Links

 

Printing

Epson XP-15000 Color Wide-Format Printer This printer is the backbone of my company. I use it to print everything: all my cards, which use heavy 100lb. cardstock; professional-quality photo and art prints; signage for my booth for markets; sticker sheets that my Cricut will then cut; you name it.

Epson Printer Maintenance Box because you WILL need this at some point if you purchase the XP-15000! I wish someone had told me (hello, EPSON!) that your printer will stop working completely all of a sudden when it's time to replace this. So you better have one on hand when the time comes; otherwise you might find yourself in a similar situation I found myself in: in the middle of a mass-printing project a few days before a big market, feeling totally screwed! lol

Munbyn Thermal Printer I use this *ink-free* gem to print all my shipping labels and cute stickers to go on packaging. It's saved me SO MUCH time, and additional costs for ink and labels, compared to the old Avery labels I was printing on my inkjet for orders. Highly recommend.

White Thermal Shipping Labels Standard for all my orders

Yellow Dot or Circle Thermal Labels and/or White, Pink, Yellow, and Blue Pack of Rectangle Thermal Labels for additional fun. :) I use these to add some flair to customers' orders, to add descriptors to certain products (like variety packs, or color-in cards), label my shelves/displays at markets, put SKUs on wholesale orders (I have a template I made for the belly bands where I just write in the quantity and SKU of a set with a Sharpie pen), and my daughter and I will have fun with them, making random stickers. :)

Thermal Label Holder and Dispenser Not very cute but it does keep all my labels from "spilling out" and feeds them into the printer nice and evenly.

Ink

A note: While it may be tempting, do not buy generic-brand cartridges for your Epson printer. They can mess it up, which isn't worth it just to save a few bucks.

Epson XP-15000 Ink Cartridges Pack – I try to get the XL cartridges whenever I can because I do notice a difference in how often I have to switch them out, but this value pack works fine, too.
Epson 312XL Cyan Ink
Epson 312XL Magenta Ink
Epson 312XL Yellow Ink
Epson 312XL Black Ink
Epson 312XL Gray Ink* Check this product page for bundles on XL cartridges!

 

Shipping

EcoEnclose Flat Rigid Mailers for Direct-To-Consumer orders. I use their 6x8" mailer for orders of just 1-3 cards, and their 9"x11.5" for DTC orders containing art prints and larger products. I love everything from EcoEnclose because not only is their quality outstanding, everything they make is eco-friendly!

Easy-Fold, Multi-Depth Literature Mailers for most DTC orders. I LOVE these because I can adjust their height as needed, making each order nice and snug! And they're a near-perfect fit for A2 (4.25" x 5.5") greeting cards, which means that not a whole lot of additional packing filler is necessary to keep things from moving around during transit, which means that cost (for filler) is spared!

9x6x5 Kraft Corrugated Boxes For bigger DTC orders and smaller wholesale orders

USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Medium Boxes for larger wholesale orders. Free and supports the USPS.

Biodegradable Packing Tape I may switch to water-activated tape soon but this has worked great for me.

Packing Tape Dispenser This thing is nice and solid... not from the racist ULINE.

Kraft Packing Paper ...in case I do need some filler.

Accutek Shipping Scale This dinky little thing is awesome! I've had it from Day 1. I don't have a lot of desktop real estate so this scale has been a nice, compact and moveable option for me.

 

Paper Stuff

For Cards:

Cardstock: A2 Flat 100lb Cardstock, in Bright White from Envelopes.com
Envelopes: Cougar White Envelopes - A2 (4 3/8 x 5 3/4) 70 lb Text Vellum 10% Recycled from ThePaperMillStore.com
Compostable Sleeves (no-flap): Eco Clear Bags | 4 5/8" x 5 13/16" from ClearBags.com

For 5" x 7" Art Prints:

Paper: Pacific Inkjet Professional Luster Photo Paper
Chipboard: ThunderBolt Paper Chipboard
Compostable Sleeves: Premium Eco Clear Bags | 5 7/16" x 7 1/4" from ClearBags.com

For 8" x 10" Art Prints:

Paper: Pacific Inkjet Luster Photo Paper
Chipboard: ThunderBolt Paper Chipboard
Compostable Sleeves: Premium Eco Clear Bags | 8 7/16" x 10 1/4" from ClearBags.com

 

Stickers

(I'd link the vinyl paper I use, but I'm not 100% satisfied with it, so I'm still finding a brand/product I love enough to share with you. Check back.)

Clear Contact Paper I use this to thicken them up and give them more durability; I apply this after I print the design(s) onto the vinyl sticker sheets, before I have the Cricut cut them out.

Diecutstickers.com A local business (in the PNW) that always does a great job with solid rates! Their customer service is always awesome, too. Very human, very helpful.

 

Organization

ArtBin Satchel Containers These hold ALL my inventory, all the time, year-round. I have about 10 of them. I know a lot of stationery people keep their inventory in bins like these Open Corrugated Bins on top of metal or wooden shelf units, and I may do the same eventually. But while I'm still a pretty small business operating out of my home, and doing my fair share of pop-up markets, I'll keep using these. They keep dust away and let me pull orders from home, and I can easily bring them to/from markets when needed. In other words, my cards don't leave these things. And they're water-resistant!!! (I learned the hard way: Do not, under any circumstances, think you can lug your paper-based business and its products around in cardboard boxes. They will get wet, your products will get damaged, and you will have a huge problem on your hands. Avoid this by getting clear bins, like these, from the get-go.)

Single ArtBin Satchel Containers The smaller, more narrow option of the above. I have a couple of these for various things like discarding samples to put into Mystery Packs later.

Desktop File Organizer This is meant to be used by bankers but I wanted something to help me organize all my little order inserts, stickie notes, index cards, labels, and other small things I often reach for, and this thing is perfect! The tiered design lets me see everything and holds a ton.

Minimal Laptop or Monitor Stand I'm super picky when it comes to my workspace and this laptop stand has been perfect for making my desk a bit more ergonomic, while keeping things looking nice and clean. While I don't use them, it also comes with some USB ports on the side for easy access to charging and plugging things in.

Analog by Ugmonk: The Simplest Productivity System I use this every day to make my to-do list and can't say enough about it.

Small and Colorful Stickie Notes I freaking love these and use them for all kinds of things. I like that they're more compact (and therefore less wasteful) and way more vibrant than your typical post-it notes.

Magnetic Bookmarks Similarly to the stickie notes, I love the added fun and practicality of these and use them for all sorts of stuff.

 

Wholesale, Tradeshow, and Market Things

I'll have to do a whole blog post on my display or something but for now since people have asked about it, but for now, here are some links to the products I've been using and have been happy with:

Set of Acrylic Stands (pack of 6) and these Set of 4x6 Acrylic Sign Holders (set of 12) for various market displays that last. I like how easy both of these are for swapping out different signage, depending on the event and/or promotion.

Pink Clipboards with Storage for taking orders, because why get boring old clipboards when they can be pink?? I also like that I can store additional order forms and pens inside these. One less thing for me to think about/keep track of during a busy show.

Letter size Carbonless Paper So I actually designed and printed my own wholesale order forms, using Canva and this carbon-copy paper, and it's been great! I wasn't yet ready to drop $200+ on a huge quantity of custom CC order forms, and my Epson XP-15000 handles these just fine. I simply staple them myself instead of worrying about applying an adhesive along the top.

Clear Product Labels are tiny but have been a HUGE help for me, both at tradeshows (buyers can easily reference a product SKU right next to a product) and at markets (if/when the last of a card gets picked up, I can look at the clear label to see which design needs to be restocked instead of guessing what's missing). I also run these through my Epson XP-15000, no problem.

Collapsible Backdrop Stand to hang my market sign from

2-Piece Business Card Holder that I get compliments on, all the time!

Small Kraft Shopping Bags to protect market buyers' greeting card purchases

Medium Kraft Shopping Bags to protect buyers' cards and art prints

 

Random Products I love / could be a spokesperson for that have nothing to do with stationery but are so good, I have to share

Listen. These two products alone will make your summer and time outdoors drastically better. I saw The Bug Bite Thing when it was featured on Shark Tank – it's this simple little contraption that, instead of applying some topical anti-itch cream over a bug bite for days and hoping it will help with the itching, this thing sucks OUT the irritant itself, and in a matter of seconds. I can honestly feel instant relief every time I use it. I literally gave these out as stocking stuffers one year and people loved them. We have several - one in our first aid bin, in my car, in the garage, out back, etc.

These fans are one of things that you make you go, "Why didn't we think of this sooner?!" All that time you spent, waving flies away from your food, and stressing about whether one landed on your precious dip: donezo. These work like a charm.

 

What else??

Am I missing something that you want to see a handy link to? Email me to let me know: heyweegs [at] gmail [dot] com.