FAQ

The Collection

WHAT IS THE COLLECTION?

The Collection by Sarah + Maude offers a series of beautiful wedding stationery suites, easily tailored to suit the colour palette and details of your wedding day. Personalise your favourite design with your choice of wording, and choose from a selection of beautiful ink and envelope colours, to really make your stationery your own.

WHAT IS LETTERPRESS PRINTING?

Letterpress is a centuries old relief printing technique in which an inked, raised design is pressed into paper using a printing press. While I (Sarah) do all of the designing and printing, I couldn’t do any of it without the help of my beautiful antique print press, Maude.

Each piece of stationery is printed one at a time, with each piece of paper fed into the press by hand, and each colour printed separately. Letterpress printing is a slow process that requires meticulous attention to detail, but feeling the impression left behind where paper met press is always worth the wait, and gives your stationery a tactile finish that cannot be matched by modern digital printing.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO DESIGN AND PRINT MY STATIONERY?

The design process, from initial proofs to final approval typically takes 1-2 weeks for The Collection, and this includes time for your feedback. Printing typically takes 2-4 weeks following approval of the final proof.

All turnaround times are estimates as turnaround varies depending on how busy the studio is. If you’d like a more definite idea of current turnaround times before placing your order please get in touch.

I CAN CHOOSE MY INK COLOUR?

Yes! You can choose from a whole rainbow of ink colours, all mixed by hand. Just head on over to the Ink Colours page to view the full range.

If you’re looking for a specific colour, and you’re able to provide a physical swatch or sample of the colour, I can mix a custom shade to match for a small additional fee. Unfortunately, because of the variations between digital displays, I cannot accurately match to colours sent digitally.

AND I CAN CHOOSE MY ENVELOPE COLOURS TOO?

Made from a luxurious 135gsm paper, and featuring a wallet style flap closure, envelopes are available in a wide variety of colours. Whether you’re looking for something to complement or contrast with your chosen ink colour, you can find the perfect shade. Just head over to the Envelope Colours page to view the full range.

WHAT IS AN INKLESS DEBOSS?

Typically, designs are printed using inked rollers, but inkless debossing (printing without ink) can give stunning results and is a wonderful way to add subtle details to a design. This technique sees paper pass through the press as usual, without ink on the printing rollers. The “deboss” is the lovely deep imprint left behind by the design being pressed into the paper.

Although an inkless deboss doesn’t use ink, it is charged as an additional colour as the paper still has to pass through the press for the deboss.

WHAT TYPE OF PAPER DO YOU USE?

There are so many options for beautiful paper, and I’m proud to source some of the nicest and the greenest. My go-to choice for wedding stationery is a beautiful 100% cotton, tree-free paper, in a lovely heavy weight, which gives a wonderful pillowy soft impression, perfect for letterpress printing.

IS THERE A MINIMUM ORDER?

I love to work with my customers to accommodate almost any request, so there isn’t a fixed minimum order. However the nature of letterpress printing, and the set up costs involved, mean that the larger the order, the lower the price per item.

CAN I SEE SAMPLES OF MY ORDER BEFORE IT’S PRINTED?

Yes of course! After placing your order and confirming the necessary details, I’ll design your stationery and send an initial digital proof. At this stage there’s time for you to review the details and request revisions, if needed. Additional proofs will be sent where necessary, and followed by a final digital proof for your approval. It’s only when you’re 100% happy with everything, and you’ve approved the final proof, that I move on to printing.

I cannot offer physical proofs due to the nature of letterpress printing.

DO YOU SHIP OUTSIDE THE UK?

Absolutely! Orders can ship within the UK and across the world. 

UK orders ship free of charge via Special Delivery, fully tracked and insured.

For international orders, please note that shipping costs will be calculated when your stationery has been printed. This allows us to look at the best available options and calculate an accurate price to avoid you paying too much. You’ll receive an invoice that can be paid via my online shop or Paypal.