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When we wrote about pingg a little over a year ago, we noted that it was aiming to provide the upper echelon of online invitations, with an ad-free approach and premium design capabilities. Proving once again that there’s rarely a limit to such upgrade possibilities, Paperless Post has ratcheted up the category even more with a custom invitation service that aims to emulate the beauty and thoughtfulness of traditional cardstock. Now in beta, Paperless Post allows members to design, deliver and manage custom online invitations that strive to capture the care and formality of old-fashioned mailings from days gone by. Six categories of card styles are available for users to choose from, including both modern and classic options for formal, casual and holiday events. From there, members select a paper design—the site’s e-papers closely mimic the texture and weight of real paper—a motif and the wording style. Invitations are delivered in personalized envelopes to guests’ inboxes, where a simple click causes them to open. Ad-free Paperless Post allows members to monitor the invitations they send and track replies, as well as follow up with guests and manage events, both personal and ticketed. Past invitations—both sent and received—can even be archived in the manner of a virtual scrapbook. Pricing begins at USD 5 for “stamps” to send 60 invitations, and Paperless Post charges a commission on all ticketed events: 2.5 percent on tickets to for-profit events, or 2 percent on those for charity. Based in New York, Paperless Post has already handled 60,000 invitations since the beginning of this year, according to a report in the New York Times, and 150,000 since its launch last fall. Besides providing an interesting twist in the crowded online invitation market, it also gives us another welcome opportunity to repeat our very favourite refrain: everything can be upgraded! 😉 Spotted by: Kimberley Mosher