Vellum and Translucent Paper
In the past, vellum paper was made out of calf or goat skin and had a translucent quality that diffused or filtered light. Nowadays, vellum is commonly made by combining wood pulp and cotton fibres to produce a flexible and sturdy translucent paper with a smooth surface that partially lets light pass through.
You may want to use SRA3 or A3 vellum paper for a variety of projects because of its unique properties. It is sturdy yet flexible, making it ideal for many types of projects like card-making, scrapbooking, and book design.
What is Vellum Paper?
Transparent paper is a type of paper that lets all light pass through it. Tracing paper and vellum are both translucent, but vellum is thicker and used for printing, calligraphy, or artwork with high quality.
Vellum usually appears slightly cloudy because of its fibres and manufacturing process, which makes it less clear and opaque compared to tracing paper. However, this distinct appearance is what makes vellum a popular choice for creative and ornamental uses.
Although tracing paper and vellum share some characteristics, they have important distinctions. Tracing paper is typically used for creating drafts, sketches, and tracings, while vellum is commonly used for printing, drawing, calligraphy, or reproducing artwork with high quality.
Vellum's ability to transmit light makes it an ideal choice for artwork, especially in the printing and design sectors. Vellum paper, or translucent paper, is commonly used in creating wedding invitations and cards. Despite often being called"white," it has a smooth, semi-transparent texture that adds an elegant touch to the stationery.
We offer vellum in different weights ranging from 110gsm to a cardstock weight. The transparency of the paper increases with decreasing weight.
For what purpose is Translucent Vellum Paper used?
Vellum paper with its semi-transparent quality filters light, resulting in a subdued and gentle effect. This makes it ideal for wedding invitations giving a delicate, romantic and dreamy appearance.
Vellum paper sheets that are translucent are frequently used in crafting, art, and design projects. These are commonly employed in drafting architectural plans and design as well as creating elegant wedding invitations and stationery. Bookbinding is another field where vellum paper is commonly employed to create book covers and endpapers.
Our Curious Translucent Vellums are 100gsm and come in a variety of lovely colours that can inspire creativity during crafting.
What are Vellum Jackets and Vellum Wraps?
A vellum wrap is a perfect way to complete your vellum wedding invitations.
The wrap enhances your wedding invitations and make them look even more beautiful. Our selection includes different sizes from 5 x 7 vellum jackets to A6 and A5 vellum wraps which are very popular for wedding stationery suites.
Our vellum jackets or vellum wraps are pre-cut with fold guidelines to fit perfectly around our Enfolio pocketfolds, blank cards, and card blanks. To fold the jacket, simply follow the guidelines and insert your wedding invitation inside. You may find it helpful to use a ruler.
Our vellum jackets can either remain plain or be customised with print, wax seals, and silk ribbons in colours like black, white, or coloured for a stunning look. A wax seal on a vellum jacket is both graceful but also provides a personal touch to your wedding invitations or stationery.
For wedding invitations, vellum jackets can be used to protect and enhance the invitation inside. The transparent quality of vellum makes it a romantic choice for wedding invitations, and it looks beautiful paired with elegant writing and calligraphy lettering.
You can select the ideal type of translucent vellum paper for your design as it comes in a range of weights and thicknesses. For intricate designs that require more transparency, like inserts for cards or envelope liners, lighter paper, such as 110gsm, which is thinner, works best. When you need less translucency, heavier stocks like 150gsm or 180gsm are the ideal choice. These papers obscure details more and are more robust, so they are less likely to crease.
What Printer Prints best on Vellum Paper?
When printing on translucent vellum paper, it's crucial to consider the printer and type of ink. Vellum has a distinct ink absorption rate, so it's advisable to employ a printer equipped with the ability to adjust the ink output to match the paper's unique features.
If you want high-quality prints with accurate colours and fine details, an inkjet printer is a great choice. Just make sure to choose a model that's compatible with speciality papers (like vellum) and has a manual feed option to avoid paper jams.
If you're going to print on vellum paper sheets for a project, then ideally, this is best done with a toner-based or laser printer. However, please note that the heat produced by the laser may cause wrinkling or curling of the translucent vellum paper, particularly with lighter-weight paper options. It is also possible to use an inkjet printer to print, but you may have to adjust your printer settings (for example, a light setting that uses less ink) and allow for additional drying time between printing each of the sheets.
Whether you’re creating a card, scrapbooking or designing an invitation suite, the range of vellum and translucent vellum paper is perfect for endless ideas.
One of our most popular services is printing white ink on translucent paper, which creates a stunning effect.
Sizes of Vellum Envelopes for Wedding Invitations
Our selection includes 5 x 7 vellum envelopes as well as C5 and C6 which are all ideal for creating wedding statioenry. We also supply inserts, A4 sheets, SRA3 and A3 sheets of vellum. Our vellum is also abaibale in a range of precut sizes making endless possibilities for creativity. You can use it as a vellum overlay or wrap it around your print.
We have a range of small vellum place cards that are perfect for calligraphers or for writing place names to create vellum place cards. They can also be repurposed for other projects.