Vellum envelope liners are very in right now! With a soft, subtle translucency that pairs nicely with just about any envelope, they’re popular for weddings, Bat Mitzvahs, parties, holiday cards, and more. If you’re considering adding vellum liners to your invitation envelopes, you may have the same question everyone else has – how to adhere them without glue or tape showing through.
Full disclaimer, since vellum liners are translucent (see-through), adhesive show-through is inevitable. However, there are ways to minimize the appearance of tape or glue under vellum and create polished, professional-looking vellum lined envelopes.
In this post, we’ll teach you all about it, covering:
- 3 types of adhesive testing
- How much adhesive to use
- Where to place adhesive
- The impact of envelope color on adhesive show-through
- How to print on vellum envelope liners
Let’s get started!
What Glue is Best for Vellum Liners? We Put 3 to the Test!
To answer this common question, we tested 3 popular paper adhesives with our vellum envelope liner paper – a tape runner, adhesive dots, and paper glue.
Double-Sided Tape Runner
What It Is
A tape runner is a convenient hand-held device that allows you to roll thin double-sided tape onto your envelopes. It’s a quick, clean, and easy way to adhere liners to envelopes with the benefit of an instant bond and no drying time.
How We Used It
To use it, we held the applicator at a 45 degree angle, pressed down firmly, and dragged across the envelope to dispense tape. As a test, we rolled a small piece of tape on the left, the right, and top center of the liner.
The Results
As shown below, double-sided tape slightly shows through vellum liners, circled in red.
Double-Sided Adhesive Dots
What It Is
Adhesive dots (or tape or glue dots, as they are often called), are small, thin, peel-and-stick pieces of double-sided adhesive that feel “gummy” to the touch. Like a tape roller, dots are cleaner than glue and don’t require any drying time, but unlike a tape roller, dots can be peeled off and re-stuck, should you make an error.
How We Used It
One-by-one, we peeled and stuck 3 dots to the envelope. This time, anticipating dots would show through the vellum, we placed two in each corner below the envelope opening and one at the top of liner.
The Results
As expected, dots also showed through the vellum liner, shown in red. However, the dots placed below the envelope opening are hidden from view.
ZipDry Paper Glue
What It Is
ZipDry is a paper glue designed to never wrinkle paper – even vellum and tissue. It dries fairly quickly, and completely clear and flat if applied correctly (sparingly, in a thin line).
How We Used It
We squeezed the thinnest line of glue we could near the tip of the flap and in the left and right corners right below the envelope opening.
The Results
Even a tiny dab of glue showed through vellum as well. But again, the glue below the fold is nicely hidden.
In summary, all of the adhesives we tested are apparent through thin, see-through vellum. Below are some tips to help reduce this.
Go Easy on the Adhesive!
Once you find your favorite envelope liner adhesive, go easy with it! Whether tape or glue, a dab will do. This tip applies to any envelope liner paper but is especially true with vellum. Using too much adhesive can cause a bumpy, wrinkly, unpolished look and is actually wasteful (because let’s face it, adhesive isn’t cheap)!
Notice in the testing above, we sparingly applied adhesive only to the top perimeter of the liner. A thin line of glue or a few inconspicuous pieces of tape will suffice.
Place Adhesive Wisely…
By now you know, no matter what you do, adhesive is bound to show through thin, translucent vellum paper. However, if you place your adhesive wisely in addition to sparingly, you can minimize show-through.
Use Just 3 Points of Contact
Place a dab or dot just on the liner tip and on the left and right sides where the envelope opening meets the flap. This is secure, yet subtle.
Camouflage Adhesive Under Printing
If your liner is printed, take advantage! Place adhesive under a big printed flower for example.
Try a Lighter Colored Envelope
If you love vellum liners but can’t quite get the glue right, try using a lighter colored envelope. Adhesive is much less prominent when adhered to a lighter colored envelope as opposed to a darker one.
How to Print Vellum Envelope Liners
Since printing can be great for hiding adhesive, here’s how to add printing to your vellum envelope liners!
Print & Cut Your Own Vellum Liners at Home
Feeling crafty? Order pre-cut blank vellum envelope liners, download our euro flap envelope liner printing template (sizes A1-A9 are available in the “Euro Flap Envelope” section), and print at home.
If you’d prefer to print on 8 1/2 x 11 vellum then cut your liners out from that, we can help with that too! Simply find your favorite 8 1/2 x 11 vellum paper then visit our blog for free euro flap envelope printing templates and instructions.
Order Pre-Printed Vellum Liners from LCI Paper
If you’d prefer not to print, LCI can print vellum envelope liners for you! Just choose your liner, upload your design and we’ll print it in white, black, or color.
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Euro Flap Envelopes | Tips for Printing Vellum Like a Pro | Tips for Sealing Wedding Envelopes