With the amount of information we take in each day, it can be easy to forget things. In one quick motion you’ve lost your keys, your cell phone, forgotten your birthday, and what day it is. We realize how easy it can be to forget certain specifics as you order products through American Stationery, so we’ve been working to compile a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for your convenience. The top 11 questions are featured below, and we suggest you bookmark this post for future references! As always, you may contact our Customer Service team if you still have questions. 1. Where do I enter promotions? And how many discounts can I use on one order? There are two places to enter your promotional code on our website! The first is in the shopping cart, which is below and to the left of the item detail listing. The second is in Step 5 of the checkout process, Payment Information. Don’t forget to click the “Apply Coupon” button so that the order total will update! Unfortunately, we are unable to combine coupons, promotions, specials, or discounts with each other. We can only allow one promotion/discount code to be used per...Read More
Son and sun; knead and need; capitol and capital. All of these are homonyms. If you remember back to grade school, homonyms are words that are spelled differently but sound alike. They are also words that are commonly misused for one another. Even spell check is no match for the homonym. Stationery and stationary are homonyms and both are frequently used incorrectly. Webster’s dictionary describes the words as follows: sta-tion-ery Function: noun 1 : materials (as paper, pens, and ink) for writing or typing 2 : letter paper usually accompanied with matching envelopes sta-tion-ary Function: adjective 1 : fixed in a station, course, or mode : immobile 2 : unchanging in condition <a stationary population> The reason for the confusion stems from the words’ origin. Both come from the Latin word statio, meaning job, station, or position. The adjective stationary was used to refer to a fixed military position. Later, it was used to describe stationary sellers (as opposed to peddlers who would travel). These “stationary sellers” became known as stationers. Booksellers were often “stationers” because their items were too heavy to transport. It then made sense to term the items that “stationers” used, such as pens, ink, and paper as...Read More
Dressy Casual… what does that mean??? Should you wear your little black dress or slacks and rhinestone encrusted flip flops?!? Ever received an invitation to a party with confusing suggestions on what to wear? Most etiquette books cover traditional dress such as white tie, black tie, etc What happens when the terminology isn’t in the etiquette books. We have compiled a list of dress suggestions that might appear on modern invitations, beginning with the traditional and moving to the “what are they talking about” selections. White Tie White tie is ultra formal and used primarily for diplomatic occasions or debutante balls. Men wear a black coat with tails, black evening pants, black patent leather shoes, stiff white wing collared shirt, studs, white pique vest and white tie. Ladies wear formal evening gowns. Black Tie This is also formal attire. Men should wear a black tuxedo jacket (white dinner jackets are fine in the summer or in the tropics) and matching trousers, formal white shirt (plain or pleated front), studs and cufflinks, black bowtie, black cummerbund, black patent shoes (highly shined black leather lace shoes are acceptable). If you choose to wear a vest, it should be a subtle pattern or...Read More
Monograms are increasingly becoming a popular and very stylish part of our everyday lives. From bath towels to luggage to…you guessed it…stationery, modern women and men are seeking monograms as a fun and unique way to personalize the goods in their lives. In a world of mass-produced, similar looking products, monograms offer a means of creative individualization. Monogramming is simply the process of marking an item with an individual’s, couple’s, or company’s initials in a stylish way. A personal monogram serves a practical purpose: to identify the owner. And, often times more importantly, a monogram serves a decorative purpose: it allows the owner to send a message about her or his personal style. Specifically when it comes to stationery, monograms send a message that the owner (or writer) knows who he or she is. When you have plenty of tasteful monogrammed stationery on hand, you’ll be able to send a message about your own personal sense of style each and every time you send a note in the mail. With a variety of monogram styles and colors, you can add your own personal, elegant touch to your correspondence cards, notes, address labels, and so much more. Monogram FAQs: What’s the...Read More
The idea of getting mail to and from military personnel stationed overseas dates back many years. To establish this activity, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) negotiated an agreement called Overseas Military Mail, which exist to this day. In this agreement addressing schemes. delivery mechanisms and process were hammered out. The USPS has established a standard addressing plan for all domestic mail. Many will of course recognize this as: Name Name Name Street Number P.O. Box Rural Delivery City, State  Zip Code City, State  Zip Code City, State  Zip Code In order to make Military Mail conform to this standard, several thing were created. These were: Three Military “States”: AA stands for Armed Forces (the) Americas AE stands for Armed Forces Europe AP stands for Armed Forces Pacific Two “City” equivalents: APO stands for Army Post Office FPO stands for Fleet Post Office A typical Overseas Military address looks like this: Name Postal Service Center – Identifier APO, AE ZIP Or Name Postal Service Center – Identifier FPO, AP ZIP Now when you receive that overseas Military address from you son, daughter, grandchild. niece. nephew or friend you will understand what the abbreviations stand for...Read More
Colors are used by therapists as part of their healing regimes to assist in the shifting process of ones frame of mind, for those who suffer from brain disorders or who are emotionally distressed. For example the color green is used for comforting those who have anxiety, depression or are just down in the dumps. The color yellow can be helpful to those who need to be energized, and violet can be helpful for migraine sufferers. The following is a list of colors and the feelings associated with them: Blue: Tranquility, Tenderness, Sensitivity, Love and Affection Green: Persistence, Self-Esteem, Possessiveness and Obstinacy Red: Desire, Domination, Sexuality and Aggression Yellow: Spontaneity, Originality, Expectancy and Exhilaration Violet: Thoughts and Desires Brown: Bodily senses, mental comfort. Black: Expression of Nothingness Grey: Refusal to be involved So think about your what your favorite colors say about you, and start to use them to express more of yourself and your personality in your clothing, home décor, auto, and when selecting your next correspondence card, wedding invitation, birth announcement, thank you note. Go ahead and express a little more of the “real you” to those you interact with. Have fun and color your life! Read:  Part...Read More
Have you ever wondered why you seem to gravitate to a certain color time and time again? Whether you are selecting an order of personalized stationery or creating a wedding invitation, there are certain colors that seem to be most attractive. There is in fact a lot of scientific research revolving around color, and how different personalities interact with its’ influence. With all of that in mind, what kind of Personality are you? Did you know that the color you surround yourself with day in and day out has a lot of influence on who you are? Our personality single-handedly consists of the many characteristics that make others classify us; thus we have a lot of underling colors that interact and are reflected in our lives on a daily basis. The following is a brief summary of color and its’ usefulness in our daily lives. There are a multitude of different colors on this Earth, and in addition each and every one of these hues have some sort of an effect on those encountering them. They can influence one’s point of view and even the way one conceptualizes things within their lives. Although the majority of us may react to...Read More
At American Stationery, we’ve been printing quality stationery since 1919, so we understand the terminology and use it freely in our product descriptions and elsewhere in our site and even in this blog. For those of you who aren’t printing experts or industry professionals, we’d like to take a step back and explain what we do in broad strokes, process by process. Embossed Stationery Embossing is a process in which your stationery is placed between two heated textured plates containing your name, initials, design or monogram that are squeezed together. As a result of this process, your personalization is raised from the surface of the paper. American Stationery offers embossed personalization on many different styles of stationery. Raised Printing “Thermography” Thermography is the process in which a fine powder is placed on the printed image or personalization before the ink is dry. Once the powder has been applied, the stationery is ran through an oven, applying heat consistently over the stationery and ink. The heat causes the ink and powder to fuse and the result is a slight raise in the personalization. Not only does the raised type give your stationery an elegant feel, the slight shine on your personalization...Read More
Bevel A beveled edge is the precise angle cut along the edge of the bevel edge cards. Bright-White Paper stock that is crisp, clean and the purest shade of white. Most often used for letterhead and envelopes. Blind Emboss Blind emboss is a technique in which the impression of an uninked image is pressed into a sheet of paper. The image is raised on the paper. Calligraphy Calligraphy is a traditional form of beautiful handwriting. Elegant, stylized letters are hand-written using a pen or ink and a brush. Correspondence cards Correspondence cards are single-sided stationery notes that can be plain or adorned and serve many functions. They can be used for short notes, thank yous, informal invitations, and more. Ecru Often used to describe fabrics like linen and silk in the natural, unbleached state, ecru is a warm, very pale beige. Ecru coordinates well with an ivory color scheme. Emboss Embossing is the process of creating a raised image on paper. It is accomplished by pressing the paper against a three-dimensional die, creating the raised image. Deboss Debossing is a process similar to embossing, but the image is pressed into the paper as opposed to being raised. Envelope Lining Glossy paper...Read More
Letter sheets are the formal paper in your stationery collection used for longer letters.  There are a few different sizes available. The note sheet measures 6 3/8" x 8 1/2" The standard letter sheet generally measures 6" x 7" The monarch letter sheet generally measures 7 1/4" x 10 7/8" The executive letter sheet measures 7 1/4" x 10 7/8" The size you select is usually a matter of taste, style and preference.  However, as they go up in size they become more formal.  The note sheets and monarch sheets are generally used for non-business correspondence.  One point of reference is the fact that some choose to run their executive stationery through a laser printer for correspondence at work.  If you choose to go this direction you will want to make sure that flat ink is an option.  Thermograved or "raised" ink tends to melt when ran through laser printers.  Thus, smearing the ink on the stationery. Letter sheets are generally suitable for any correspondence with others.  Letter sheets provide an elegant way to correspond in a very simple, tasteful manner.  If you prefer bright colors and fun whimsical designs you may want to choose the less formal memo sheets,...Read More
1 2