How To Create Airline Ticket Wedding Invitations

From the look and feel to the quality and price, there is a lot to consider when picking the perfect wedding invitation. For some couples, it is as easy as heading to the store and choosing whatever is on the shelf. But for others, it is all about the concept, design, color selection, print technique, and paper choice. All these elements combined make for a wedding invitation that will leave your guests in awe. If you and your fiancé are looking for more than your standard 5x7 wedding invites, look no further than our airline ticket wedding invitations. Both creatively conceptual and beautifully crafted, it is not only right on-trend but will also have everyone talking about how awesome and unique it is.

The perfect pick for a globetrotting couple or destination wedding, your guests will get a taste of what to expect when they receive their airline ticket wedding invitations. These travel-inspired invitations are not just fantastic to look at but also practical. They offer your guests everything they need to know about your wedding and provide an RSVP card and a luggage tag. And even if your marriage has nothing to do with travel, this amazing airline ticket wedding invitation is still fun and creative - which guests will love, nevertheless.

Getting That Realistic Look And Feel

For a truly authentic look and feel, our airline ticket wedding invitations are inspired by the original flight ticket designs that Pan Am American Airlines used in the 1960s. We've adapted some design elements, ink colors, and paper stock to get a realistic replica. This invitation is unique because it involves creating different print pieces, including the actual invites, envelopes, booklets, and luggage tags. We aim to provide you with an end product almost identical in look and feel to a real airline ticket or boarding pass. We do this by ensuring all our boarding pass wedding invitations have the following:

• Perforated Tearaway - Like an actual boarding pass, our invites have a tearaway, which can be used as an RSVP card or any additional information guests might need for the big day (accommodation options, directions to the venue, and song request card).
• Matching Envelope - As an additional add-on, we provide a matching envelope identical to the ones used at airports. These envelopes protect the wedding invitations and add to their realistic look.
• Custom Cut - Unlike your standard wedding invitation, our airline ticket wedding invitation is custom cut to create the perfect boarding pass shape.
  
  

There’s nothing more realistic than our airline ticket wedding invitations, inspired by the original, 1960s flight ticket designs used by Pan Am American Airlines! 

The Process

With so many different elements, it is a complex, involved process with a beautiful outcome. To help you fully understand the complexity of this invitation, here's a step-by-step guide to creating it.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a printing method that uses mesh to transfer ink onto a surface in specific areas. To do this, our print specialists pre-coats our screens using Murakami T9 — an emulsion to get perfect exposure — with a mesh count of 250 threads per inch. The film negative is then securely placed face down on the back of the screen. The screen is then placed onto our vacuum bed LED exposure unit. A rope is used to seal the vacuum bed properly and creates maximum contact of the screen and negative against the glass in the exposure unit. We must get a tight seal to produce the artwork cleanly and sharply. 

Each screen must be exposed under the LED light for two minutes each. During the exposure, the emulsion that is dried to the screen will harden, while the emulsion blocked out by the film negative will remain in a liquid state. Once the two-minute exposure is complete, the unexposed emulsion is washed away with a power washer. This will create the areas where the ink will pass through the screen mesh.

Now that the screens are complete, it's time to get printing. We will use the beautiful Pan Am blue to create these invites, but you can choose whatever color you want. We begin the printing process by doing the first print onto a mylar sheet so we can line up and position the paper correctly. With our paper set up and our guides in place, we're ready to print. With each pull of the squeegee, we apply an even pull of pressure and then flood the screen with ink for each successive pass. Each individual sheet is placed on s drying rack when finished. 

Die Cutting The Envelopes

For the envelopes, we die cut the paper before printing the information onto them. We set up our custom steel rule die in the press to cut out the individual envelopes. The envelope design features zipper perforation for easy opening. A creasing matrix is tapered at a 45-degree angle to create the score lines to ensure a cleaner final product. Once complete, we take the blank envelope back to the screen print station to add mailing information. At this stage, we can also add individual mailing addresses to customize each envelope. 

Letterpress Printing

Dating back centuries, letterpress printing is a method of relief printing that leaves unique, crisp impressions on your chosen stock. It is a timeless method that shows off the craftsmanship of the print industry. Before getting started on our letterpress printing, we must mix the perfect color. We are using Pantone 3538U as it is the closest match to the Pan Am blue.

We've created a copper etched printing plate to make the first pass of letter printing. Using double-sided tape, we adhere the plate to our boxcar base, which is then locked tightly into the chase with furniture and a coin on two sides. As this is a short run, we spread our ink on the distributing cylinder instead of setting up the ink duct. Now we can set the chase in place, and it is ready for running a proof. After doing a few proofs and adjustments, we are prepared to print. Before we start printing, we need to trim our paper down to the press sheet size we need.

We use 40pt cotton paper with a cream tone for the airline ticket wedding invitations. Before doing an entire run, we run a single sheet to ensure the paper feeds and delivers as needed. We check for straightness and closely inspect the sheet for areas that require more or less impression. Adjustments are then made to ensure our artwork prints cleanly and evenly across the entire sheet. Once we're happy, we can run the print. With the first pass finished, we wash the press and prepare it for the second color before rerunning the entire process using a different copper etched printing plate.

The exact process can be used to create other wedding print products such as name cards, booklets, etc.

Die Cutting Airline Ticket Invitations

Once the letterpress printing is complete, we clean up the press and prepare it for die-cutting the invitations. We're using an in-house 2-up steel rule die to form the paper into the shape of a flight ticket. Again we run a proof and adjust the press accordingly to ensure the best possible cut and that the perforations are cutting cleanly without separating too easily. We can then run the entire pass.

Creating A Metallic Ink Luggage Tag

As an on-theme add-on to your wedding invitation, add a luggage tag. It's a cute keepsake that can hold additional information or add to the invite's aesthetic. Using the 1960 Heildleberg GT Platen Press, we will create the double-sided luggage tag using metallic ink on a 20pt coated paper stock.

We'll be printing with Pantone 877 —a metallic silver — and Pantone 3538U, which we used earlier. We begin by inking the print press with oil-based metallic printing ink. Mount the first of three copper dies onto the boxcar base and then lock the chase onto the press. Using our paper cutter, we trim our paper down to size. We can now run a proof and make the needed adjustments before running the entire pass. 

For the reverse side of the luggage tag, we place the second die in the same position on the base as the first but rotate it 180 degrees. Repeat the print process using the second die, ensuring you run a proof for accuracy. Once all the printing for Pantone 877 is complete, set up the third die that will be printed with Pantone 3538U. Rerun the entire print process with the new die and color.

Die Cut The Luggage Tag

Before moving on to the final step of this process, cutting the luggage tags, we clean up the print. We set up a steel rule cutting die into a chase positioned by eye for a rough estimate of registration. Run a proof and readjust the cutting die into register. We cannot run the fill pass!

Embark on an extraordinary journey with our Airline Ticket Wedding Invitations. Capture your guests' imagination and set the stage for an unforgettable celebration. Crafted with exquisite detail, these boarding pass invitations are beautiful, quirky, and utterly unique. Leave your guests in awe and anticipation as they join you on this magical journey of love. Order now to create your own Airline Ticket Invitation and design a personalized invitation that truly stands out. Click here to start the adventure!