Why your digital invitation file does not fit on Vistaprint

A common problem with digital invitation files and how to move forward.

So you’ve got your personalised party invitation file from your designer (or maybe you’ve even made it yourself) and you are excited to see the finished printed cards and send to guests. You’ve also got a coupon or Groupon from Vistaprint but when you go to upload your digital file, it doesn’t fit properly! What’s up with that?

Simply put, Vistaprint’s “5×7” invitation template is not 5×7 inches. It is slimmer and taller than this, at 4.61×7.17 inches. I have no idea why this is and it appears to be the same in every country that they offer this invitation printing.

In the diagram below you can see how this plays out and why it might cause problems.

If your invitation has a white background and a lot of white space, you might get away with this.

However if the design has a coloured background or the text is close to the edge, you will run into problems.

If you have purchased the invitation template from someone else (maybe on Etsy) then you can ask them to change this for you though they are likely to charge you for this, and in my opinion rightly so, as this is additional work for them.

In my descriptions and policies I make it clear that Vistaprint’s “5×7” invitation sizing is not standard and if this is the desired method of printing, you will need to pay a bit extra to have me change this for you as it takes me longer to do.

But if you don’t have time to get the invitation re-sized, or your designer won’t do this for you at any price, what are your options?

If you have a Groupon and are therefore committed to Vistaprint then the simplest option is to print as a postcard via Vistaprint. You can find these under “marketing materials”. In USA you can print as a 5×7 postcard. In metric countries (eg UK, Australia) your options are A6 (or A5) postcards. The proportions of A6 are virtually identical to a 5×7 card so this should not cause a problem, but make sure that your text and essential design elements are within the “safe” zone for printing.

You will need to buy your own envelopes with this option but as these are standard sizes (A7 envelopes for 5×7 cards or C6 envelopes for A6 cards) then you will find that they are easily and cheaply available online in a variety of colours and finishes. I would also suggest you upgrade the cardstock as 80lb cardstock is pretty lightweight and might not give the impression you are looking for.

Of course other printing options exist besides Vistaprint and I will be covering these in my next post.

Con cariño [with love], Alison x