Using personalized stationery will add a special touch to your messages. While snail mail has seen more popular days, it's not completely extinct yet. If you have a computer and a printer at home, then you can easily create your own stationery.
Creating your own stationery can help you save money and allows you to add personal touches that you wouldn't get with store-bought stationery. You don't have to be a graphic designer to create your own stationery—learn how to quickly create stationery using templates.
Why use stationery?
If you don't already use stationery, here's why you should consider it:
- Stationery can help with branding. If you own a business, sending letters using branded stationery will look more professional. Branded stationery can also help promote your business.
- Stationery is hard to ignore. Most letters arrive on plain, boring white paper. When you send your messages using unique stationery, it will grab your reader's attention. Stationery is especially helpful when sending important messages, like thank you notes, condolences, congratulations, or legal statements.
- Stationery shows effort and adds a personal touch. Stationery can be customized to reflect your personality or interests. Taking the time to send a letter will make the recipient feel more special than receiving an email or text message.
How to make your own stationery
Starting with a professionally designed template is the easiest way to create your own stationery. Each Microsoft Create template is 100% customizable, so you can change the text font and color, the size and positioning of images, and more. If you like what you've done, you'll be able to save your new design as a template for future use. If you have a pretty good idea what you're looking for, head to Microsoft create, find stationery templates and other Word templates, and get started right away, or stick around and follow these tips to get started.
Consider your audience
Stationery can come in pretty much any design imaginable. When you look through stationery templates, consider your audience. For example, if you are seeking stationery to send a sympathy letter, look for tasteful designs and choose stationery colors that reflect your sorrow. If you're creating company letterhead, make sure the design you choose reflects the intent and professionalism of your business, and you'll want to make sure your logo and contact information are present for customers to reference. And if you're creating stationery for your annual holiday update, you may want to choose some fun, upbeat touches and color schemes to match the spirit of the season and for your friends to enjoy.
Consider your brand or personal tastes
If you are looking for stationery to send business letters, look for professional designs that make sense for your brand. For example, if you own a dog grooming business, choosing stationery with dog paw prints running along the margins would add a nice touch.
If you are making stationery for yourself, choose a design that suits your personal tastes or interests. Again, spend more time focusing on the right overall design as you can easily customize the colors and fonts.
Pay attention to designs
Make sure that the designs in your stationery aren't overpowering the message writing space. If a design in the writing space is too bold, the recipient might not be able to read your message. Consider this as you look through templates. You may find that you need to edit the opacity of the design in the template.
It's also important to keep in mind the cost associated with colorful stationery, especially if you are a business trying to keep track of your budget. Color printing can get expensive in the long run.
Choose the right font
Since you can change the font you use in a stationery template, make sure you choose a font that is easy to read. Some choose to add script-like fonts to make their stationery seem handwritten, but these fonts can sometimes be difficult to read. Some classic fonts that are easy to read include Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, Verdana, and Tahoma.
Choose the right paper
There are many types of specialty papers to choose from that will influence the personality of your stationery. For some, choosing the right paper to print your stationery on can be more fun than choosing the design itself. Regular copy printer paper may be suitable for business messages, but for other occasions like thank you notes, you'll want to step it up a notch. Here are some examples of specialty papers to explore:
| Cardstock | Slightly thicker than regular copy paper; a classic choice |
| Satin cardstock | A thick paper with a slightly glossy finish |
| Recycled cardstock | A thick paper with a coarse finish; provides a rustic look |
| Laid cardstock | Features a textured surface with vertical lines |
| Felt cardstock | Has a woven felt-like texture |
| Linen | Sturdy paper with a distinctive linen-like texture |
| Deckle edge | Offers a unique untrimmed edge for a handmade appearance |
| Parchment | Provides a classic look for vintage-style stationery |
Be sure to check that your printer is compatible with the paper you want to use.
Save your stationery design as a template
If you've spent time creating stationery with a timeless look, why not save your file as a template for easy reference and future use? This can be especially helpful when you've created a template for business correspondence, or have multiple frequent uses for company letterhead, like letters of recommendation or report cover sheets, or simply want to have a ready supply of personal stationery on hand. A template ensures you can always print more stationery when you need it without having to start from scratch.
To save your stationery as a template
- Start with your final stationery design on the screen in Word.
- Select File > Save As, and then select Browse.
- In the Save as type drop-down, select Word Template (*.dotx). The location where the template will be saved changes to your template repository; that's expected.
- In the File name text box, give your template a name (but leave the file name extension as .dotx) and then select Save.
When you're ready to use that template, start in Word and then select File > New. On the right side, where templates appear, select Personal, and then select your template.
Making your own stationery at home can be a fun, rewarding, and creative experience. Discover the perfect stationery template for your next project at Microsoft Create.
Further reading
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