Introduction - There are two kinds of papers you can use for invitations and accessory cards. Both blank paper stock (similar to and including cover stock) and a complete range of "designer" type papers are available. What you cannot buy are any of the papers that are used by the commercial printers.

What you cannot buy and why - The wedding and social invitation papers that you see in the commercial printer's albums or in the mail order printer's catalogs and not available to the general public. One important reason for this is that very few of these papers are suitable for use in laser or ink-jet printers. Here's why. Many of these papers have irregular edges. Your printer cannot grab an edge unless it is straight. Next, many of these papers heavily embossed (have raised or depressed paper surfaces). If you could run these through your laser, the pressure rollers would crush the embossing. If you could run the paper through an ink-jet, the ink-jet head might leave marks on the raised areas. And finally, the paper surface is designed for printer's ink. It might accept laser toner or ink-jet ink but maybe not too well.

Laser VS Ink-Jet Paper Quality - Almost any paper works in a laser printer (much like an office copier). Some coated papers do not permit the toner to bond to the paper surface. Scratch the printed area with your finger nail to see if the toner scrapes off easily. Similarly, almost any paper accepts ink-jet ink but with some sacrifices. If the paper was not "ink-jet certified", it may bleed, dry too slowly, and/or produce weak ink color.

Ink-jet papers have a surface which is specially coated to make the ink dry quickly (to avoid smearing) and to prevent the ink from bleeding within the paper grain. Even more specialized ink-jet papers are available for printing color graphics. They are very glossy and produce highly intense colors. Ink-jet paper stock usually costs more than ordinary paper.

Blank Paper Stock

Blank paper stock for invitations and accessory cards must be of a heavier weight (thickness) than copy paper. Copy paper is normally in the 20# (pound) weight category. The heavier weight papers are "cover stock", "index card stock", or "vellum bristol".

Cover Stock - is in the 65# range and is typically used for brochures, menus, mailing, and posters. It has a smooth surface. It is an excellent choice for your use.

Index Card Stock - is in the 90# range and may be too heavy for your printer. And it is a little too heavy (thick) for invitations.

Vellum Bristol (or Bristol Board) - is in the 67# range. Its surface is not quite as smooth as cover stock.

Either cover stock or vellum bristol is a good choice. This paper is available at most office supply stores and your local print shops. It is available in white and muted colors. Ivory is an excellent choice for formal invitations since it is close to ecru, a common paper color used by commercial invitation printers. Print shops will often sell it to you by the sheet (8-10 cents) while the office supply stores sell it in packages (under $10 for 250 sheets). Your local print shop might give you a sample sheet for you to try. This is important! You should run it through your laser and see how well the toner adheres to the surface. Or run it through your ink-jet and examine the print to see if it bleeds or does not dry quickly (might smear when the next sheet lands on top).

Paper Grain - All paper has grain. Long grain paper has the grain running the length while short grain paper has the grain running the width. Why is this important? If you need to fold the paper, you MUST fold it with the grain otherwise you will get a ragged fold. You can buy these papers with either long or short grain.

Invitation Paper Stock

You can purchase specially designed papers that are made for invitations. A complete list of suppliers is available on this site under the topic, Paper Suppliers. Since these papers are designed for use in computer printers, they are usually a full 8-1/2 by 11 size. They are available as flat-printed, embossed, or both. They come "microperforated" for separation and are pre-creased for folding. And they come with envelopes as complete packages. (Most vendors supply envelopes. Paper Direct offers additonal outer envelopes for invitations..)

Flat Printed - means that the artwork or designs on the paper are printed on flat paper. Contrast this is embossed papers.

Embossed (and/or Debossed) - means that the surface of the paper is raised or lowered. The embossing may be a beautiful rose or something as simple as a frame. The paper can be both embossed (say a raised frame) along with debossing (depressed frame). The classic invitation is called a "single panel embossed baronial".

You can also find a combination of flat printing with embossing. For example, the embossed rose could have a light red tint which would have been flat printed on the paper before it was embossed.

These ready to use invitation papers also come creased for folding so you do not have to worry about paper grain. But most of these papers are full sheets. Thus, your invitation size after folding will be 8-1/2 inches tall by 5-1/2 inches wide (or vice versa). Some invitation papers are non-folding (the same as commercial papers). In that case, there are two invitations per sheet an there is a microperforation down the center. After you print, you fold and separate the two invitations. This is called a "2 up" paper in the trade.

Similarly, your accessory cards come either two on a sheet (folding) or four on a sheet (non-folding) or 2-up and 4-up respectively.

Plain - There is one more category of paper stock that you can buy. It is a paper that is pre-creased for folding but has no artwork or embossing. It is available in both invitation and accessory card sizes. It costs more than plain paper but if you want folded invitations and accessory cards, you will get an excellent fold without the hassle of selecting plain paper with the correct grain. Both Avery and Legacy (office supply stores) have this type of paper.

A complete list of paper vendors is included under the Invitation Paper Vendors topic found in the Resources section.