From Hot Prints Envelope-Making to Envelope Printing: How Did We Get Here?

At Hot Prints USA to envelop something is to wrap it up; to give it cover, to shroud it, to protect it. An envelope is a cover, usually made of paper, for flat pieces of parcels or packages, such as letters, mails, and other paper-like correspondences.

Envelopes can be anything from being a solidly utilitarian white, to a delicate powdery lacy-blue. Envelopes change and transform to fit any occasion. Hand-made envelopes of the past have been regarded as detailed works of art; nowadays, speed and consistency outweigh the importance of handcrafted pieces. How did the world end up from envelope-making to envelope printing? Good question for hot prints USA.

Envelopes are not new thing for the world, either to Hot Prints, as envelopes have been used for more than 2 centuries. That’s 200 years—and counting—of relying on these trusty paper-pockets with our secrets, confidences, thoughts, and sentiments. Up until 1845, handcrafted enveloped were the only ones you could use, but British men Edwin Hill and his partner Warren De La Rue patented the first machine that can make envelopes. From that point on, envelope-making hasn’t turned back.

Nowadays, the ease and speed given to us by envelope printing is a marvel of modern technology. The designs that handcrafters of old would painstakingly put on their envelopes can be reproduced by printers in the blink of an eye. Back then, prints were usually scribbled, painted, or inked by skilled calligraphers. After the typewriter was invented, they were typed in. Still, the process took time and much effort, carefully lining up the letters. Handcrafters can—and often did—make mistakes (though the minor imperfections add to the certain “authentic” charm); typists can sometimes misalign the envelope, making the letters askew after envelope printing. These days, such problems are rarely encountered, what with the accuracy of modern machines.

The latest yet to be utilized in envelope printing, are the pre-gummed envelopes designed for laser printers. What makes these so special is that you don’t have to have a special envelope printer to get the job done; you can just use any ordinary office or home laser printer. Personalized and business designs and graphics can now be incorporated into the envelope easily and effectively.

It’s amazing to see the rich history that such a simple, ordinary piece of standard white envelope has. This lowly worker has been privy to many of history’s best-kept secrets; it’s been a witness to some of the world’s greatest moments. It has circled the globe countless times; it’s been in different places and been touched by rich cultures. The way it has evolved from being of different shapes and sizes, to the standardized ones you use today; and from being sealed by wax, to being lined with gum, and to the pre-gummed standards of today. Envelopes and envelope-making and printing have evolved along with society and its people. Find more information at Hot Prints website.

Although envelope-making and envelope printing has changed into the smooth, fast-paced technology you see and use every day, the purpose of this lowly hardworking wrapper remains the same: still to conceal, to convey, to protect our secrets, our confidences, our thoughts, and our sentiments..

 

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