Our friends at Echelon Fine Printing know us too well, it seems. They recently sent me this invitation which actually consists of two parts: an extremely intricate sleeve boasting multiple printing and finishing techniques, and the card itself, which echoes a sentiment dear to my heart: “But out of limitations comes creativity.”
I have to confess that as a print nerd, my first instinct was to remove the card from its carrier right away and start examining each piece separately, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. But that would have been to miss seeing the forest for the trees.
The power of this card comes from the combination of the two: the way the red of the Neenah Classic Columns 100 lb. Cover paper peeks through triangle laser cuts on the sleeve; the interplay of the card’s white, engraved letters with the metallic silver triangles outside; and how the large inverted-triangle laser cut transforms the top of the card into a red inverted pyramid.
Who am I kidding – I’m too much of a print nerd: Let’s take it apart and dive into all those delicious details 😉
The black sleeve alone is a fantastic piece to have close at hand for those times when you want to show off just what can be done with some well-thought-out finishing techniques. Made from 100 lb. Neenah Astrobrights Eclipse Black paper, it has it all: offset silver metallic ink, black foil, blind embossing, laser cuts – all in a repeating pattern of intricate triangles that mimic Echelon’s logo.
Even the way the sleeve is made is unique. Normally you would expect the flaps to be glued together; here they close around a third (bottom) flap to form a pocket, all of it kept in place by a tab-and-slot system – nice touch.
The invitation itself delivers the limitations-into-creativity quote with white engraving ink that pops nicely against the Red Pepper hue of the Neenah sheet; all the relevant details for the event are offset printed on the back. Returning it to the black sleeve is like watching the sun suddenly shine through an already beautiful stained-glass window – Debbie Allen would be very proud indeed.
Hot foil stamping brought a distinctive touch of elegance to this piece, but there are so many other ways to get the shimmer and shine of foil. Discover them, as well as the pros and cons of each, in our free Foil Cheat Sheet. Download yours now for a limited time!
