Corporate stationery is one of those jobs that feels simple until you are halfway through it and realise nobody can find the original logo file.
Work through this list in order and the whole thing takes an afternoon instead of three weeks.
STEP 1: FIND YOUR BRAND ASSETS FIRST
Before you order anything, get these into one folder:
- Your logo as a vector file, which usually means an EPS, AI, SVG or print ready PDF
- A version of the logo that works on a dark background
- Your exact brand colours, as CMYK values for print and HEX values for screen
- The names of your brand fonts
If you only have a JPG or a PNG, say so up front. We can redraw a logo properly, but it is much better to know that at the start than halfway through a print run.
STEP 2: THE CORE ITEMS EVERY BUSINESS NEEDS
- Business cards, for everyone who meets clients
- Letterheads, both printed and as a digital template
- Email signature, which is stationery even though it never gets printed
- Quote, invoice and statement templates
- Compliment slips, which still look good tucked into a delivery
STEP 3: THE ITEMS PEOPLE FORGET
- Branded envelopes, including the larger sizes
- Presentation folders for proposals and tender documents
- Notepads for the boardroom
- Delivery notes and job cards, which customers see more often than your brochure
- Branded stickers for sealing packaging
- Name badges, if you have reception staff or attend events
STEP 4: DECIDE ON QUANTITIES HONESTLY
Business cards are the one item worth ordering in volume, because the price per card falls sharply and the details rarely change.
Everything with a staff name on it should be ordered in smaller batches. People leave, roles change, and a box of cards for someone who resigned in March is just an expensive reminder.
STEP 5: CHECK EVERY DETAIL BEFORE APPROVAL
Read this list against the proof, slowly:
- Spelling of every name, including the ones you think you know
- Phone numbers dialled, not just read
- Email addresses, character by character
- Website address, including whether it still works
- Company registration or VAT number, if it has to appear
- Physical and postal address
- Social media handles, which change more often than people expect
STEP 6: KEEP IT CONSISTENT
The whole point of corporate stationery is that someone can tell all of it came from the same company without having to look for the logo.
Same colours, same fonts, same logo placement, same tone. If your invoice looks like it came from a different business than your letterhead, it quietly chips away at how organised you look.
STEP 7: STORE IT PROPERLY
Keep the final print ready files somewhere the whole team can get to them, and keep a note of the paper stock and finish you chose. In two years when you reprint, that note saves a whole conversation.
Need the whole set done at once so everything actually matches? That is exactly what our paper and print service is for, and our designers can build the templates to go with it. Start here.