Carbonless Forms Make Doing Business Easier

One of the best inventions for business in the last 50 years is the invention of carbonless NCR paper. Carbonless forms make on the fly business transactions like estimates, invoices and service inspections easy. Compared to the old days of putting a messy piece of carbon paper between two sheets of paper, today’s carbonless NCR paper is easy. There are some things about carbonless NCR paper that you may not be aware of that can result in you wasting your forms.

Did you know that carbonless paper ages? If you’ve ever used a carbonless form that doesn’t print very dark on the second or third sheets, the problem is most likely caused by old paper that contains dried-out micro ink capsules. This can be caused from old paper or improperly stored paper.

The other thing to keep in mind is don’t buy a lot more carbonless NCR paper than you will use in approximately six months. The reason is the micro capsules may dry out. Another important tip is not to store your forms where there are extreme temperature changes like in a storage bin with no air conditioning, garage or in the back seat of your truck or van. The temperature changes will also dry out the microcapsules.

Carbonless form production and design tips to help you get more out of your forms:

• Give yourself 1/2″ of white space at the top of any carbonless form. Occasionally, the padding compound that we use may bleed down from the padding edge and cause the top 1/8″ of the paper to wrinkle slightly. White space makes it very hard to notice the wrinkling.
• Just because carbonless forms are practical doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Experiment with bold graphics to add pizzazz to your next project. In addition, two colors of ink can make a dramatic improvement in the appearance of carbonless forms, most of which are printed in black ink. You can use colored areas to draw customers or employees attention to important areas.
• Since many carbonless business forms are saved or filed for record keeping, why not consider designing the form so it includes three-hole drilling on the left side for those who want to archive their forms in three-ring binders?
• Consider shrink-wrapping the finished carbonless forms. They’ll look nicer and actually last longer.
• Consider creating a carbonless form for any activity that requires a set of steps for delivery of your product. Carbonless NCR forms are also useful for warranties. You can give a customer a copy and keep a copy for your records.
• Our graphic designers can help you design a form for any use you may have. Correctly designed carbonless NCR forms will streamline almost any activity.

Mark Hale

CEO