Many creative people don't realize that they don't have to go out and purchase personalized stationary or are at the mercy of their word processing programs.
There are several software programs available for this purpose. The advantages of using these programs are many and once you get to your program you will find the ease of use to a great advantage. Some programs that come to mind are Create-A-Card and Printmaster. Both programs have mail merge, but that only works within the program. They have some editing abilities within the program so you don't have to have a second program to do simple photo or graphic editing. Another really nice feature is that these programs have "Themes" if you don't know what you want you can browse through their themes section and choose something that you like. Then you can take it and customize they way you like. The more you use the program the more your style, likes, dislikes, page layouts will take shape. Then you can branch off and start creating from scratch.
There are other desktop publishing programs available that are capably of more personalization, these include MS Publisher, Home Publisher and others. They do support mail merge from within the MS Office collection. It is also important to note that the above mentioned programs also have templates available for newsletters, business cards (using Avery Product Numbers), envelopes, letter head and more.
When making your letterhead take into consideration your contacts, are these professional, casual professional a mix of both? Choose a font that is clear to read and not too fancy. Many people get turned off if they can't read the information quickly without trying to decipher your font. Choose graphics or logo's that are simple, but convey your business and don't grab the attention of your stationary. You don't want the reader distracted by colorful graphics and fancy fonts this takes away from your message. A nice slim border is nice or a side bar border would work. You have to experiment and see what works for you. Also it is important to keep in mind that leaving "white space" is a good idea, the theory of less is best does work.
There are many resources for finding the right paper. I recommend that you try your local office supply stores, many have online web sites for ordering as well. You can buy a nice linen, printed paper that you can add your letterhead info to. They also have matching envelopes and many other supplies to make life easier and quicker.
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