Graduation Printing: 4 Products (Plus Tips) to Celebrate Students

Graduation printing begins with graduation Announcements. With size, paper stock and finishing options, custom announcements spread the word about accomplishments and can even act as save the dates for upcoming grad parties.

It was those online printing options that led graphic designer Cailey Birchem to Smartpress. For her client’s announcements, Birchem chose 100# cover stock in coated matte to make the grade.

“My client was thrilled [that] the cards stood out in the stack of announcements from the rest of his class,” she said.

As a full-service online printer, Smartpress can even complete your announcement printing with pre-printed envelopes. Just select a matching paper stock and we’ll print your return address for you. Better still? With variable data printing, we can save you tons of time addressing envelopes to your guests, too.

It’s just another online printing service that keeps us ahead of the learning curve. “The excellent customer service helped me decide what was the best choice for printing,” said Birchem. “Even without being in the print shop, I was able to understand the processes and how it would impact the design.”

Before your graduates switch their tassels from one side to the other, let family and friends know about graduation details with custom Direct Mail Postcards. Unlike announcements that need an envelope to be mailed, direct mail printing lets you skip that step and send your scholar’s specifics straight to recipients.

For Matthew McKeever, graduation postcards helped him stick to a budget for the big day. “The postcard format was something unique that we thought might stand out. On top of that, you save on postage, envelopes and printing.” A postcard never fails – and neither does the vertical orientation McKeever chose for the front.

Whether you’re an educator sending families ceremony details or a parent planning the after-ceremony events, Smartpress makes it easy to customize your postcard printing. You’ll ace the design with coated stocks, paper weight options and UV coatings. You can even add perforation to create instant tear-off tickets for drawings or games at the party.

Smartpress’ mailing and addressing services have your direct mail covered, too, with return address options and list processing to personalize addresses for individual recipients. We’re happy to help you do it all, to which McKeever can attest.

“Customer service was hands down the best part of the process,” he said. “I had lots of questions about final dimensions and what paper/finish [would] survive the transit and all were answered timely and accurately.”

“The website is easy to use and offers a great user dashboard to track projects [and] the 24-hour pick-up area is an added convenience for locals,” he noted.

Hint: When designing postcards for your school ceremony or senior events, remember to mention these graduation printing must-haves:

• Date
• Time
• Parking instructions
• Potluck dish to share
• Banquet decorations to bring
• After-event clean-up

Graduating is a rite of passage, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to every tradition. Applaud your academic your own way with custom Invitations.

Not just for the ceremony or reception, our invitation printing lets you gather guests for special graduation events like a school potluck with the parents, backyard BBQ for family and friends or trivia night with teachers and staff.

Designer Tracy Smith created invitations for one such special event: a breakfast for an entire seventh grade class. With vibrant comic book graphics, Smith personalized invitations that popped.

“I was looking for a flat, heavyweight card that could be paired with a second smaller card of the same weight [for an] RSVP,” she said. “The students and parents all loved the design and the quality.”

Online printing with Smartpress means you can print your own graduation invitations with can’t-miss color and unique white ink that captivates on darker stocks, plus high-quality finishes that protect and look amazing. “Smartpress’ coated matte stock is exactly what I was looking for and I’ve used it several times since,” said Smith.

When it’s time to get the party started, celebrate with custom Yard Signs. Whether in your front lawn or on your school grounds, yard sign printing salutes students with content and imagery on one or both sides.

Printed on weather-resistant fluted corrugated plastic, graduation signs are easy to install with H-stake options that suit any size. And with full-color printing that doesn’t fade in the sun, custom lawn signs recognize your graduate’s accomplishments all season long.

While they make great advertisements and directional signage, personalized yard signs can also simply toast to your specific graduate. Emily Robertson, DECA business advisor at Southwest Christian High School, created a sign for each member of the class of 2020. How? With Smartpress’ Versions feature.

“It was a super easy, quick process. We were impressed with the user-friendly system,” Robertson said. Versions lets you personalize and print multiple signs in the same order. As long as your signs have the same size and finish, you can vary the content on each one.

Keep them all uniform or explore die cutting to create signs in the shape of basketballs or footballs for graduating players. Or get really creative with dancer poses, instruments, diplomas and graduation caps.

Hint: When designing lawn signs for students, don’t forget to include:

• Graduating year
• School name
• School mascot
• School colors
• Student’s name or nickname
• Fun photos

FEATURED DESIGNS

Christina’s Announcement Design by Aurrie Hicks
Logan’s Announcement Design by Cailey Birchem
Clara’s Postcard Design by Matthew McKeever
Charlotte’s Postcard Design by Heidi Edwards
Graduates Invitation Design by Tracy Smith
Katarina’s Invitation Design by Katarina Spasojevic
Jack’s Invitation Design by Renee Thomsen
SWHS Yard Sign Design by Emily Robertson
The Ellis School Yard Sign Design by Erin Foster
EP Eagles Yard Sign Design by Eden Prairie School/Boosters/PTO