Envelope Printing Methods

There are several options when it comes to creating the perfect envelope for you needs. But, let’s face it; what it truly comes down to is the best price for the quality you desire. Whether you need 500 or 500,000 envelopes, full color or just a logo printed in the corner, there are different ways to print your envelopes to fit your needs.

Offset Envelope Printing Method

Offset Printing is the most popular choice amongst printers. With this printing process you can get the best quality for the best price on runs of 5,000 up to around 100,000. The more you run, the cheaper the cost per unit is. Offset printing allows for a wide array of color options as well. From black to four color process; from a small graphic to full bleed, you can create a tasteful design and not break the bank. For most designs, the envelopes are printed onto a ready-made envelope. If the design is more complicated, and has heavy coverage or bleeds, they would have to print as a flat sheet and then get converted. See the next section called Lithographic Envelope Printing.

Lithographic Envelope Printing Method

Lithographic printing, or “Litho” for short, allows for more complex printing options such as heavy ink coverage or bleeds, but is generally more expensive than printing onto a ready-made envelope as noted in the section above. The design is printed on flat sheets and then die cut, folded and glued. The process takes longer and has more steps involved, and therefore the price goes up accordingly. However, if you are looking for detailed graphics, full bleed and a stunning end result; this may be the only route for you.

Flexographic Envelope Printing Method

Flexographic or “Flexo” is a cost savings method for printing larger quantities. You don’t get the sharpest or most vibrant colors with this process, and the design must be limited so there is no heavy ink coverage or critical screens or photos. With this method, the printing, die-cutting, gluing and folding are done in one operation on specialized equipment. As a result, there can be significant price savings. If your envelope doesn’t have fine details or complicated graphics, you can run a job of 100,000 or more using this method.

Digital Envelope Printing Method

Digital printing has grown significantly over the past decade. This process has very little set up cost and has the ease of printing something from your computer using your own printer if the quantity is small and you don’t want to take the job to a printing company. If the job is done digitally by a professional printing company, the costs are usually determined by a ‘click charge’ so whether you need 500 or 2,500, you will pay about the same per page. This is a general statement about cost, because the size of the piece, and other variables affect the pricing. The drawback to this option is the fact that it is difficult to print precise colors that would match something that was printed on an offset press. The colors may be close, but even with the most advanced technology, it’s tough to do an exact color match. However, if color matching is not a priority and you keep your quantity under 2,500, this is by far the best option to cut costs on your printing.

So now that you know all the options you have, what are you going to create to deliver your future messages?