Envelope printing can be a tricky subject—not every printer prints envelopes well, and envelopes have more special considerations than printed cards. Plus, we usually want them to be able to be mailed easily without getting lost in the postal system.
In this article, I’ll cover my tips for envelope printing!
Key Points:
Let’s dive into the world of custom-printed envelopes!
Printing on envelopes is tough, mostly because envelopes are made of a few layers, folded on top of each other. In short: this confuses printers! If you’re trying to print envelopes in-house you might find that it’s not going super well. Sometimes they feed crooked, don’t print at all, or get smudges on them. None of that will do if you want to mail these envelopes or provide them to a client!
I love to use PrintsWell for printing envelopes, because I simply don’t have to deal with all of the printer issues in-house. So let’s talk about what’s possible with printed envelopes!
Many designers forget about the envelope as a canvas! They simply slap an address on it and then call it a day. But if you want some inspiration to see what’s possible check out #NoMoreBoringEnvelopes on Instagram. In fact, you can print personalized envelopes that wow the recipients with tons of design options!
No matter how complex your design is, make sure you leave plenty of space for the address and name! If you’re printing many envelopes, ensure that there is enough space for the longest name or address you want to include.
Generally, you can play a little more with the name on the envelope - use a script font, angle it, use a cool text effect, etc. - but you’ll want to keep the address and zip code clear and easy to read so the postal machines can process it quickly.
There are many programs you can use to set up envelope addresses for printing, but my favorite is Adobe InDesign. Specifically, I use a function called Data Merge and you just have to see it in action! Data Merge will take a spreadsheet of addresses and turn it into a perfectly formatted file for printing in a matter of seconds (no matter if you have 30 or 300 addresses to print!). Here’s a tutorial showing you how to do that.
If you aren’t sure where to begin with your envelope designs, here are a few design ideas and photos to get you started!
With this simple style, you add a little flair without going over the top. Keeping the address in a block font helps the postal machines read it easily, but the name is still a “pop”!
If you measure the stamps you’re going to use, you can create a frame to go around them! Or keep it a little looser with something like this star and moon design (these are from my wedding invites!).
Flowers are so popular for wedding invites! If you want to print flowers on your envelopes, you can put them in lots of different designs. I love to put a small element above the address or decorate the corners that don’t get a stamp.
Envelope liners are another way to jazz up your envelopes! PrintsWell prints all of my envelope liners and die cuts them to fit beautifully in their euro-flap or square-flap envelopes. Because envelope liners are inside, the sky is truly the limit when it comes to designing these!
Be aware: every envelope from every vendor is shaped differently, so you’ll need to ensure the liners you order will fit your envelopes! If you use PrintsWell liners, for instance, they will fit PrintsWell envelopes.
A simple way to get people excited to open their mail is by putting a little tagline in a fun script font above the address! Special delivery for, kindly deliver to, a party invitation for, etc. There are so many options to fit your client’s vibe!
One thing to keep in mind is that envelope printing may result in different colors than standard flat card printing. This is usually because they are printed on different types of machines! So try not to match your colors to the rest of the mailing perfectly. Instead, I usually use a corresponding color on the envelopes instead of an exact match to the rest of the text. You can’t go wrong with black or dark gray!
When printing on your envelopes, you want to avoid issues that will prevent the Post Office from mailing your envelopes. Any designs that go against the official Post Office rules are off-limits, but that still leaves a lot of room to play with your designs! Here are the official guidelines from the Post Office!
A few envelope printing issues to avoid:
While I don’t always follow 100% of the Post Office guidelines, these are some that will help your mail get delivered more quickly!
When setting up your files for envelope printing, I recommend using Data Merge in Adobe InDesign. This will turn your spreadsheet of addresses into a document that’s perfectly formatted for envelope printing, even if there are 300 people on the list!
If you’re printing your envelopes with PrintsWell, you can use their easy envelope templates that are found here. They will show you the safe printing area, and where you should place your designs. They also include helpful design tips.
When sending envelope files for print, you get the best results if you:
If you are printing variable data, you will save each page as a separate page within the PDF. If you are printing the same design, you will just need a 1-page PDF for each side of the envelope.
Here’s an example of what the same color ink can look like on various envelope colors! They look so different, right? The ink can interact with the color of the envelope to change slightly.
If you are printing a color on color envelopes, imagine how those colors will interact. If you print blue on a pink envelope, for instance, it might mix and look a little more purple than blue.
This is one reason I typically aim for printing black or dark gray on most envelopes. If you want to use a color and aren’t sure how it will look - you can always order a sample!
Another option is printing with white ink on darker envelopes. You’ll still want good contrast, so this works well on really dark envelopes like PrintsWell’s Mid Green, Ebony, or New Blue! White ink printing usually costs a little more and isn’t offered by a lot of printers, especially on envelopes. I find it helpful that PrintsWell only provides the option to print in white ink on the envelope colors that will work well - you don’t have to second-guess if it will show up well!
Keep in mind that you usually can’t print white ink AND other colors on the same envelope, so your designs should be completely in white if you want to use white ink printing. Here’s a guide for setting up your files!
Some designs might require you to print address labels. They are perfect for adding on really vibrant custom envelopes like the tropical ones shown below. You can print the recipient address on the front, and the return address on the back, and even use them to help seal your envelopes.
My biggest tip here would be to design the return address so it’s smaller and won’t accidentally be read as the recipient address (adding a fun design element or rotating the address can help).
With PrintsWell, I typically order address labels in a custom size of 2.5” tall and 10” wide! This is big enough to go around the envelope and seal the flap a little on the other side.
The trickiest envelopes to print are small ones. Most in-home printers can’t handle anything smaller than about 4x6”. So your envelopes might get stuck, print crooked, or any number of other jams (pun intended).
Specifically, A2 and 4Bar / A1 envelopes that are often used for RSVP cards are really tough to print on your own. I love being able to order them directly from PrintsWell already printed (and in a ton of beautiful colors too!). If you are determined to print from home, though, you can try a trick I learned to keep them straight in an inkjet printer: open them up and put a 5x7” card in them. This tricks your printer into thinking it’s working with a larger size. It’s annoying and time-consuming, but it can help in a pinch (doesn’t ordering from PrintsWell just sound easier?).
One final option you might want to explore when printing envelopes is a fully custom envelope design! Did you know you can make your own envelopes?
Here’s a tutorial on how to make your own envelopes! I love to print fun designs and then turn them into fully custom envelopes. Here are a few examples - with PrintsWell, I usually print them as a 10”x10” square flat card (custom size) on the 80# Eggshell White paper.
The best part of printing custom envelopes is that you can print the addresses directly on them if you want, and you can also print the “back” side of the envelope to add a customized liner already inside! If you want to print something to the edge of the envelope, this is the way you can do that.
There are so many options when it comes to printing envelopes, and you don’t only have to print the name and address! Which of these fun designs are you going to try out? I hope you’ll test some and share your favorites with us!