Here's the information you'll need to get printing quotes on your stationery:

• All stationery is standard-sized
• Two solid ink colors
• No bleeds (This means none of the printing “bleeds” off the edge of the page, which usually costs more because it requires using a larger sheet of paper and then trimming the edges after printing.)
• Stationery and envelope is printed one side only (abbreviated by printers as 2/0, which means two colors on one side, no colors on the other)
• Business cards are printed on both sides (abbreviated as 2/2, meaning two ink colors on two sides)

I recommend choosing a smooth, white paper stock, such as Classic Crest from Neenah Paper. This is a nice-quality, reasonably priced paper that I've used for many stationery design projects, including my own. If the printer doesn't stock this paper, you might ask for something comparable.

You may want to have a portion of your business-appointment card order printed without the appointment forms on the back.

Ask the printer to quote several different quantities so you can see how the unit price drops as the quantity increases. I usually ask for quotes on 500, 1,000 and 2,500 each of letterheands and envelopes and 1,000, 2,500 and 5,000 business-appointment cards.

Ask the printer to show you the ink colors specified for your stationery in a Pantone color swatch book. These are the actual colors that will be printed on your stationery—not the colors you see on your computer screen.

It's also a good idea to see and feel a sample of the paper the printer plans to use.