The 2010-era idea of a stationery suite — letterhead, compliments slip, business card, with-compliments folder, branded notepad — is mostly behind us. Email replaced most of the items on that list. But a few stationery decisions still matter, and they're cheaper to get right than most clients expect.
A note on the URL: this page lives at /branding/stationary-design/ with the original 2010 spelling preserved, because that's where the historical inbound links point. The correct spelling is "stationery" (with an E — paper goods). "Stationary" with an A means motionless. You'll see "stationery" used throughout the page itself.
What's still worth designing
- Business card. Still useful. Hand-to-hand at networking, in shop counters, in proposals you leave behind. Spend on weight (350gsm minimum) and finish (matt or soft-touch beats gloss). Design: name, role, phone, email, website. Skip the address unless customers visit.
- Email signature. The single most-seen piece of brand collateral in any small business. Get this right: name, role, business, phone, website. One image (logo or headshot) — or none. No quotes, no marketing slogans, no animated GIFs. Render it cleanly on mobile.
- Invoice and quote template. Branded Word/Pages or PDF templates with logo, business details, VAT number where applicable. The professional layer that quietly tells a customer they're dealing with a real business, not a side-hustle.
- Letterhead — minimal. Still needed for formal correspondence (legal, contracts, complaints). One Word template is enough. Don't print 500 copies; almost everything is now sent as PDF.
What's no longer worth designing
- Compliments slips. Replaced by the email signature.
- Branded notepads. Branded merchandise that's never used; expensive per unit.
- Heavy printed brochures. Replaced by website pages. A digital PDF brochure costs €0 to print once; a web page is better still.
- "With compliments" folders. Replaced by clean PDF proposals.
The budget call
If your identity is being designed at the same time, stationery is usually included as part of the brand-system deliverable. Budget €400–€900 for a small kit (cards, email signature, invoice template, letterhead) on top of the logo work. Print costs are separate — expect €60–€120 for 250 cards on quality stock from a decent Irish printer.
Print suppliers — practical notes
Irish printers worth a quote: Reads Design & Print (Dublin), Stationery Direct (online, Cork-based), Snap Printing (national network). Online giants like Vistaprint and Moo also work — Moo's quality is consistently good, Vistaprint's is mixed. Always order a single proof copy before a full run — colour can shift between screen and print, and a €5 proof is cheaper than a €120 reprint. (Verify current details directly — printer scope and pricing change.)