Custom Colors and Printing: Frequently Asked Questions
Color Questions:- I do not see a color that I like offered for any of your existing designs. Do you have any other colors available?
- I only have a PMS (Pantone) color. Can you match it exactly?
- What is a PMS (Pantone) color? What is a CMYK color? And what is the difference between a PMS color and a CMYK color?
- I have a specific color that I would like to use, but I do not know what the PMS or CMYK value is. What should I do?
- I found the perfect color, but it is a paint swatch. What should I do?
- I found the color that I want on a website. Can I just give you the URL for the site?
- I want to change the background color of my invitations to a dark blue, but the text is black. Can I change the color of the text?
- How much is it to customize the color(s) of my invitation?
- If I need more cards, can I order them at a later date and expect the colors to match exactly with my original order?
- What kind of printer do you use to print your cards?
- Can I print out your color swatches on my home printer and choose a color?
- What type of paper are the cards printed on?
- I want to submit a photo for my card. Are there any restrictions in printing photos?
- I do not see a color that I like offered for my favorite letterpress design. Do you have any other colors available?
- I've found a specific color that I'd like to use for my invitations. Can you customize my letterpress design with this color?
- I found a letterpress design that I love, but would like to customize it with a full color background. Can you do this?
- I found a font on a different design that I like more. Can I change the font style of my preferred letterpress design?
- My favorite letterpress design comes on your William Arthur White paper choice. Is there any way that I can get this design printed on your William Arthur Ecru paper?
- What kind of printer do you use for letterpress printing?
- Who is William Arthur?
- What type of paper do you use for your letterpress cards?
- Can I print out your letterpress designs on my home printer to make my final decision?
- Can I print my photo on your letterpress cards?
COLOR QUESTIONS
1. I do not see a color that I like offered for any your existing designs. Do you have any other colors available?
Yes. If you cannot find a color that suits your needs on our site, we now offer a Custom Color Options Card, which is a collection of 30 of our top-requested custom colors. The card is printed on the actual paper on which our invitations are printed, and the colors can be used for any of our designs.
click on image to purchase card
BACK TO TOP
2. I only have a PMS (Pantone) color. Can you match it exactly?
No. Our cards are printed on a commercial 4-color (CMYK) digital printing press. Therefore, we cannot guarantee an exact match to your PMS color (or any other spot colors). We do have resources to convert your PMS color to a CMYK color; however, the printed colors will not be an exact match.
BACK TO TOP
3. What is a PMS (Pantone) color? What is a CMYK color? And what is the difference between a PMS color and a CMYK color?
Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a color labeling system created by an independent company named Pantone. The colors are created and labeled by Pantone. The Pantone system is the largest color matching system available today.
A PMS color is a spot color. A spot color is a color that is created by pre-mixing a number of existing colors. Therefore, the ink used in a spot color print run is already pre-mixed and only that ink is printed on the paper.
CMYK, which is often referred to as 4-color process, on the other hand, uses four inks (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black) in different combinations to create various colors. Therefore, each color on a 4-color process print run is created by combining the four different inks on the paper to create a color.
The difference between PMS and CMYK colors is the PMS color is pre-mixed prior to the printing process, whereas CMYK colors are created during the printing process by combining four inks. Therefore, the CMYK version of a color will often print darker and duller than its PMS counterpart.
Above graphic for visual demonstration purpose only - not an accurate representation of the colors.
BACK TO TOP
4. I have a specific color that I would like to use, but I do not know what the PMS or CMYK value is. What should I do?
You have a few options.
Option 1: Choose a color from our website. If you have a general idea of the color you need, we recommend perusing our website to see if we offer a color that closely matches the color for which you are searching. Different designs offer different color options, but we are able to print any of our designs using any of the colors we offer on our site. Printed sample swatches of these colors are available at no charge to you. Please give us a call, and we will be happy to send out the swatches for your review.
Option 2: Order a Custom Color Options Card. If you cannot find a color on our site that you like, another option is to order our Custom Color Options Card. This card will provide you with a selection of 30 pre-selected custom colors from which you can choose. The card is printed on the same paper as our wedding invitations, so the printed colors are an accurate representation of the colors you will get with your order.
Option 3: Find a CMYK color. If you need a more specific color that is not on our website or our Custom Color Options Card, our next recommendation is to find a book that displays CMYK color swatches. A good one that is available online is the Tintbook (www.tintbook.com). This book may be available at local bookstores and libraries. Any time you use a book to choose a color, please keep in mind that our wedding invitations are printed on 110 lb. uncoated card stock. The printed color you see will depend on the type of paper, the thickness (weight) of paper, the texture of the paper and the coating (or lack thereof) of the paper. Try to view colors that are printed on thicker uncoated paper. The Tintbook offers two books - be sure to purchase (or look through) the uncoated version (although it is printed on 80 lb. paper, it still will give you a close representation of how that color will print on our card stock and printing press).
Option 4: Find a PMS color. If you cannot find the Tintbook and/or do not wish to purchase it, we suggest contacting a local print shop or specialty art supplies store. Most of these places will have a PMS color book that you can look through to find a color that best matches your desired color. Be sure to look at the PMS color book for uncoated paper. Once you find the PMS value that best matches your color, ask the shop if they have a Color Bridge for uncoated paper. If so, find your PMS value in the book and look at the color to the right of your swatch. That is the CMYK version of the color you chose. You will notice that the colors are not an exact match (refer to question #3). The CMYK version will be a closer representation of the color you will see on your invitations. If you are satisfied with that color, make note of the CMYK values for that swatch and provide those values to us when requesting a custom color.
Option 5: Contact us. If you have a very specific color you would like to use and none of the above options work for you, please give us a call and one of our color specialists will assist you in finding the color that best matches your desired color.
BACK TO TOP
5. I found the perfect color, but it is a paint swatch. What should I do?
Unfortunately, we are not able to match paint color swatches. To find the best color match to the paint swatch (or any other swatch - i.e., dress swatch, ribbon swatch, etc.), please find the closest color in one of our recommended resources mentioned above (Options 1-4). If you are not able to find a color or do not have access to some or all of the beforementioned resources, please feel free to contact us. One of our color specialists will assist you in finding the best color to match your swatch. Please note, you may be asked to mail us the swatch.
BACK TO TOP
6. I found the color that I want on a website. Can I just give you the URL for the site?
No. Because of calibration differences, we are not able to accept a color request made from a color viewed on a computer monitor or a printout of a color from a non-calibrated printer. If you like what you see on the printout, please send us the printed color, and our color specialists will find the closest matching CMYK color to your printout.
BACK TO TOP
7. I want to change the background color of my invitations to a dark blue, but the text is black. Can I change the color of the text?
Yes. We are able to accommodate most color change requests for designs and text. If we are not able to make a color change, one of our representatives will contact you immediately to discuss your options. If you are unsure of what colors will best compliment the colors you choose for the design, feel free to give us a call, and one of our color specialists will be more than happy to assist you.
BACK TO TOP
8. How much is it to customize the color(s) of my invitation?
The customization charge is $15 for each color change (to the design and/or text). Text color changes to black, chocolate brown or white are made with no additional charge.
BACK TO TOP
9. If I need more cards, can I order them at a later date and expect the colors to match exactly with my original order?
Final print colors may vary slightly over time due to regular press calibrations and natural variations in paper weight and stock. Thus, we cannot guarantee an exact color match for orders placed on different dates for the same item or items sharing the same color palette.
BACK TO TOP
PRINTING QUESTIONS
1. What kind of printer do you use to print your cards?
Our cards are printed on a commercial 4-color process digital printing press.
BACK TO TOP
2. Can I print out your color swatches on my home printer and choose my color?
No. To ensure that you receive accurate colors, we strongly discourage choosing a color from our Custom Color Options Card that was viewed on your computer monitor or printed on your home printer. For more information, please see Question 6 from Color Questions.
BACK TO TOP
3. What type of paper are the cards printed on?
Our cards are printed on uncoated card stock. Most cards are printed on 110 lb. paper. Some products such as bridal shower invitations are printed on 100 lb. paper. Each product page provides specifications for that design, including paper weight information.
BACK TO TOP
4. I want to submit a photo for my card. Are there any restrictions in printing photos?
There are several things you will want to look out for when submitting photos for your cards. Please keep in mind that our cards are printed on uncoated card stock. The photos also are printed directly onto the card stock; therefore, your photo will not be printed on glossy photography paper. Make sure the photo you are submitting is a high resolution image. The resolution of the image will make a huge difference in the print quality and clarity of your photo. Finally, please keep in mind that the orientation of your original photo will highly affect the layout and cropping of your photo on the card.
For the example above, any portion of the card that lies between the red lines and the edge of the card may be cropped off of your printed card.
Because the colors you see on your computer monitor will vary on other monitors, we ask that you submit images in their original formats. Our team of designers will work with your files to ensure best printing results - they are able to crop, eliminate red eye, brighten, sharpen, adjust color levels and more.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us to consult with a designer.
BACK TO TOP
LETTERPRESS COLOR AND DESIGN QUESTIONS
1. I do not see a color that I like offered for my favorite letterpress design. Do you have any other colors available?
Sorry, we are not offering any customizations for our Letterpress Collection at this time. We do offer a versatile color palette of 12 letterpress inks that should complement most themes, seasons and occasions and have chosen the most appropriate colors for each design from this palette.
2. I've found a specific color that I'd like to use for my invitations. Can you customize my letterpress design with this color?
Sorry, we are not offering any customizations for our Letterpress Collection at this time.
BACK TO TOP
3. I found a letterpress design that I love, but would like to customize it with a full color background. Can you do this?
Sorry, we are not offering any customizations for our Letterpress Collection at this time.
BACK TO TOP
4. I found a font on a different design that I like more. Can I change the font style of my preferred letterpress design?
Sorry, we are not offering any customizations for our Letterpress Collection at this time.
BACK TO TOP
5. My favorite letterpress design comes on your William Arthur White paper choice. Is there any way that I can get this design printed on your William Arthur Ecru paper?
Sorry, we are not offering any customizations for our Letterpress Collection at this time.
BACK TO TOP
LETTERPRESS PRINTING QUESTIONS
1. What kind of printer do you use for letterpress printing?
Through an exciting partnership with fine stationers, William Arthur, all of our Letterpress Collection products are printed on antique, commercial grade letterpress printers. The oldest and most versatile method of printing, letterpress prints are produced from plates on which the image or printing areas are raised above the non-printing areas of the plate. Ink touches only the top surface of the raised areas; the surrounding (non-printing) areas are lower and do not receive ink. The inked image is transferred directly into the paper. Sometimes a slight embossing (because of denting) appears on the reverse side of the paper. The letterpress image is usually sharp and crisp.
BACK TO TOP
2. Who is William Arthur?
In business for nearly 60 years, William Arthur is widely considered one of the finest makers of luxury stationery. The company delivers superior quality through fine handcraftsmanship of its wedding invitations and stationery products, with the fastest order delivery in the industry.
BACK TO TOP
3. What type of paper do you use for your letterpress cards?
William Arthur's signature white and ecru papers are custom-created exclusively by U.S. mills specializing in fine art and conservation paper. Renowned for its substantial weight, creamy smooth texture and high opacity, William Arthur paper is 100% acid-free, ensuring archival integrity for generations to come.
The envelope, cover and Bristol weight papers are 100% wood pulp (composed of premium hardwood and softwood fibers), and the text stationery is 75% wood pulp, 25% cotton. The exceptionally smooth finish achieved with wood pulp is considered by fine pen experts to be the ideal surface on which to write. Calligraphers agree: many write to tell how much they love working on William Arthur stationery, preferring it to all other writing papers.
Conscientious forest management is practiced by the paper companies William Arthur works with to ensure sound environmental harvesting of this 100% renewable resource.
BACK TO TOP
4. Can I print out your letterpress designs on my home printer to make my final decision?
The true beauty of letterpress should be experienced in person, where you are able to appreciate the creamy texture of the paper and the impressed surface of the printing. We have gorgeous samples for each design in our Letterpress Collection for only $7. We highly recommend against using a home printer to make your final decision as it will not give you a true representation of the color or print quality.
BACK TO TOP
5. Can I print my photo on your letterpress cards?
Sorry, we are not offering a photo option for our Letterpress Collection at this time.
BACK TO TOP
