Getting ID cards, stamps and stationery right the first time comes down to preparation. This checklist walks through what to have ready before you order, in the order it usually matters.
1. Confirm Your Branding Is Final
Before ordering anything, make sure your logo, colour codes and any tagline are final — not a draft. Reprinting a batch of ID cards or a box of letterhead because the logo changed two weeks later is one of the most common (and avoidable) costs agencies run into.
2. Prepare a Single High-Resolution Logo File
A vector file (AI, EPS or high-resolution PDF) prints far more cleanly on stamps, embossing seals and small ID card formats than a logo pulled from a website or a low-resolution PNG. If you only have a low-resolution version, ask your printer whether it needs to be redrawn before it's used on a stamp or embossing seal.
3. Finalise Your Staff List and Job Titles
For ID cards, have a confirmed list of names and job titles ready before you order, ideally with headshots already taken in consistent lighting and background. Ordering before this is settled is the single biggest cause of reprints.
4. Decide Your Letterhead Footer Content
Your letterhead footer typically needs your trade licence details, office address and contact information. Confirm this wording with whoever handles your company's official paperwork before it goes to print, since it's the kind of detail that's awkward to notice is wrong only after a batch has been printed.
5. Order Related Items Together
Ordering business cards, letterhead, ID cards and stamps in the same round — from the same approved logo file — keeps them visually consistent. Spreading these orders out over months increases the risk that a font, colour, or logo version drifts between items.
6. Build in Time for Proofing
Ask for a proof before full production on any item with text that's easy to get wrong — job titles, names, licence numbers, addresses. A short proofing step upfront is faster than reordering a whole batch after the fact.
7. Plan for Reorders
New hires and starters will need ID cards on an ongoing basis. Keep your approved artwork files on record so reorders don't need to start from scratch each time.
FAQs
What file format is best for a logo used on a stamp?
A vector format (AI, EPS, or a high-resolution PDF) generally reproduces most cleanly at small sizes, which matters for stamps and embossing seals in particular.
Should we proof every item before full production?
It's worth it for anything with text that's specific to your business — names, titles, licence numbers — since those are the details most likely to need a correction.
See the full recruitment agency printing package for what to include in your first order.
