personalized stationery

Do you need custom sizes in small quantities? We got you.

We know how designers like to create original everything so now we have an option for that. If you want a non-standard size in a flat, one-sided format in small quantities, our new DIY Sheet with Cutting is for you. DIY

Here’s how to set up files in Illustrator:

  1. Create a 12″ x 18″ document, either landscape or vertical.
  2. Add guides for the print area: 11.5″ x 17″
  3. Create artwork in desired sizes and fit into print area, place all pieces at 90 degree angles, we cannot cut odd angles.
  4. Make a square or rectangle in the size you want, select it, then go to Objects > Create Trim Marks.
  5. If you have color or images that bleed off the edge, expand them to go at least .125″ beyond the trim marks.

Tip: Leave at least a 3/4″ between pieces for best results.

Minimum: 25 sheets, $1.77 per sheet (if you have a wholesale account)DIY_after

DIY Sheets with Cutting is a great option for a set of odd sized cards, wedding place cards, custom sized postcards, disposable coasters and whatever else you creative types can come up with.

Foil Stamped Stationery: Can’t get enough shine.

RoseGoldYep, we added more foil stamping color options on StationeryHQ.com because we know you’re obsessed. And so are we. You can already order foil with digital printing through our website. Now you can order foil on A7, A2 and 4Bar size without digital printing on:

  • 130#/21pt Environment Wrought Iron Raw Cover
  • 130# Classic Crest Smooth Cover – Epic Black
  • 130# Classic Crest Smooth Cover – Patriot Blue

And since Rose Gold Foil is a smokin’ hot trend, we added that too. Other colors include festive Red, Matte Gold, Metallized Gold, Matte Silver, Metallized Silver, and Copper Foil. Foil stamping is perfect for wedding invitation suites, save the dates, small art prints and party invitations. Turnaround time is about 5 business days, find pricing here and don’t forget to log in so you see wholesale prices!

Navy paper with white foil stamping, perfect for special occasions and party invitations.
Gold foil stamped on black paper is so elegant, it’s perfect for special occasions like wedding invitations or anniversary parties.
Make a big impression with white foil stamp on dark gray paper.
Various foil stamping colors on colored paper stocks.

Shout out to Brit Tucker for generously sharing her totally fabulous typographic genius with us – thank you!

Beef up the bottom line with flat cards for the holidays

toolsMost of us creative types are all about the design, the message and the media. We aren’t crazy about the math, it’s usually not in a Top 10 priorities spot when we are brainstorming. Here’s the thing though, understanding the bottom line is kind of, you know, crucial. Flat cards from StationeryHQ are a great way to be well-compensated for your talent and efforts.

If you are a wholesale customer, a two-sided, full color, flat A7 card will start at  $.43 each. So for the sake of argument, let’s say you order 50 for a total cost of $21.50 + shipping. Flat cards on fine papers sell on major retail sites for OVER $2.00 each. That’s $100 for a set of 50, leaving you with $79.50 per order. Do 10 orders like that per week (pretty easy workload, right?) and you’re making about $3,000 a month without breaking a sweat. If you did the same number of cards/orders with folded cards, your margin would be closer to $2,000 per month and you had to work a little harder to set up the artwork. See how fun the math is now?

A few more $ tips:

• Requiring a minimum of 25 or 50 as opposed to 10 gets you more profit with exactly the same amount of work.

• Charge a premium for extras like rounded corners, still no extra work for you but a sassier product and better margin.

• Offer incentives for large orders, many customers will “order up” when they know they are close to a discount or promotion.

• Encourage your clients to order early to save on shipping costs. And so you can enjoy the holidays.

Cheers!

Foil continues to shine

You designers have made foil for online automated ordering one of our fastest growing categories. The rest of the world is still falling in love with this look so be sure to include in your 2015 holiday collection. Keep in mind that it takes 7 – 10 business days as opposed to 3 days to produce. Order early so you don’t have to stress about getting them out on time.

foildots

Silver foil on Natural Savoy. Boom.

Things to know when you are designing for foil:

– Foil reproduces best on smoother papers, if you want to use cotton or felt, keep it big and bold

– Make strokes 2pt or bigger

– Simpler, solid artwork will reproduce the foil best

– Comes in A7, A2 and 4bar

– File set up is a little different, check out file set up instructions, you’ll find them under the white card preview

Silver foil on Ice Pearl. Mmmm, so shiny.

Silver foil on Ice Pearl. Mmmm, so shiny.

Available foil colors.

Available foil colors.

Get your shine on and post your foil design pics on our facebook page so we can celebrate your sparkle

You Design. We Deliver. An NSS Perspective from StationeryHQ.

photo 1

Having just returned from NSS in New York, I thought it appropriate to share my take on this year’s show. This was my fifth consecutive show and each year I’m thrilled to have a chance to see and meet so many of our existing customers. There’s nothing like putting a name with a face and hearing about customer experiences with our company. Yes, even the bad ones.

The show, like all shows (and orders for that matter) seemed to come in waves. From 10am to 11am we wondered if anyone would show up this year, and from 11am to 3pm we wondered how many people walked away without getting to speak with a representative. If that happened to you, we apologize and hope you had a chance to come back when we weren’t slammed.

As always, I love the “Best in Show” display. My favorite new product was a beautiful hand-sewn leather journal. The incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail was amazing. In general, besides the always fantastic lines of greeting cards, the popular items seemed to be unique journals and wrapping paper. The unfinished look of bound journals was very prevalent and wrapping paper was everywhere. Letterpress remains very strong and the foil trend continues with a vertical trajectory that we rarely see in the industry.

Overall, the crowd was good, the booths looked great, and everyone seemed to be upbeat about the marketplace. From my perspective, I’m glad we were there, and I am eager to help make existing and new stationer’s dreams come true.

Scott Feldman, SHQ Sales Manager

 

You asked and we delivered – Envelopes from Waste Not Paper® on StationeryHQ.com

Waste Not Envelopes

Waste Not Envelopes

You asked and we delivered – Envelopes from Waste Not Paper® on StationeryHQ.com Waste Not has had a great reputation for many years in the fine stationery marketplace. We knew our designers wanted us to provide a low quantity option for Waste Not envelopes in sassy colors. Cuz you yelled it from the rooftops. Really loud.

So Scott started working on a partnership with Waste Not so that our customers could do one-stop shopping for their stationery needs. We are very excited to be able to provide that experience. Many of you probably want these with liners, with printing, and with Waste Not’s entire color lineup (which is amazing). We are starting with three sizes and six colors and if they sell like hotcakes we’ll add more colors and more options to make your envelopes as fabulous as your card design. We have A7, A2 and 4Bar Euro Flap envelopes in these colors:
Pure White
Pool
Peacock
Coral
Slate
Luxe Blush
The Luxe Blush is on order, should be available in late in May or early June. I sure hope you like these and that they help your business grow and be more profitable.

We love California (except for taxes. aka all you never wanted to know about sales tax in California)

We love California. Great weather, inexpensive houses (just kidding) and no taxes (now I’m just crying). We have had a lot questions about how California sales tax works so I thought I’d try to share what I know.

Since our production facility is in Santa Clara, California we are subject to the California sales tax rules. As a former accountant I know that sales tax is really a use tax. The rules are as follows:

  1. If we ship within California we are required to charge sales tax unless the person we are selling to has a California resale license.
  2. If your customer is located in California (even though your business isn’t) we must charge and pay the state. To learn more I recommend this article: TAX ARTICLE. You can also visit the Franchise Tax Board
  3. You can apply for a license but I’ll warn you there are requirements you should review to make sure it makes sense for your business. Quarterly filings, etc.

It probably only makes sense if you ship multiple stationery orders per month to your clients with shipping addresses in California.

For most of you who occasionally ship an order in California we recommend you add 9% to your prices to cover the cost of the sales tax we are forced to charge you.

Now can we talk about our great weather instead? Even though I’m a recovering accountant I really hate taxes.