Suggestions On Custom Stationary

[Mulrich]

I'm looking for more ways to use my pen collection and I thought writing thank you notes or letters to people would be good options. Obviously I could just use whatever paper I have on hand but I thought using some type of custom stationary would add a nice touch. I've received a few such notes from people in the past and always thought the notes looked classy and professional.

 

What suggestions do people have for either buying or producing fountain pen friendly stationary? I found numerous websites that sell custom stationary but I have no way of knowing if these products are fountain pen friendly. I would hate to invest money in stationary that was prone to feathering or bleed through. My preference is for a product that highlights the characteristics of ink (otherwise why use fountain pens at all), similar to Tomoe River or Clairefontaine (or similar) papers.

 

Ideally, I'd get A5 size paper for letters and A6 size cards for thank you notes (exact dimensions don't matter much).

 

Any ideas or recommendations are welcomed

[Tweel]

I have yet to buy anything from them (for some reason -- and they're located in my state!), but for a number of years when this question has come up, I've seen the American Stationery Company recommended for nice imprinting and fountain pen friendly paper.

[Karmachanic]

Buy appropriate paper and print your own. Or hire a graphic designer to make you templates.

 

Original Crown Mill

G Lalo

Pineider

Amatruda

Scriptum

Velke Losiney

Basildon Bond

Clairefontaine Triomphe

[Maccabeus]

Buy appropriate paper and print your own. Or hire a graphic designer to make you templates.

 

Original Crown Mill

G Lalo

Pineider

Amatruda

Scriptum

Velke Losiney

Basildon Bond

Clairefontaine Triomphe

 

This is sound advice, and as a former pressman exactly what I'd recommend. Find a local print shop (a print shop--with a real printing press--not a copy shop) or Arvey paper (or equivalent) nearby and pop in to ask their recommendations and then ask if you can write on a couple different sheets to see which has the right feel. I personally really like the Mohawk Via line, Neenah Royal Sundance, and Strathmore Classic Linen, but YMMV.

[DilettanteG]

About every five years, since I first read Miss Manner's chapter on "A Stationery Wardrobe"as a mere slip of a girl, I go on an intense search for personalized stationery. My heart is foolishly set on an engraved monogram or a full name with a horse motif on large letter sheets with tissue lined envelopes and thick flat cards. Then I price them, have sticker shock, and realize I never actually get around to writing people notes anyway in this era of texts and emails.

 

However, these are brands I've used and been quite happy with:

 

Crane's Kid Finish (I have had the thermogrammed personalized sheets, but one day this is my fantasy first choice for engraved)

 

Dempsey and Carroll

 

Smythson

 

Pineider

 

I have an entire sideboard full of boxes of cards, sheets, gift enclosures, and envelopes that I buy to console myself for not springing for the engraved stuff. At this point I've spent enough money that I should have ponied up for the engraved personalized stationery in the first place.

 

I generally print my own business cards and letterheads on my home printer. Seems to work fine.

[Mulrich]

Thanks for the suggestions. After looking at the recommended options I'll try to find a local-ish option before buying online. I want to try the papers before buying just to make sure they work how I want them. Unfortunately I have very few local options so I'll have to wait until visiting a larger city to take the next step.

[XYZZY]

Crane's Kid Finish (I have had the thermogrammed personalized sheets, but one day this is my fantasy first choice for engraved)

 

Of the papers you mentioned this is the only one I have experience with. Our perhaps "two" might be more appropriate.

 

Last year, first time ever and I blame it on fountain pens, I sent Christmas cards. I went to a local private pricy stationery shop (Silberman & Brown, in Seattle) and found Crane & Co cards with kid finish. I bought two different boxes of cards. One was a lighter not-quite-white and was an awesome paper for fountain pens.

 

But the second was much creamier and feathered a lot. I switched to a fat italic nib so that the feathering want as noticeable and I thought it was passable for any non FP or stationery fanboy/girl.

 

Both papers feel awesome. I got compliments for both, although I'm sure Crane's card designs had a lot to do with that. Of the two, both said the same thing on the label about their cotton content, kid finish, etc. No reason in the store to expect that they would behave differently.

 

Moral of the story though: the same manufacturer doesn't mean the same paper, try before you by, your mileage my vary, etc.

[DilettanteG]

Of the papers you mentioned this is the only one I have experience with. Our perhaps "two" might be more appropriate.

 

Last year, first time ever and I blame it on fountain pens, I sent Christmas cards. I went to a local private pricy stationery shop (Silberman & Brown, in Seattle) and found Crane & Co cards with kid finish. I bought two different boxes of cards. One was a lighter not-quite-white and was an awesome paper for fountain pens.

 

But the second was much creamier and feathered a lot. I switched to a fat italic nib so that the feathering want as noticeable and I thought it was passable for any non FP or stationery fanboy/girl.

 

Both papers feel awesome. I got compliments for both, although I'm sure Crane's card designs had a lot to do with that. Of the two, both said the same thing on the label about their cotton content, kid finish, etc. No reason in the store to expect that they would behave differently.

 

Moral of the story though: the same manufacturer doesn't mean the same paper, try before you by, your mileage my vary, etc.

 

 

It's also worth getting some test pages before putting in a personalized order. I think most high end stationers will provide samples of their stock (sometimes for free, I think) and proofs for a small fee.

[DilettanteG]

I haven't done personalized stationery thru Dempsey and Carroll, but I love their pre engraved stuff.

 

Here's a short video on their copper engraving: https://www.instagram.com/tv/BzYfS2BHdI7/

 

and here's one on their steel engraving: https://www.instagram.com/tv/Bz0-HZLnP5D/

 

They seem to be doing a series: https://www.instagram.com/dempseycarroll/channel/?utm_source=ig_embed

 

I have no connection with Dempsey and Carroll and sadly may not ever be as they are pretty pricey. If you get on their mailing list, they'll inform you of their sales throughout the year. They usually do one for personalized cards or letter sheets at least once/year.

[rlb]

You could get a custom embosser seal.

 

I have one and use it often both on stationary and envelopes. Its a nice touch, there are hundreds of designs you can choose from. It certain will standout, I get complements often and they are not terribly expensive! They are worth looking into!

[DilettanteG]

You could get a custom embosser seal.

 

I have one and use it often both on stationary and envelopes. Its a nice touch, there are hundreds of designs you can choose from. It certain will standout, I get complements often and they are not terribly expensive! They are worth looking into!

 

I bought one of those instead of library plates, much more cost effective. Except, I always having trouble getting it perfectly centered and using the correct pressure. In retrospect, maybe I should have bought one with a built in stand? Or maybe it works best for people who have more of a talent for arts and crafts?

[rlb]

I agree it takes more practice. I have a perfectly centered one for each of my more commonly used paper as guides. I wonder if you could make some kind of jig or something... I may have to try that come to think of that!

[BDarchitect]

I recently had customized pads made by Blank Slate Paper Co. that are very fountain pen friendly. They have a design tool on their website to create a huge array of lines, dots, reticles, dashes, and grids in any CMYK color you can think of, any spacing, thickness, etc. They are of course more expensive than buying a pad at Office Depot, but you can make whatever layout you want and they will print on both sides of the paper, which is either Domtar 28 lb or HP premium 32 lb. I found the Domtar to be terrific, no feathering, no bleed through, and best, no ghosting at all. At the moment they only do 8 1/2 x 11 but other size and paper options are apparently coming soon. Great customer support as well. It is a small company in upstate NY offering interesting custom paper printing that is worth supporting.

[wpeterson]

I am also looking for some good stationary and will be looking through all these suggestions. I did happen to obtain a laser engraver for my shop recently but never thought about using it to personalize my paper. It will probably take a while to print but it's not like I write fast anyway. Blank Slate Paper Co does have a nice online tool for making writing pads but I wish they had a few more paper choices. Regardless, it seems like good quality I'll probably make an order with them.

[MikeGB]

I don't do this for personal correspondence but I have my own business and I paid for someone to design a letterhead, envelope etc as part of my branding design. After that I got samples from a printing company so I could verify the finish and quality before buying lots of it.

 

Definitely recommend it. Works out about $0.13 a sheet for A4. A5 will likely be a fair bit cheaper.

 

To get a design, check out Fiverr. Someone like this is incredibly good at what they do and very affordable for the quality of work they do. It's definitely an investment, so consider that when looking at the cost. Once it's done, that's it. Just get it printed through a printing company whenever you require more.