AKHOF-Print AG

A Zurich print shop with a wedding line

AKHOF-Print AG is a commercial print shop at Gubelhangstrasse 6 in 8050 Zürich, in the Oerlikon district, that prints everything from business stationery and posters to textiles and printed drinks cans. Weddings are one of its main lines: the menu lists wedding cards, laser-cut wedding cards, individual wedding cards, laser-cut save-the-date and menu cards, a self-design section for wedding items, and thank-you cards. All cards are printed on its own offset presses, and it publishes starting prices, which many Swiss stationers do not.

The shop's pitch is freedom of design. Its wedding page says there are hardly any limits: motif, typeface, color, format, text and paper can all be chosen and combined freely. It also stresses personal advice, by phone, by email or in person at the Oerlikon office, where it offers to show every wedding card it makes, advise on paper types, show color samples, create designs or help with its online design tools.

Four ways to a wedding invitation

The wedding page sets out 4 routes.

1. Laser-cut cards. Choose one of more than 130 laser-cut invitations and have the shop redesign and print the insert cards to the couple's wishes.
2. Adapt a template. Pick one of more than 150 design templates and have the shop's graphic designer change it as the couple wants.
3. A new individual design. The shop designs an invitation from scratch. It offers to create a free sample card with a quote for the quantity wanted.
4. Do it yourself. Use the online design tool, which has several 100 templates (the page's own wording), to design the invitation and send it straight to print.

For a new design, the shop asks for four pieces of information by email: the format (folded or flat card, size in millimeters), the motif or idea, the pictures and texts the couple will supply, and the number of cards. For image ideas it points to the Adobe Stock library and asks couples not to buy images, only to send the item number; large files should go via WeTransfer. Inquiries are answered within 48 hours on working days, and once a design is approved, production normally takes 2 to 3 working days.

Laser-cut invitations

The laser-cut page is the most detailed. The designs shown are starting points, the paper color of the laser-cut card can be changed, and a PDF sample of the insert, designed for the couple, comes free with a concrete quote. A rough first quote needs only the item name and quantity. For a full quote the shop asks for the texts, the typeface, the number of cards (and whether two versions are needed, for example one inviting guests to the aperitif only and one to the aperitif and the celebration), the ink color for the insert as a Pantone number, and any change of paper color. Optional extras are special printing such as foil stamping or letterpress, a satin ribbon or a paper band (Banderole), and a brooch.

Prices for laser-cut cards run from CHF 4 to CHF 20 per card, including envelopes, design and printing of the insert, and fall with quantity. The minimum order is 30 cards, and the delivery time is about 10 working days. The page itself shows 25 numbered example models, each with a detail page, from the wider collection of more than 130.

Individual cards and thank-you cards

Individually designed invitations and thank-you cards start at CHF 2 per card, including the individual design and offset printing, again cheaper in larger runs. The standard paper is 350 g/m² coated stock in matte or gloss, and the individual wedding card page adds that other papers are possible on request. The shop explains its choice of process plainly: offset is still the highest-quality printing method, and many printers use digital printing, which it compares to photocopying, and so may be a little cheaper.

Thank-you cards follow three of the same routes: a new design, an adapted template, or the design tool.

Adapting a template is the lightest process of all. The couple picks a sample card from the gallery on the individual wedding card page, sends its name together with their own pictures and texts and the number of cards wanted, and the shop returns a free sample adapted to them with a quote for that quantity. The same free sample and quote apply to thank-you cards. Because the design, the proof and the quote arrive together, a couple can compare the look and the price before committing to an order. The self-design tool, by contrast, sends the finished design straight into production, which the shop describes as child's play ("kinderleicht").

Beyond invitations

The self-design tool covers much more than cards. The list includes save-the-date cards, menu cards, table cards and name cards, seating plans, table numbers, welcome signs and welcome posters, church booklets (Kirchenhefte), bottle labels, acrylic invitations, printed T-shirts, gummy bears, napkins, guest books, gift tags and gift wrap. A couple can therefore order most of the printed pieces for the day from one supplier. The wedding page also shows photos from wedding fairs the shop has attended in Zurich, Zug and Lucerne.

What the site does not settle

The site is published only in German and does not say whether consultations can be held in English. It does not state shipping costs or whether it ships outside Switzerland; its own description is production in Oerlikon for the whole of Switzerland. It gives no opening hours on the wedding pages, so a visit to see the samples should be arranged by phone or email first. The prices are starting points; the final cost depends on quantity, paper and extras, and needs a quote.

Who it suits

AKHOF-Print suits couples in the Zurich area, or anyone who can deal with the shop by email in German, who want printed stationery at transparent starting prices and offset quality. The laser-cut range is the draw for a formal look, and the design tool suits couples who want to do the layout themselves and still get professional printing. Couples abroad should allow for the 48-hour reply time, about 10 working days for laser-cut cards, and postage from Switzerland, and ask early whether the shop will send finished cards abroad.