New businesses tend to make one of two mistakes: printing nothing and looking unprepared, or printing everything before the brand, address and positioning have settled. Here is a sensible middle path.
Print in the first month
- Visiting cards. A short run, because details change. A hundred is a perfectly normal order.
- A rubber stamp with your business name, address and registration details.
- A bill book or invoice book, if you will be invoicing from day one.
- A signboard, if you have a physical premises. It is the first thing customers look for.
That set costs very little and covers everything a new business actually needs to operate and be taken seriously.
Print in the first quarter
- Letterheads and envelopes, once you are issuing formal quotations or correspondence.
- A presentation folder, if you pitch to clients with documents.
- A brochure or leaflet, once you know what you are actually selling and to whom.
- Carry bags or packaging, if you sell a physical product.
Wait on these
- A large brochure print run before the offering has settled.
- Branded merchandise, until you have a team or a customer base to give it to.
- Bulk quantities of anything carrying an address or phone number that may change.
Digital printing makes short runs genuinely economical, which is why over-ordering early is now a choice rather than a necessity.
Getting the set right
Order the items together rather than one at a time. It costs less, and more importantly it keeps the colour consistent across everything. Cards printed in January and a letterhead printed in April by a different supplier will not match, and the mismatch is noticeable.
Specification worth getting right once
| Visiting cards | 350 GSM art card, matt lamination. Upgrade to soft-touch if client-facing. |
|---|---|
| Letterheads | 100 GSM uncoated bond. Must run through your own office printer. |
| Envelopes | Printed to match the letterhead, ordered at the same time for colour consistency. |
| Bill book | Duplicate carbonless, numbered, with your details and GSTIN pre-printed. |
| Rubber stamp | Self-inking. Fewer lines at a readable size beats cramming everything in. |
Two details people get wrong
First, letterhead paper. Glossy or coated stock resists toner, so text smudges when you print on it in your own office. Uncoated bond is the right choice.
Second, stamp text. A stamp with six lines squeezed into a small body produces an impression nobody can read. Fewer lines at a legible size is always better, and a larger stamp body costs very little more.
