We use a LOT of tools, vendors, and resources in our stationery and design business. Way more than you’d think! How do we narrow it down to the top 5 tools for stationers? Even just one wedding invitation will include a design software, a certain Pantone book, other paper and ink samples, possibly graphic art, an invoice, a proof, a printer, assembly supplies, embellishment materials, packaging, shipping materials, AND MORE… like, what?!

There are SO many tools out there that will help you streamline your processes, it’s honestly very hard to narrow down to 5. We did, just for you, but it was hard! If you are looking for more, check out our Complete Supply + Vendor Guide, where we list ALL of our vendors for everything! And we suggest grabbing your copy soon before the 2020 version comes out… you’ll receive that updated one along with the 2021 version!

Without further adieu, here are our Top 5 Tools For Stationers!

#1: Dubsado

We use Dubsado for EVERYTHING! Our total lifeline and we would not be where we are at without it. It is our system for:

• Lead capture
• Emailing our clients
• Creating and sending proposals and invoices
• Sending contracts
• Sending all design proofs and forms (collecting verbiage, design questionnaires, proofs, testimonials, and more)
• Scheduling appointments with clients (very professionally at that!)
• Project workflows
• Canned emails and email responses
• and MORE! There is way more even we know Dubsado can do that we aren’t taking advantage of. It’s 1000% worth it for a stationery small business!

Check out our How We Use Dubsado In Our Stationery Business blog post here for a more in depth answer! And if you’d like to try Dubsado, use the code pirouettepaper for 20% off your first month or year!

#2: Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, Bridge, + Photoshop)

It is so embarrassing to admit this, but the first two invitation suites we designed were in Microsoft Word! Oh my gosh, it feels sinful to even say that, now that we are professional designers, but not going to hide where we started. That all changed when we learned the core to all design lies in the hands of the Adobe gods.

We use Adobe Creative Cloud, and have access to most Adobe programs through that monthly or annual membership. The apps we use the most are Illustrator, Bridge, Photoshop, and InDesign. Illustrator is how you will vectorize your art, Bridge helps re-size and batch rename images, Photoshop is great for design manipulation and editing, and InDesign is best for variable data. If you are unsure what any of this means, learning Illustrator for designing stationery is the best place to start!

#3: Advanced Tape Glider

This sounds like such a silly one, but it is a HUGE timesaver and will always be in my top 5 tools for stationers! It takes some practice to get changing the rolls down well, but man, this thing is an excellent tool. It makes assembling envelope liners, belly bands, mattes, and vellum wraps a breeze!

Get it here on Amazon, and don’t forget the extra tape rolls!

#4: Uncoated Pantone Book

If you are planning on printing with a letterpress studio, an uncoated Pantone book is a MUST. These are the color codes that you will use to send to your printer to let them know exactly what shade you want the ink to be. Even with one of these, the colors can be subjective and turn out different – imagine what it would be like to have to totally guess! Invest in this tool right away for sure (:

#5: Your Ambition!

Starting and running a stationery business is not easy. There are so many variables to account for and moving pieces when creating multi-embellishment suites and stationery. We have made PLENTY of mistakes in our business over the last five years, but the biggest one has been letting ourselves get caught up in comparing ourselves to others. Letting the “imposter syndrome” take over, and letting the discouragement settle in. You must adapt, be resilient, and put in the hard work in order for it to pay off and it WILL!

If you are starting out a stationery business, we highly recommend checking out our Complete Supply + Vendor Guide. It’s the guide we created just for people like you with all of the information we wished we had when starting out. It would have saved us THOUSANDS of dollars and HOURS of time, but that’s why we want to help you avoid those same mistakes. Work smarter, not harder!

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Thanks for reading our top 5 tools for stationers and we hope you feel inspired! Don’t forget to check out some of our other informative blog posts with lots of business tips!

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