Minted: Paper Types, Foil Printing and Wedding Suite Timing Explained

Minted sells designs from an independent artist community: wedding invitations and save the dates, holiday cards, birth announcements, stationery, and art prints and framed art. Most products are personalised, so a Minted order is part design choice, part proofreading exercise.

What decides whether a Minted order goes well is the paper and printing you choose, how carefully you check the proof, and whether you leave enough time for printing and post.

Paper and printing options at Minted

Minted designs usually come with a choice of paper. The standard stock is a good weight for most cards. Upgrades such as thicker, double-thick or textured stocks feel noticeably more substantial and cost more per card.

Some Minted designs also offer foil-pressed printing, where gold, silver or rose gold foil is pressed into the design, and letterpress on selected items. Both look lovely in person but add cost and sometimes production time.

Photos rarely do foil justice. If you are torn, Minted has sold sample packs of papers and finishes; ordering one before a large wedding order is cheap insurance.

Shape and edges are extras too. Rounded corners and die-cut shapes suit some designs, but they change the envelope size needed and occasionally postage.

Proofing a Minted card properly

Minted lets you personalise the text online and view a digital proof, and its designers have typically offered to review layout adjustments on request. The spelling, however, is your job.

Read the Minted proof aloud, letter by letter. Check names, the day of the week against the date, the year, venue addresses and any web address. Have a second person read it too; the eye skims over familiar names.

Check photo placement as well. A photo card crops your image into the design's frame, so faces near the edge may be trimmed. Use a high-resolution original rather than a picture saved from social media, which will print soft.

Once a Minted order is printed, changing a typo usually means paying for a reprint, so this is the step worth slowing down on.

Timing a Minted wedding suite

A Minted wedding suite can include save the dates, invitations, RSVP cards, details cards, menus, place cards and thank-you cards, all in the same design.

Save the dates generally go out six to twelve months ahead, and invitations around six to eight weeks before the day. Work back from those dates and allow for Minted's production time, shipping, your own addressing and postal delivery.

Minted has offered recipient addressing, where guests' addresses are printed directly on the envelopes. It saves many evenings with a pen but means gathering clean address data first.

Heavier stocks, foil and odd shapes can need extra postage. Take one fully assembled Minted invitation to the post office and have it weighed before buying stamps for the whole list.

Holiday cards and the December rush

Holiday photo cards are Minted's busiest season. Ordering in November avoids the tightest production and shipping deadlines and usually coincides with some of the better promotions.

Minted posts cut-off dates for holiday delivery each year. If you order close to them, choose faster shipping or accept the cards may arrive after the post is at its busiest.

Art prints and framing

Minted art prints are available in several sizes, unframed or framed, and often as canvas. Many are limited editions from individual artists.

Measure the wall before choosing a size; prints almost always look smaller on a wall than on a screen. For a sofa or bed, a piece around two-thirds the width of the furniture usually looks balanced.

Framed Minted art arrives ready to hang, which is convenient, though a framed piece costs considerably more than a print you frame yourself. Check the frame and mat options on the listing and whether the frame is glazed with glass or acrylic.

Returns and reprints

Personalised Minted products are made to order, so they generally cannot be returned simply because you changed your mind. If there is a printing defect or damage in transit, contact Minted customer service promptly with photos.

Art prints and non-personalised items may have different terms. Check the current Minted policy before ordering a large framed piece.

Where the Minted savings are

The 25% storewide code is the strongest on this page and suits a large order: a full Minted wedding suite, a big holiday card run, or framed art.

The 20% new-customer code only works on a first Minted account. If you have ordered before, use the other 20% storewide code instead.

Percentage codes matter most on large orders, and upgrades such as foil and thicker stock raise the basket, so the discount grows with them. Minted codes generally cannot be combined, and some items or samples may be excluded, so apply the code before paying and check the total drops.

Common questions

Does Minted check my spelling?

No. You approve the proof, so check names, dates and addresses yourself before ordering.

How early should I order Minted wedding invitations?

Allow several weeks before your mailing date for production, shipping and addressing. Invitations usually go out six to eight weeks before the wedding.

Can I return a Minted card order?

Personalised Minted orders are generally not returnable unless there is a defect. Contact Minted quickly if something is wrong.