If using a home printer to print metallic envelopes, we generally suggest a laser printer rather than an inkjet printer. We believe the toner from the laser printer will adhere better to the metallic paper and the print is usually well-saturated, sharp, and even.
Members of our staff, as well as some of our customers have reported that they’ve successfully printed on metallic envelopes with their inkjet printers. However, generally speaking the wet ink from an inkjet printer does not adhere as well to the surface of metallic envelopes, therefore we do not recommend inkjet printing on them.
Due to the many brands & models of desktop printers, as well as different types of printer inks, our best advice is to use a laser printer if available. But if you’d like to see if your inkjet printer can successfully print metallic envelopes, we strongly recommend ordering a sample envelope and testing it with your setup.
I heard of a situation where envelopes addressed using a laser printer ran and smudged, have you heard about this?
It certainly is a possibility that the ink will smear when printing on metallic envelopes. Our in house tests indicate that the metallic envelopes will print fine through most laser printers, however that does not mean it will be successful for everyone. Each situation is different. For instance different papers have different compositions, therefore the results can vary from one metallic envelope paper to another. Also the actual printer hardware or the inks used will have an effect on the results. If you are uncertain and have never printed metallic envelopes on your printer we strongly suggest getting samples first to test. This way you can see first hand results on the paper of your choice using the printer at hand.
On another note, although we do not recommend it, we have had a significant number of customers mention they have been successful printing metallic envelopes using an inkjet printer. Again testing is recommended.