your suite includes a wax seal
10
Specialty vendor

Wax seals — an artisan, not a print shop

Wax seals are not produced by a print shop and no printer will quote for them. You need a wax-seal artisan or specialty supplier — search Etsy for custom wax seal makers, or use a dedicated wax studio. The studio delivers the artwork; the vendor either cuts a brass stamp from it or produces ready-made seals with your design on an adhesive backing.

Two practical points nobody mentions until it is late: ready-made adhesive seals survive the post, hand-poured seals on a sealed envelope often do not — if the seals must travel, ask for adhesive-backed. And if the invitation is engraved or letterpressed, order the seals early enough to test one on the real envelope before the whole run is stuffed.

Your message — copy and send

“Hi, I have a custom wax seal design file from my designer (1.25″ diameter, high-res PNG and vector PDF). I need wax seals produced in a colour that matches my event palette — I’ll send you the hex codes. Please confirm available wax colours, minimum order quantity, per-unit price, whether they are adhesive-backed, and production time. I need them by May 16, 2027. Thank you.”

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If this is your first time

Choosing a printer

A commercial printer and a stationery printer are different trades. The shop that prints your business cards well will not necessarily letterpress a cotton sheet well, and asking the wrong shop produces a cheap quote and a disappointing object.

✦
Afterwards

When they arrive

Photograph them before they are posted — flat, from directly above, in morning light near a window, and close enough to read the paper. Foil, emboss and grain only exist in macro, and once the invitations are in the post the whole set is never in one place again. If you post them anywhere, tag @evorrah and we will reshare.

Questions before printing? hello@evorrah.com