Stationery is one of the most visible aspects of any business. The category of stationery includes letterhead, matching envelopes, note cards, and business cards. Remember, your stationery will be seen and kept by your customers. It will definitely influence the way they see your business.

The stationery you use says a lot about your business - it's an important part of building and projecting your company’s image. High-quality stationery that displays an attention to detail will reflect well on your business. Cheap-looking stationery with no real design values will detract from your image and may even lose you customers.

Make sure that the business image you present is consistent. The various different items, such as letterhead, envelopes and business cards should match each other, and your stationery should also match your outdoor signage and your marketing material.

You should think about the following factors when designing your stationery - each will make an impression on your customers and other contacts:

• typeface logo and overall letterhead design
• ink colors
• the text to be included - such as address, phone number, your business slogan, etc.
• paper stock - heavier paper is more expensive but projects a high-quality image

Don’t cut corners on logo design or stationery design. Unless you are a graphic designer, don’t try to do the logo yourself. Hire a professional designer to do it right. Homemade designs result in lost sales. It’s that simple

Checklist For The Types of Stationery You Need

Business stationery covers every aspect of your printed communications - with customers, suppliers and even between different people in your business.

The types of stationery most businesses are likely to require include:

1. Letterhead paper – This is typically 8.5 x 11, and printed with laser-safe ink for use in laser printers. Also be sure it is printed “long grain” so it feeds through your printer without jamming. (Be sure to include all your address and contact information.)
2. Matching envelopes – don’t get cheap here. Use the same paper as your letterhead.
3. Labels – Having a nice sized label to use for larger envelopes or boxes when necessary is also very professional. We recommend 6-up laser labels, which fix 6 labels on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of laser safe label stock. You can use this in any laser or ink jet printer to print a batch of labels, or also just use them one at a time for handwritten labels.
4. Invoices and Receipts – You can use your standard letterhead stock and let your computer printer print the details of the invoice, or have a completely custom invoice form printed as well.
5. Business Cards – This is a necessity. Be generous in giving out your business cards, and make sure you think carefully about how you want your clients to contact you before including information on your business cards. For instance, cell phones are handy, but if you publish your cell number on your business cards, be prepared to receive calls at all hours.

These items can be purchased one by one, as you feel you need them. But, the most economical way is to order them all at the same time, that way the printer can print them at the same time and do so at a discounted price.

To learn more about printing more efficiently and saving money, please see our Stationery Combo Pack.