Shipping Foil-Stamped Invitations Without Damage — A Printer's Guide

Foil's weak spot: friction against itself

The most common damage on foil-stamped invitations isn't drops or bends — it's scuffing where one card's foil rubs against the back of another during transit. Every micrometer of movement inside a shipping box translates into tiny scratches on the metallic layer.

How we pack foil orders

• Every foil-stamped card gets a glassine slip sheet placed between it and the next card. Glassine is smooth, acid-free, and does not scratch foil.
• Bundles of 50 are cross-banded (rubber bands + glassine wrap) so nothing slides.
• Bundles ride in a rigid corrugated mailer with foam bumpers, not a bubble mailer (bubble mailers flex too much).
• For quantities over 500, we palletize on a shrink-wrapped platform with corner protectors.

Choosing the right courier tier

FedEx / UPS ground works for 95% of foil orders. Skip Media Mail (USPS) and any 'economy' service that batches multiple sortation passes — every extra pass is another chance to scuff. If the invitations are irreplaceable (a wedding date is 3 weeks away), upgrade to 2-day air. It cuts one sortation pass out of the journey.

Include an approval sample in every order

Every foil order ships with a plain unbranded 5-piece bundle of your design so you can approve the exact foil color, position, and impression depth before you distribute. If anything is off, we reprint the full batch at no charge — but only if the approval sample sits sealed on your desk before you open the main box.

Insurance and re-print policy

Every Kolt Printing shipment is insured for its declared value. If a courier damages a foil order in transit — dent, wet, torn open — we reprint at no cost and expedite the reship. Send a photo of the damaged shipment to hello@koltprinting.com within 48 hours.