Business Stationery and Your Business Identity

Ordering Business Stationery

Order Stationery or Make it Yourself?

You can buy stationery or create it yourself. You can use tools like Microsoft Publisher for this purpose, and plenty of design templates are provided to make creating custom busy stationery fairly easy. Additionally, you can create your letterhead with just a word processor:

• Insert your logo into the header of the page.
• Add contact information, like your address and phone number, to the header and footer.
• Save the file.

Whenever you need to write a business letter using your computer, just:

• Open your letterhead file
• Insert your content into the body of the letter
• Save the letter with a new file name
• Print your letter

Once you have business stationery, you can use it for a variety of purposes, such as a fax cover letter or for invoices.

Stationery Paper Weight and Brightness

Whether you create your own, order stationery, or buy stationery from an office supply store, insist on a good quality paper - say a 22 or 24 pound bond or heavier - for your business stationery. Never use standard 20 pound bond printer or copy paper for your business correspondence because it just comes off as flimsy.

Brightness numbers pertain to the level of "whiteness" in the paper. Standard printer and copy paper may only carry a brightness rating of 84. For business communications I like to use 90 or better - the higher the brightness value, the brighter the paper. Brighter paper results in crisper text on the page and better print resolution. Switching my printer paper to heaver and brighter bond paper for business correspondence has served me well for several years now to the extent that I haven't felt the need to buy custom printed business stationery yet.

Business Envelopes and Return Addresses

You can do the same thing for envelopes. Create the envelope in your word processor with your business return address and save it. As long as your printer can handle printing envelopes easily, you're basically all set. Office supply stores have a good selection of envelopes that are appropriate for your home business.

What I've found even easier than printing my return address on my business stationery envelopes is ordering return address labels from my print shop whenever I need to order business cards. They were free with my business cards and I just affix one to my envelope.

More in the Business Identity Series

1. 8 Steps to Your Business Identity - Introduction & Overview
2. Brainstorming Your Business Name and Tagline
3. Address and Phone Numbers for Your Home Business
4. Checking into an Employer ID Number with the IRS
5. Opening a Business Bank Account
6. Creating Your Business Logo
7. Ordering Your Business Cards
8. Establishing Your Business Website

This article is part of the Brochures and More series.

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