Digital invitations are a convenient way to be able to customize and print your own (or send via email.) But a lot of people don’t know how to edit and personalize the digital invitations, so using them might not be as easy as you think they will be.
I asked Dana Parsons, who owns Printress Designs, to write an article about using digital templates and how they work. After you read this, you’ll have a better idea of how this kind of invitation works, and you’ll be able to personalize your digital purchase.
Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that will pay a small commission if they’re used to purchase something. To see the entire affiliate policy click here.
The following was written by Dana Parsons. To see her Etsy shop, which includes customizable funeral programs and digital party invitations, click here: Printress Designs On Etsy
The basics of printable invitations.
When you’re buying digital invitations, it’s crucial to carefully read the descriptions, because there are various types of invitations available, and there are major differences in what can be edited and what can’t.
The two primary categories of digital invitations are seller-edited templates and self-editing templates.
Seller-edited invitations
When you buy a seller-edited invitation, you will need to provide all the necessary information to the seller either in a note to the seller, an Etsy message, or an email. The seller will then create a proof for you.
Most sellers offer a set number of proofs with your purchase, which means that you can make changes and request a certain number of new proofs.
Once you approve a proof, the seller will send you the final files for printing and/or digital purposes.
Self-editing invitations
There are several different kinds of self-editing invitation templates.
1. Downloads that you edit on your computer.
With these templates, you will download the actual template from Etsy once you complete the purchase. The most common ones are:
A. Word documents
B. Editable PDFs
2. Templates that you edit online.
A. Canva templates: You’ll either receive a clickable PDF in your Etsy purchase confirmation email, or you’ll download the PDF from the purchase section of your Etsy account. The PDF will include a link to access the template. To edit the template, you will need to log into your Canva account or create a free Canva account. While sellers can offer assistance, they can’t access your Canva templates.
B. Corjl, Jet Template, and Templett templates: After you’ve finished your purchase from Etsy, an email from the editing software containing a link to edit your template will be sent to the email you have on file with Etsy. Simply follow the link to the corresponding website and create a free account to start editing your template online.
There’s no need to download any software, since everything you need is already available in your browser. In most of these listings, you’ll find a Demo link that allows you to test the program before purchasing the listing.
One of the advantages of these templates is that if you need help editing, the seller can access the template and make changes for you. When you’re finished editing, you have several options to download the final file.
Another advantage of these templates is that you can download print-ready files with multiples on a page with bleed and trim marks.
Options to hire the seller to edit your templates.
If you’re not confident in your editing skills, many sellers also offer editing services for an additional cost.
Again, you should carefully read the description before purchasing a digital invitation, since different sellers offer varying levels of editing options.
While you can make changes to the text on all templates, many allow you to edit the fonts, text size, and color, but some don’t.
Some templates allow you to make modifications to the graphics, while others don’t. Also, many templates can’t be edited for size or orientation.
It’s always best to contact the seller before purchasing to ask what the limitations are, and whether they offer services to help you if you end up not being able to figure it out.
Most people will be able to direct you to a helpful article or two, so you’ll probably be able to figure it out pretty easily. Or they’ll be able to do the editing for an additional charge if you want to have them do it.
Sending the invitations.
Once you’ve edited the invitations and they look the way that you want them to, you’ll be able to either print them out or send them as an attachment in an email.
For events like funerals, you’ll probably want to print out hard copies that you can use for guests during the service, but for more casual events like a birthday party, an email invitation is a convenient choice.
The programs that let you edit the invitations will let you save them to your computer as a PDF file that you can easily print or share.
Depending on which program you use, it will work a little differently, but each platform will have instructions so that you’ll be able to send your custom invitation to your guests.