Even though almost everything goes out by email, a business still needs stationery: printed quotes, contracts, formal letters, a folder left behind after a meeting. The letterhead, the envelope and the folder are the first things a person who doesn't know you yet actually holds. And on the letterhead, some details aren't optional: the law asks for them.
What has to be on company documents
In Romania, the Companies Law (Law 31/1990, art. 74) says that every invoice, quote, order and other business document must show:
- the company name and legal form (SRL, SA);
- the registered office;
- the trade register number;
- the tax ID (CUI).
Limited liability companies (SRL) also add their share capital. Joint-stock companies (SA) add both subscribed and paid-up capital. The same article says that if the company has a website, the same details must be published there too.
A similar rule applies across the European Union: Directive 2017/1132, article 26, requires letters and order forms to show the register, the registration number, the legal form and the registered office. So the letterhead is the natural place for all of it: you set it once in the footer and it never goes missing from a quote again.
What else goes on it, besides the mandatory details: the logo, phone number, email, website. The bank account only if you give it out often. Don't cram everything the company has into the letterhead; two small lines in the footer are enough.
Letterhead: pre-printed or template
There are two options, and you usually end up using both:
- Pre-printed sheets from the print shop, with the header in exact brand colors. You then print the text on them in the office. Good for contracts, important quotes and letters.
- A digital template (Word, Google Docs, PDF) with the same header, for documents sent by email. Here it has to be built properly: fixed margins, brand fonts or close ones that exist on any computer, and a locked footer so nobody moves it by accident.
For pre-printed sheets, the paper has to go through an office printer. Manufacturers' spec sheets say so directly. Conqueror Laid, for example, a classic correspondence paper, comes in 90, 100 and 120 g/m² and is marked as suitable for laser and inkjet printing. Opacity rises with weight (90% at 90 g, 94% at 120 g), so on heavier paper the text on the back shows through less.
A practical tip: test one printed sheet in your own printer before the whole run. Some laser printers don't get along with heavily textured papers or ink-heavy headers.
Envelopes: the size follows the sheet
Envelopes come in standard sizes designed around the A4 sheet (210 × 297 mm):
| Envelope | Size | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| DL | 110 × 220 mm | A4 folded in three |
| C5 | 162 × 229 mm | A4 folded once (A5 size) |
| C4 | 229 × 324 mm | A4 unfolded |
For letters, DL is the most common. For quotes and contracts you'd rather not fold, C4.
If you use window envelopes, the recipient's address on the sheet has to land exactly behind the window once it's folded. Ask the print shop for the window position and set up the template to match. One test sheet, folded, tells you everything.
On the envelope you usually put the logo and a return address, nothing more. The back stays clean.
The presentation folder
The folder is the piece people keep the longest, because it's somewhere to put papers. A good one has:
- an A4 format, with an inside pocket that keeps the sheets straight;
- a slot for a business card;
- board thick enough not to bend when it's full.
A folder is made from heavy board, cut with a die (a cutting form in the shape of the flat folder) and scored along the fold lines. Whether a board can take that is written in its spec sheet. The Conqueror Laid sheet, for instance, which also comes in 220, 300 and 400 g/m², marks die-cutting, scoring and foiling as suitable. Ask the print shop which board from the same paper family as your letterhead works for a folder, so the set shares the same texture.
The cost of folders depends mostly on the die (a new custom one or one of the print shop's standard shapes), the board, the finishes and the quantity. A standard shape makes small runs easier; the exact price comes with the quote.
Keeping it all together
Stationery looks good when the pieces match: the same paper or the same paper family, the same colors, the same spot for the logo. The easiest way is to make them at once, as a set, along with the business cards.
We make stationery sets together with the rest of a company's materials: see Merch & Print for businesses and business cards.
Sources
- Law no. 31/1990 on companies, republished (Romanian legislative portal)art. 74: mandatory details on company documents and websites
- Directive (EU) 2017/1132 relating to certain aspects of company law (EUR-Lex)art. 26: details required on letters and order forms
- International standard paper sizes (Markus Kuhn, University of Cambridge)A4 = 210 × 297 mm and the C4, C5 and DL envelope sizes
- Conqueror Laid, technical spec sheet (Ball & Doggett)weights from 90 to 400 g/m², opacity, suitability for laser, inkjet, die-cutting, scoring and foiling
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