Terms & Conditions
About the Products
We have done our very best to describe our products in as much details as possible. If there is any information you feel is missing, please email us and these details will will aim to add these details to our print options page. Be sure to read any detailed descriptions of products and print options before purchasing, as the main title does not, and cannot, cover all details regarding the quality, finish and content of each item.
On printed products, please be aware that colours may differ slightly from what you see on your proof. The errors on the colouring may not be a result of poor printing, but a result of your monitor. Different monitors view different colours in different ways, particularly pale colours. Colours vary from screen to screen and we will not be held responsible for any slight differences in colours from your screen to the prints. If any colour differences to occur, they will only be slight.
On printed products a 3-6mm bleed is included around the edge of your design, therefore some cropping will occur. We ensure any text is within these boundaries.
If you feel there is an issue with the quality of the photographs on your design, this will be due to the quality of the original images sent through. We enhance them to the best of our ability, but low resolution files or poor quality photographs are sent through, there may not be anything we can do to solve this. Those designs hugely affected will be discussed prior to printing. All colours and images are printed exact, and colour quality and definition is very precise.
About Timescales
We try to give as accurate a turnaround time as possible for proofs, printing, dispatch and email replies. However, please bear in mind that Ella Announements is run by a mother to 3 children aged 5 and under, therefore we cannot account for everyday surprises such as illness, unexpected visitors and a toddlers need to bake cakes! Unfortunately we are not yet lucky enough to have a whole team of professionals scurrying around seeing to all aspects of the business, and noone to cover sick days. Just one mum, at one desk, scurrying around to see to all aspects of the business, and all aspects of day to day parenting. Therefore please note timescales are estimates only and none are 100% guaranteed.
Proofs: Due to unexpected events occurring, larger volumes of orders being received, and various other factors, the proof turnaround time can vary on a weekly basis. Please view the homepage for our most recent turnaround time. The standard turnaround time is 5 working days.
Printing: All printing is outsourced to ensure the best possible quality, and takes around 5 working days from the time your order is sent to print. There can occasionally be delays at the printers, but we have no control over this process. We do our best to ensure all orders are printed within 5 days. Orders are sent to print twice weekly.
Dispatch: We dispatch all orders within 24 hours of printing being complete. The postal service and turnaround times is obviously out of our hands, so please ensure you select a postage option to suit you.
Please note: "Days" are working days, Monday - Friday. We do not operate between 12pm on Friday and 9am on Monday.
When purchasing invitations, we recommend placing the order at least 8 weeks in advance, or sooner where possible. We do not recommend ordering invites if your event is less than 6 weeks away. Orders can potentially be turned around quicker if contacting us prior to placing your order, but it is in no way our responsibility if orders do not arrive on time when you have ordered them later than the 8 weeks recommended. Complaints regarding lack of time to dispatch invites or wondering where the postman is because you need the invitations now is unreasonable. Should it happen that your order does not arrive in time when ordered after 8 weeks before the event, then this is in no way our fault and you will not receive a refund.
About Payment
Online Payments can be made through our website via credit/debit card or paypal. We never see your payment details. If you need to use an alternative payment method, contact us to discuss.
About Shipping
All of our orders are sent via Royal Mail, and the following services are used for our various delivery options.
Standard Delivery: First Class
Signed Delivery: First Class Recorded
Premium Delivery: Next Day Special Delivery
By selecting Premium Delivery, does not mean that your order will be received the next day, simply that once your order is ready, it will be sent via the next day service. The proof and printing turnaround times are not in any way affected.
Announcements are wrapped in tissue paper, and packaged in a board backed envelope. Larger orders will be in a polythene bag or posted in a box.
About Items Lost or Damaged
We cannot be held responsible for items lost or damaged in the post. The Royal Mail does not class first class items (including signed for delivery) lost until 15 days after dispatched, so please allow this amount of time for your order to arrive. If after 15 working days your order has still not arrived, we will provide you with details required in order for you to process a claim wit the Royal Mail to request compensation. Claims can be made easier by selecting Signed Delivery, and can be eliminated altogether by selecting Premium Delivery.
About Returns and Refunds
Due to the nature of our printed products, we are unable to offer a standard returns policy. Each of our announcements, invitations and gifts are bespoke and personalised, meaning we are unable to resell any returned products. Should you have any issues with your order then we will gladly talk this through with you and hopefully come to a solution to suit you.
About your Proof
We will only ever send one proof of your invitation or announcement via email. We spend, on average, around one hour designing photocard invites and we dedicate this whole hour to creating your unique and special design, and making sure you are happy with the proof. If you require bespoke additions to your chosen design please give detail after purchasing your invites in order for us to ensure we create a proof you are happy with. Please avoid requesting to see two proofs "just to compare", as you can compare with samples on the website should you need to.
If you require amendments beyond this one proof, this is no problem at all. There are no limits to the number of amendments you request, however where possible please try to request all changes in one go to cut the overall turnaround time. Amendments will usually be seen to within 24 hours.
The proof turnaround time is counted from when we personally receive and review your photographs (or text) and not from when you hit send on the form. If this is an evening or a weekend, you will not be placed into the proof queue until the following working day. Photographs for photocard designs must be received before you are placed in the proof queue.
Please fill in your design and information details with as much information as possible. We cannot guess your design preferences, or your preferred style. Everyone is different. Please fill in your form with wording exactly as you wish it to appear, including upper/lower case letters. Please refrain from completing the form in upper case lettering, as we than have to type everything ourselves, and this is where most spelling errors can occur. Where possible, we will copy and paste the information directly into the design from your details, and assume all spelling is correct.
Always check the wording and spelling on your proof. Typing errors are a part of computer life, so it's vital to double check all spelling.
Our proof, amendments and approval system is in place to avoid errors on the design. We cannot be held responsible for any errors you spot after receiving your order, including spelling errors. All proofs must be approved before printing. You are responsible for proof reading, checking and approving your design via email. It is your responsibility to spot any errors. We will not replace items that have been approved before printing. If you wish to reprint due to an error, we are more than happy to offer the reprints at a reduced rate.
An email saying you are happy with the design, happy to print, require no further changes, or words to this effect will be taken from us as approval of your proof and your order will be sent to print. Approval of your proof is you telling us that there are no errors, and nothing you are unhappy with. We will never send any order to print before a proof is approved. This includes requesting amendments and asking that orders are sent to print immediately. Every set of amendments will require a proof to be emailed to you and approved.
If after approving your proof you spot an error, or wish for further amendments, this is at the discretion of Ella Announcements if your order has not been sent to print. This may cause a delay with your printing turnaround time. You may not receive an amended proof for these amendments. If you order has already been sent to print, there is nothing more we can do, so please ensure you are 100% happy with the design before approving.
About your Photographs
When emailing your photographs, please ensure you are sending the image in it's highest resolution. Resized images are not recommended for printing on our designs. We need the photograph exactly as it was when downloaded from your camera. Please do not use any software to upload your photographs to a website (photo printing website, photo sharing website, myspace/facebook/etc). These will automatically be resized and we'll be unable to use them on your design. Should your email account automatically resize your photographs, we ask that you try to send these from a different account. We do have a photobucket account where you can upload your photos for us to collect. Do not send photographs edited to black and white. If you want black adn white photographs, let us know in your proof request form and we will do this. Where possible we need all photos to be in colour.
It is not our responsibility to request original files from every customer. If the photograph quality on your final invitations is poor, this is due to poor quality photographs being sent. To avoid this please send us the original photographs as email attachments.
We can edit images only so much. We're nifty with photoshop, but no miracle workers. If there are serious problems with a photograph, then do not use it. Send us another. The final product will ultimately depend on the photographs you sent us. See our photo tips page for some ideas on perfect photos.
We cannot use professional photographers without the photographers permission. This includes digital images, or scanned photos. Please have the photographer email us direct to let us know they are happy for you to use their images in the design. You can use photographs taken by our recommended photographers on any designs. Please visit the Recommend Photographers page to find a photographer near you.
About Copyright and our designs
You may not under any circumstances copy or reproduce either an announcement you purchase, a proof you receive or a design/layout from our website.
Every design we create is completely unique. No two designs are identical. Each is created entirely from scratch to ensure an individual nnouncement for every customer. Your announcement design belongs to Ella Announcements. We give you no rights to the design. You may not reprint our designs. You may not resell our designs. You may not replicate our designs.
Do not email our samples to other companies and ask them to copy. Purchase the invitations here. While Ella Announcements is flattered to a degree, please be aware that some companies on the web are replicating the work of Ella Announcements and our designs. If you see any designs frightfully similar to ours on your travels, we'd love to hear from you. Though companies may copy us, they will never beat us on unique design, attention to detail and top quality products.
Every order will include the Ella Announcements website address. This will be discrete and positioned appropriately so as not to detract from your announcement. It will be visible on your proof, so if you're unhappy with it's positioning, let us know and we can try it somewhere else.
If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please contact us with your concerns and we'd love to talk it over with you!