Mar
13
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
Mar
11
The embossing process makes for beautiful stationery designs all on its own. Over the years, however, embossing has been combined with other printing effects to get specialized custom stationery. As such, there are many different styles of custom embossing used in the industry today. Registered Emboss Registered embossing places the embossed image in line with another design element created with ink, foil or another embossed image, such as embossing a sculptured logo inside a printed circle of color. Combination Emboss The combination of foil stamping and embossing can create a unique and lovely effect. Both processes are done at the same time using a dye with sharp edges to cut away the excess foil around the design elements that are to be foiled. The effect is especially striking for company logos. Pastelling The process is also sometimes called tint leaf embossing. Like combination embossing, it uses a combination die to enhance a foil-stamped and embossed image with subtle color. It can employ a pearl finish, gloss finish or other foil finish to give a two-tone antique look to the embossed image. It works best with lighter colored stocks. Scorching When an embossing uses high heat, the resulting image has a...Read More
Mar
8
Thank you notes seem to be something we use during every stage of our lives. They start with bridal shower, then baby shower. After that, there are birthdays, graduation, weddings or just everyday occurrences. Writing a thank you note not only shows good manners, but it also makes the giver feel appreciated. Thank you notes aren’t necessary for every kind gesture, like when your husband picks up some groceries, but there are certain circumstances that require a written acknowledgement. If you received a gift from someone out of the blue, were a guest of honor at a dinner party, or stayed overnight in someone’s home, then you should definitely send a thank you note. The best thing to remember about thank you notes is if you’re not sure whether to send one or not, it’s a good idea to go ahead and send it. Here are few simple tips to help you when you write your next thank you note. Time Etiquette It doesn’t matter how you choose to say thank you, be sure to do it in a timely fashion. Thank you notes for showers, weddings, birthdays or other special occasions should be sent out within two to three weeks,...Read More
Mar
6
Every family needs personalized stationery. Even if you don’t use it very often, it’s nice to have for a note or thank you from the whole family or something from an individual family member. No matter who in the family uses the stationery it should be personalized for your family, whether it be flashy and bold or something uncomplicated and simple. A good choice for family stationery is something that includes the last name as well as the first names of all the family members. Our Dynasty Note does just that. It has your first names repeating in the background and the last name printed on top. Since it’s available in a variety of colors there’s sure to be a combination to fit your personal style. Feel free to get creative when personalizing your notes. Instead of having “The Smiths” you could put “The Smith Gang” or “The Smith Bunch”. For a fun twist on the repeating names try using nicknames. If your pets are like family members feel free to include them on the note. Anything goes with this fun note so get creative. Another option is The Heart of the Family note card. It has the same concept...Read More
Mar
4
Think stationery is just another token “accessory”? For some, stationery IS an important means of self-expression. There is, however, another argument to be made; that personal stationery is a logical investment that will make your life easier and save you some money. Consider this: The average birthday card retails for $4 and greeting cards range in cost from $1 to $10, with the average generic greeting card retailing for $3. Now consider the following facts, courtesy of the GCA (Greeting Card Association): U.S. consumers purchase approximately 7 billion greeting cards each year, generating nearly $7.5 billion in retail sales. More than 90 percent of all U.S. households buy greeting cards, with the average household purchasing 30 individual cards in a year. The average person receives more than 20 cards per year, about one-third of which are birthday cards. The most popular everyday cards are: Birthday (60%) Anniversary (8%) Get Well (7%) Friendship (6%) Sympathy cards (6%) The most popular seasonal cards are: Christmas (60%) Valentine’s Day (25%) Mother’s Day (4%) Easter (3%) Fathers Day (3%) The Logic: An elegant, multi-functional stationery ensemble of 150 pieces = $46 Vs. 150 store-bought cards at the $3 National average = $450 Even if you...Read More
Mar
1
Sticky notes are one of the most useful paper pieces of all time. Consistently one of the top five office products sold in the United States each year, they are a must have for the home, office, and everywhere in between. As nice as these are, did you know that American Stationery has improved these little miracle memos? They can be personalized just for you! They are available in traditional yellow or bright white, offered in two sizes, and tailored to include your choice of wording or name. A custom sticky note gift is a great choice for teachers, secretaries, or even a co-worker or boss. Moms love them, too! Best of all, with your name displayed at the top of each note, no one will be able to accidentally take them from your desk or workspace. Stand out from the plain sticky note masses; order your personalized self-stick memos, today!
Feb
27
Yourself Letter writing lets you be yourself. It gives you an outlet to express who you are. Choose a style, color, and font for your stationery that reflects you. Using this stationery will say more about you than plain old words ever could. Clever Practice makes perfect in all aspects of life. Letter writing is no different. The more you write the better you’ll be. If you’re still working on becoming a good writer, practice on your friends and family. Confident Keep in mind when writing letters that “it’s not what you say but how you say it.” Nothing could be more true when it comes to letter writing. As you write more you will develop a definitive written voice. You might actually find it easier to express yourself through your writing than through speech. Appreciative You’ve probably all been told about the importance of thank you notes. Birthday presents, graduation gifts, wedding presents, baby gifts are just a few situations that call for thank you notes. But have you ever considered sending a thank you note for the everyday things you’re grateful for? Try thanking someone for their friendship through the years, or a mentor for their support and...Read More
Feb
25
Did you know that as a society we appreciate the effort and consideration that are put in to handwritten notes? When you drop a note in the mail it does more than make someone else’s day, even though that should be reason enough to write the note. Below we’ve listed a few ways that letter writing can help make you a better person. Successful Directly after a job interview you should send the interviewer a sophisticated, professional note thanking them for their time and consideration. Once you’ve landed the job and are starting your climb up the corporate ladder don’t forget to thank the people who have helped you get where you are today. You never know when you’ll need a recommendation or reference, sending them a quick, cordial thank you note will go the extra mile and help keep you in their good graces. So if you do for some reason need a letter of reference from them it will be a good one. Courteous In today’s society most people’s idea of manners leaves a lot to be desired. By using handwritten notes to say “thanks,””congratulations,” or “you’re invited” you’ll be a stunning example of perfect etiquette and common...Read More
Feb
22
Negative emotions can have a serious impact on your mental as well as physical and spiritual health. A psychological benefit of writing is that you can purge these negative emotions from your mind and thereby reduce their toxicity and impact on your overall health. Transferring difficult emotions from the recesses of your brain onto a piece of paper produces other benefits as well. The act of writing hard-to-face thoughts and feelings down can place an emotional distance between the intensity of these emotions and your physical being. Many times this creates a sense of objectivity, which helps you to gain a new perspective on the issues you are facing. With greater objectivity, you may find it easier to come up with achievable solutions for a particular problem. Similar to the muscles of your body, the brain needs lots of regular exercise for optimal functioning and long-term health. Writing stimulates your neural activity. A byproduct of stimulation to the brain is the production and release of natural chemicals your brain and body need in order to function properly. These hormones are also responsible for producing feelings of happiness, contentment, pleasure, excitement, love, and other “feel-good” emotions. Challenging yourself with various writing...Read More
Feb
20
There are numerous health benefits of writing in personal, business, academic, and other aspects in life. However, before exploring some of the ways writing can improve your mood and mental health, briefly consider the mechanics of the brain and mind as that is where our psychological processes take place. The human mind can become overwhelmed and thinking befuddled when presented with massive amounts of information. Stress may escalate especially when all that information is coming into the brain at a fast pace. This kind of pressure causes the majority of the misunderstandings and mistakes that people experience. Your brain is not just receiving information from outside sources. Your mind is constantly creating new information (ideas and perceptions) for your brain to process as well. We are not always consciously aware of this. However, even in sleep, our minds are at work creatively. Whether this information is coming from outside or inside the brain, it also produces feelings, and the brain must process these new feelings. It is therefore understandable why people become confused, lose focus, or have difficulty making decisions with all this activity going on. Writing has the psychological benefit of “releasing” information onto paper or into a computer...Read More