Need advise on what printer to buy for wedding invitation

Hi,

We've just ventured into wedding invitation making business and we are looking into expansion. Currently we have digital and laser printers (middle-end) for middle-price wedding invitation and are also doing emboss invitations but manually. We want to add more types of invitation and speed up our process, so if I may ask the following questions:

1.) We're doing emboss manually. Can it be done automatically? I mean I've seen a machine that pours powder and has heat bulb like the oven that do the embossing. Is this machine or the whole automatic embossing set available locally?

2.) What are your thoughts with letterpress? I like letterpress, but I'm having second thoughts because of the limitation of colors (I'm planning to buy a 2nd hand). Where could I buy the paper materials for it? I read it uses a silk-like paper right?

3.) What machines can you recommend for printing? I have several L800 and several laser brother printers and now I'm looking beyond it. Is the ColorCube 8570/8870 a good fit for wedding invitation making?

4.) Any other advise is welcome :-)

Thanks,
czetsuya

Hi czetsuya!
Sorry for the late reply.

If you are looking for a machine to automate your thermo embossing, I suggest that you go for Therm-O-Type. This is the leading brand in this area. Unfortunately, I do not know of any current dealer here. Try to get their hand-fed model with powder hopper so that maintenance will not be a problem. You can check their site here at http://www.thermotype.com/Handfedthermo.html . You can probably import directly from them. Just look for a good forwarder to handle it.

I called my friend Tino Reyes of QP Prints. He uses Therm-O-Type machines together with Heidel KOR offset presses for invitations.

If you are going to use letterpress, you can get a used hand-fed machine for about 20-30K. Specialty papers for offset can be used in letterpress printing. Take note that you might have to order your letterpress plates from Manila.

Hi Presstech,

Thank you very much for the informative reply, I was not aware of the therm-o-type. As much as possible I'll try to look for a local dealer since I know importing that machine is very expensive in the Phils :-)

Regarding the letterpress, does it have any specific model? Because the one I've asked they said was only for numbering, it's a Minerva model. This one: http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/4964911/Minerva+Letterpress?referralKeywords=letterpress&event=Search+Ranking,Position,1-3,3. Do you have an idea where is the best place to look for it?

Thanks,
czetsuya