The Stationers Guild

As a stationer, I’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of business cards.  Most people have a pretty clear idea of what information they want displayed on a business card, but seek advice from their stationer on card stock, ink colors and how to layout the information on a business card.

There are no fixed rules when designing a business card; however, I believe that a well-crafted business card is probably one of your most important public relations investments.  The business card should create a positive first impression when you hand your card to the recipient.  The paper stock, printing process, ink colors and well-designed layout says as much about you as a person as it does your business.

While there are many online print shops that offer “free” and inexpensive business cards using pre-designed templates, I have found their offerings to be quite unappealing.  Their paper stock is of poor quality and many online companies can’t even seem to print in a straight line.  It is painfully obvious when someone presents you a business card that has been produced by one of these discount printers. 

From my perspective, three things are important for a well-designed business card.  First, and most importantly, is the card stock.  The standard paper weight for most business cards is 64# (sixty-four pounds weight).   While I believe that 96# makes for a far more substantial business card, many people prefer the standard weight.  Crane & Co. offers many different card stock weights and paper colors to choose from and is often a very good choice for business cards.   I strongly recommend that you contact a Stationers Guild store in your neighborhood to see and feel the various options in person. 

Secondly, use a consistent layout for your business card incorporating no more than two font styles.  For instance, if your business letterhead is “right-adjusted” try to maintain that symmetry in your business card.  A consistent image promotes brand recognition.  

Finally, print your card using engraving or thermography.  While engraving is considerably more expensive, colors are opaque and crisp.  Thermography is a resin-based ink which is baked on the business card to simulate engraving.  It is a less expensive alternative to engraving, but still creates raised-print.  Letterpress is also emerging as a very appealing alternative to the traditional engraved business card.  

The Stationers Guild website has a Frequently Asked Questions on Business Stationery section that contains much useful information to help you design your business stationery.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Mikel King just received his first wedding invitation through Facebook’s event system. He relates his reaction to this invitation in an article entitled Welcome to the age of the techno-wedding for Examiner.com.   Mikel, the NY Consumer Technology editor, is no stranger to emerging technology, but even he was taken aback by the largely impersonal and tasteless (my word!) decision to reduce a wedding to a Facebook event.

Mikel’s  reflection on techno-weddings might best be described as forward-looking satire.   Nevertheless, I feel that he shares my concern that the new technology is radically changing the way human beings (even New Yorkers!) relate to each other.    While cost is obviously an important consideration for a wedding, I am not convinced that the extra pasta dish at the reception buffet is worth skimping on your wedding invitation.    In fact, your wedding invitation will be around a lot longer than the pasta.

Having “followers” on Twitter or “friends” on Facebook seems to be the equivalent of having lice on a dog.  The lice are along for the ride without  having to make an emotional commitment.  “Let’s party” is the not the equivalent of “Let’s get married,” even though Facebook Events would like you to think so. 

As a tired old dog, I just think the Generation Y-ers have simply exchanged the TV remote control for a super-smart phone.   Texting is not engagement. In fact, one wonders if texting is really a form of communication or just a nervous habit  to avoid a commitment at a more deeply personal level.  Surely, once we strip tradition, elegance and etiquette from important events in people’s lives we effectively sever the connection to past generations that transcends our daily concerns. 

Like Mikel, I guess I  need to wait for the “neo-retro-wedding trend” to emerge once tweeting about yourself loses its moronic charm.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

For some reason, I have become fixated on the phrase:  “cheap wedding invitations”.  Perhaps, my curiosity was piqued when I discovered that there were 17 million web pages that contained the search term “cheap wedding invitations.”  Or maybe it was the shock at finding that there were almost 50 thousand Google searches in June using the phrase “cheap wedding invitations.”  I would have thought that “free wedding invitations” was a better term, but I was mistaken since there were only 27 thousand Google searches in June for that phrase.

In any event, the matter came to a head this weekend when I picked up the New York Times Book Review and saw the review of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell.    I have now read a couple of reviews and intend to buy Cheap (at the full retail price?) when I quit writing Blog articles.    The long and short of the reviews is that the costs of our “discount culture” are inevitably paid for by somebody.  Writes the reviewer, Laura Shapiro, “We’re being subsidized by a distant labor force we never see, the Chinese and Mexicans and Vietnamese who work under well-documented Dickensian conditions.”   Harvard economist, Robert Lawrence is quoted by Ms. Shell as saying that “When prices are kept too low, innovation is nearly impossible.”  Argues Ms. Shapiro “Apparently we’re not even building better mousetraps anymore – just cheaper ones.”

Cheap by Ellen Ruppell Shell

While it is hard to argue that getting the “best value” is certainly a worthwhile pursuit, an online search for a “cheap wedding invitation” is unlikely return anything more than a cheap wedding invitation.  Whether the wedding invitation – regardless of its cost - has any intrinsic value to either the bridal couple or their guests is the far more important question.  Clearly, if your “cheap date” morphed into a more meaningful relationship and eventually a proposal, then one might  look for something a little less “cheap” to celebrate the occasion.  If you seek an affordable wedding invitation, then I strongly recommend that you visit a qualified stationer in your neighborhood who has wedding invitation suggestions for all budgets.

“Cheap” is always available on the Internet.  If, however, you are looking for a custom wedding invitation that is within your budget, don’t cheapen yourself by succumbing to the unsubstantiated and largely outrageous ploys that abound in cyberspace.

In a letter to their dealers dated July 10, The Chatsworth Collection announced that it had been acquired by American Stationery Retail.  American Stationery Retail is located in Peru, Indiana and has been making fine stationery since 1919. 

Chatsworth, known for their eclectic and trendy stationery and invitation collections of Robin McGuire, Frederick Beck,  Gene Bliley and Blue Mug will now be consolidated into American Stationery Retail’s family of companies which includes Rytex and Inkwell, the personalized division of Inviting Company.

While it is difficult to imagine California’s Robin McGuire going entirely Hoosier, it is clearly a sign of the times that leading stationery design firms are having to seek the comfort of mass-merchandisers to survive.  According to the communique, several of the personalized albums will be consolidated.  As a dealer, we are hopeful that the integrity of Chatsworth’s great designs will survive the acquisition.

I had a chance to see the pre-release of Studio R’s Wedding Collection II at the National Stationery Show in May.   While the new customization album is expected to ship in July, we were thrilled with the beautiful designs shown to us by Rachael Blessinger, Custom Invitation Designer for Studio R.

The talented designers at Studio R have created an elegant ensemble of wedding papers that will thrill your guests as much as the bridal couple.  From menu cards to hospitality or welcome packets, Studio R captures the sense of the occasion as well as any other fine paper company that I know.

Studio R Welcome Packet

This delightful stationery botique based in Charleston, SC is known for its fine letterpress printing and distinctive designs.  We much admire the simplicity and contemporary designs that have been built around floral themes. Letterpress printing on rich textured paper adds an old-world elegance that reinforces the importance of the occasion.

Studio R Botannical Invitation

If you are seeking letterpress wedding invitations with a distinctive look, Studio R is certainly worth considering.   According to Rachael, a wedding invitation set consisting of the wedding invitation and envelope and reply card set will cost between $10 and $14 based on ordering 100 invitations.  Considering the customization options available at Studio R, this is very attractive pricing.

If letterpress is for you, consider contacting a stationer in your neighborhood to explore the many customization options available with Studio R.  You won’t be disappointed.  We are most anxious to see the new Wedding Collection II.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Yesterday’s New York Times had a fascinating article tracing the tragic decline of the Australian wine industry.  Meriah Foley in an article entitled “For Australian Winemakers, More Turns Out to Be Less,” documents the decline in margins of the world’s fourth largest wine exporter whose aggressive pricing to build market share now threatens the entire industry.  Writes Ms. Foley, “Even as its star appeared to be rising, the Australian wine industry was sliding, selling a greater volume of wine at increasingly lower prices . . . a level many say is unsustainable.”  For one who discovered the bold new taste of Coonawarra wine in the late 70s, this comes as a bitter disappointment.

For some time, I have felt that the same thing has been occurring in the stationery industry.  We are constantly bombarded with new papers and designs that - like Australian wines –  British wine writer Andrew Jefford refers to as “cheap and cheerful.”   As more and more fine stationery companies fall prey to the need to mass-market their product over the Internet, brand awareness and quality standards will inevitably give way to price competitiveness. 

I have long argued that there is no way to differentiate your brand on the Internet and the only way to compete effectively is to become the low cost producer.  This implies sacrificing standards and quality.   Once you have done so, can you restore brand awareness to a public that has become accustomed to the “discounted” brand?  The Australian wine industry is a vivid example of what can happen to an industry that loses its bearings and places its emphasis on growing market share rather than promoting brand awareness.

It is not difficult to see the same tragedy unfolding in the stationery industry.   With self-appointed pundits shamelessly promoting inferior designs, cheap papers and anything-goes etiquette, it is no wonder that the public is confused and disoriented.    I fear that the stationery industry is rapidly paddling up the river of no return.   If we want to preserve the integrity of the industry, designers and craftspeople and industry leaders must collectively raise their voice to the innane claims, hyperbole and simply “bad taste” that permeates our industry.

Several years ago the wife of the US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia told me “you simply must carry Jan Petr Obr stationery in your store.”  I have always kept my antenna up for fine European papers and was pleasantly surprised to find Jan Petr Obr at the National Stationery Show a few months later.

My husband was blown away by the engraved images which graced richly textured hand-made cotton paper.  The cotton paper was supplied by Bohemia Papers, a small mill located just outside of Prague using the same paper-making technique that has been virtually unchanged for over 300 years.  In their printing shop, Jan Petr Obr creates stunning engraving dies for virtually every occasion.  The Royal Czech seal seems to float just above the surface of deckle-edge paper with a laid finish.  The sample business cards, fold-overs and and remarkable designs are simply a tribute to European craftsmanship.

Jan Petr Obr Engraved Stationery

Therese Saint Clair carried Jan Petr’s boxed stationery and holiday cards for several years and they have proved extremely popular with our clients.  We also carry their wedding invitation and stationery albums for those looking for quality papers and superior craftsmanship.  While some of the designs may strike one as old-fashioned, we believe that Jan Petr’s Art Deco style retains its fascination and beauty for every occasion.

Jan Petr Obr Fine Paper

If you are looking for fine paper with a distinctive European edge, I strongly recommend that you contact a Stationers Guild member store in your neighborhood that carries this exceptional line.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair