Weddingbee boards

So I've been looking forward to getting my invitations forEVER now and they came in the mail today! I tore the box open in excitement and...well...they're not exactly what I was hoping. I spent a lot of time designing them and collaborating with an illustrator friend on them and while they look lovely, the actual printing seemed off. These are 3 color doublesided letterpress beasts (16 inches long!), with 2 actual colors and one blind debossed (aka no ink) illustrated layer covering almost the entire front. I think because it was double sided, the printer opted not to go for a really deep impression, especially on the blind layer, but the way it was done you can barely see it, and this is really supposed to be one of the most impressive details of the invite. There are some color coverage/pressure discrepencies on one of the other layers, but certainly not as noticeably off as the blind layer.

Now I realize this probably could have been prevented to some extene on my end by explaining specifically that I wanted a deep impression...not to mention that if I had anticipated the possibility of this happening, I would have suggested mixing a little something to give that blind layer some contrast. I just assumed that my initial explanation of what I was looking for, in addition to the fact the printer does great work for a few well known letterpress invite companies, would have been enough. The invites are obviously not a total bust and I still mostly love them. I got a great deal, there are no errors that are worth taking the time to do a reprint and if I'm honest with myself, I'm pretty sure my guests won't be any wiser. But this is literally the first time in the wedding planning process I've been disappointed and even my fiance, who is about as far as a person could get from noticing creative details, could tell the final product didn't really look right.

So I don't know...is it worth saying anything to my printer? I hate coming off like such an anal nitpicker, especially if I'm not actually looking for a reprint or anything. I just feel like it would be better to be honest about how I feel about them than to pretend I love them 100% if I don't. Maybe I just need to suck it up and move on and just get them out of here. Advice?

@Mrs. Spring -- I think you make a great point if it were a one-time thing, but I actually was going to work the same printer on TYCs and program covers. I suppose I wasn't sure if it was worth saying anything, especially since I really don't want to make them feel bad and I was most likely going to go back anyway b/c of the good $$, plus the parameters for the other pieces are significantly less complicated than the invites.

I'll probably approach it in the way fizicsGirl describes and just try to get a clear idea of what the reality of the printing may have been vs. my mental expectations and then let it rest. 

@KateMW -- Haha, that cheered me up =p.

Well, I took a few pics with the last of the daytime light. I also added a pic of my invite next to a sample invite I had on hand of how I thought the printing was going to look. BTW the pattern is supposed to be clouds, much like the envelope pattern. The bummer is the blind deboss turns out the worst in the part with the most white space, figures! But as long as you hold it at the right angle, you can see all the details. To not be totally negative, I have to say I really do love how the envelopes turned out!

Now I just have to think about how I'm going to broach the issue with my printer without coming off as mean!

Um- these are gorgeous!  I don't see anything wrong!!

Thanks for the compliments ladies! :) This was really my baby so I'm happy that people actually like them and appreciate them!

@fizicsGirl -- I totally appreciate your insight :)...you're very good at thinking up polite but firm ways to bring up a topic :p!

@Kate -- A PM is coming your way!

i just had a very similar situation with my invites.  i was so excited when the box came in the mail - when i opened them up, something just didn't look right.  The green wasn't as vibrant as what was in the sample and the card stock was a darker white than the sample I ordered from.  I was so bummed, and I emailed our invitation company to let them know (politely).  The invitations were still beautiful, just not exactly as they should have been.  Our invitation company is very reputable, and they were wonderful handling my complaint.  To make up for the slight differences, they offered a few options, and because it was too late for me to do what they suggested, I asked if they would do thank you cards for us.  They agreed, and that's what we are doing.  I think I was able to get over the disappointment because I expressed it to them.  Had I just kept my mouth shut I think I would still be bothered by them.  The final result was tons of compliments on our invites - nobody would ever guess they weren't 'perfect' b/c they really are beautiful, and we now have matching thank you cards.  And the most important thing is I got over it - fast.

your invitations are absolutely fantastic - your guests will love them! 

Thank you for the compliments and advice all! Now that I've had some time to sleep on it, I think I feel a lot better about the invites than I did yesterday. But still, I'm glad I was able to sound off on this board and know that other brides are out there who understand my silly situation! Seriously, this place helps keep me feeling sane ;). Anyway, I'm currently writing out the email to my printer, but only to clarify that technical issue once and for all =)!