Start With a Designer Template
Designing your cards online at Paperlust means starting with one of the designer save the date templates, personalising the wording and colours on the product page, and approving a proof before your cards are printed. Couples use them to announce the wedding date well before the invitation. The Polaroid Save The Date is a photo design on Paperlust Matte paper at 140mm x 107mm, printed both sides by digital printing. A quantity of 100 cards has an order total of A$186.
Personalise the Template Online
Each design begins as a template, a finished layout created by a designer. You can make a personalised version by changing the names, date and place, every other wording detail, and also adjusting the fonts and colours. To create your own version, open the product page and use the online editor. The preview updates as you type, and any change can be undone.
You can save the design before you order, and payment is taken only when you place the order. If you need a change the editor controls do not cover, add a special request when you order. The designer will apply it at the proof stage, so it shows on the proof rather than in the live preview.
Proof, Printing and Delivery
After you order printed cards, a designer prepares a free digital proof. The proof shows your card design on screen so you can check the wording and layout before anything is printed. You can ask for unlimited rounds of edits until the wording and layout are right. Production starts only after you approve the final proof.
Your cards are printed in Melbourne and sent free by StarTrack Premium to addresses in Australia, usually the next business day to metro addresses after dispatch, and longer for regional and rural addresses. Printed orders are covered by the 100% Print Happiness Guarantee.
The Digital File Option
A digital save the date is an electronic version of your design rather than a printed card. It is arranged through Paperlust customer support, not on the product page or at checkout. The file is priced at A$35 and is available for save the dates only, not for invitations or any other stationery. You send it yourself to guests by email or message. No printed card, envelope or postal delivery is involved.
Printed Formats
Printed cards can be ordered as photo cards, postcards or magnets, depending on the design.
- Photo cards are printed on paper with a place for your photo.
- Postcards have printing on both faces and go in the post without an envelope.
- Magnets have a magnet back added at checkout on designs that offer that option. Choose between a full back and self-assembly magnet stickers.
The Polaroid design includes Premium White envelopes with the printed cards. Flat foil, letterpress, foil stamp and white ink are the other print methods listed on the printed save the date cards collection, along with printed-card prices.
Choosing Between Printed Cards and a Digital File
Printed cards and the digital file are separate purchases, and a couple can have one or both.
- Order printed cards on the product page. Your order is delivered to you, and you post the cards. You choose the paper, print method and format, and you can add guest addressing in the envelope step. These printed cards, sometimes called save the date invites, go through proof, production and delivery before they arrive.
- Arrange the file through support. It is priced as one fixed fee, nothing is printed or posted, and you send it to guests yourself.
The Polaroid design offers four paper choices. Paperlust Matte is uncoated, bright white and suits images. Paperlust Luxe has a silky-smooth finish. Paperlust Heavy is high white with a smooth coated matt finish. Paperlust Matte Double T joins two layers of cardstock into one uncoated sheet.
Timing and Wording
For a destination wedding, send save the dates 9 to 12 months beforehand. Otherwise, the usual timing is 6 to 8 months before the wedding. The timing guide explains when to send save the dates in each situation.
Your save the date invite typically shows your names, the wedding date and the town or venue, with a line telling guests the formal invitation is still to come. A wedding website address is optional, and worth including for a destination wedding. The full venue address and registry details belong on the invitation itself. For help with each line, use the wording guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Photo designs accept an upload in the editor, so your image can be placed in the design before you save. On Polaroid, your photo sits in the centre inside a Polaroid-style frame, and the preview updates with it in place. You can adjust the wording and colours around it. Photo cards are a printed product, so the finished card is still printed and delivered to you after proof and production.
Most designs, including the Polaroid, come in portrait and landscape. The Polaroid is available at 140mm x 107mm portrait or 107mm x 140mm landscape. If a design is single sided, a printed back can be added in the editor, but not on Vellum. The Polaroid design is already printed both sides, so the back is part of the layout rather than an add-on.
You can personalise and save a design in the editor before any payment, and that part costs nothing. Payment is taken only when you place a printed order. With that order, the designer proof and the rounds of edits are included. The digital file is a separate paid option.
Email customer support at support@paperlust.co or call 1300 176 727, Monday to Friday from 11am to 7pm Melbourne time. Ask for the digital file. It is not added to a cart or chosen at checkout.
The first proof is sent 1 to 2 business days after ordering. Once you approve the final proof, production takes 3 to 5 working days for digital printing. Proof, production and transit are separate stages, so the total time is those stages added together.
A sample pack is A$5 and is sent by regular post in 5 to 7 business days. It holds printed examples of papers and print methods, so you can see both before you order printed cards.
The 100% Print Happiness Guarantee applies to printed orders. If there is a print fault, Paperlust reprints first, then offers an account credit or a refund. You have 30 days from dispatch to make a claim. Text errors approved in your proof are not print faults. Paperlust will help fix the wording and share the reprint cost with you.
Order one card per household or mail-out group. On the Polaroid design, quantities run from 10 to 300 in steps of 10. Digital printing has a minimum order of 10 cards, so your lowest printed quantity is 10. If two guests live at the same address, they receive one card.
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