Business form printing guide

Business form printing guide

Whenever you find yourself in need of business forms and do not know what will work for you, please refer to the tables below for more information on where to get started.

The first thing you should consider when needing business forms is how you will use them. 

Manual Forms

These forms are meant to be written on, whether at you own a retail stores or are out on the field on a daily basis. They usually include copies and are therefore printed on NCR or carbonless paper for the most part. Some business forms on our website still include carbon paper but those are quite rare nowadays.

Once you decided that you will need forms to write on, you will then need to decide the format of those forms. They can be:

  • glued (called glued-edge forms)
  • snap sets (attached with a 1/2 stub that is perforated and detachable)
  • booked (with a manila tag cover that wraps-around the book)
  • register forms (to be used inside a plastic or metal box on a counter)

Wrap-around books


Snapset forms



Detachable stub on one side

Retail box for register forms



Glued-edge forms



Glued on one side

Computer Forms

Computer forms are used with a software that will print any information contained within the software such as an accounting software that will fill in the invoice, check, or other details such as item name, description, quantity, amount, payee and so on.

Computer forms can be of two different types:

  • laser forms
  • continuous forms (also called dot matrix or pin feed forms)

Laser forms




Continuous forms




Certain computer forms are designed specifically to match a software's default alignment, so you may find business forms designed for specific major software, but as long as you know how to adjust where the information is printed from your software, any of the forms we sell would be suitable for your software.

We do additionally offer different printing solutions for our business forms, and the features available are presented below:

Manual Forms
Pre-Set (Customized Online)
Custom
Custom (Full Color Printing)
Ink Colors
  • 1 ink (restricted)
  • 1 ink 
  • 2 inks
  • 3 inks
  • no restrictions
Paper Type
  • NCR
  • NCR
  • NCR
Paper Color
  • white
  • canary (2nd sheet)
  • pink (3rd sheet)
  • goldenrod (4th sheet)
  • manila tag (5th sheet)
  • white top sheet ONLY
  • canary
  • pink 
  • goldenrod
  • manila tag 
  • no changes allowed
Paper Sequence*
  • no changes allowed
  • changes allowed
    • canary
    • pink
    • goldenrod
    • blue
    • green
    • white
  • changes allowed
    • canary
    • pink
    • goldenrod
    • blue
    • green
    • white
Copies
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate (3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • quintuplicate (5-part)
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate (3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • quintuplicate (5-part)
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate (3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • quintuplicate (5-part)
Numbering
  • 4-6 digits
  • prefix seldom allowed
  • up to 6 digits
  • prefix allowed
  • suffix allowed
  • up to 6 digits
  • prefix allowed
  • suffix allowed
Printing on the Back
  • not available
    (unless pre-printed)
  • available
  • available
Bleeds
  • not available
  • available (cutting required)
  • available
Plate Change**
  • not available
  • available
  • available
Cutting
  • not available
  • available
  • available
Perforations
  • not available
  • available
  • available
Hole Punching
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Shrink Wrapping
  • not available
  • available
  • not available

* Paper color sequence can be changed on forms with your own design, so that means that you can deviate from the common white/yellow/pink sequence on most forms and go with white/blue/green if you prefer.

* A plate change is when one of the copies prints different information than the rest. This results in the graphic department needing to design multiple files and for the production department to create more than 1 printing plate for the press.

Computer Forms: Continuous
Pre-Set (Customized Online)
Custom
Custom (Full Color Printing)
Size
  • a lot!
  • 8 1/2" x 11" detached
  • 8 1/2" x 8 1/2"detached 
  • 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"detached
  • 13 7/8" x 8 1/2" detached
  • not available

Ink Colors
  • 1 ink (restricted)
  • 1 ink 
  • 2 inks
  • 3 inks
  • not available
Paper Type
  • NCR
  • NCR
    • 16 lb top sheet
    • 14.5 lb middle sheet(s)
    • 15 lb last sheet
  • not available
Paper Color
  • white
  • canary (2nd sheet)
  • pink (3rd sheet)
  • goldenrod (4th sheet)
  • manila tag (5th sheet)
  • white top sheet ONLY
  • canary
  • pink 
  • goldenrod
  • manila tag 
  • not available
Paper Sequence*
  • no changes allowed
  • changes allowed
    • canary
    • pink
    • goldenrod
    • blue
    • green
    • white
  • not available
Copies
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate (3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • quintuplicate (5-part)
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate(3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • quintuplicate (5-part)
  • not available
Numbering
  • 4-6 digits
  • prefix seldom allowed
  • up to 6 digits
  • prefix allowed
  • suffix allowed
  • not available
Printing on the Back
  • not available
    (unless pre-printed)
  • available
  • not available
Bleeds
  • not available
  • not available
  • not available
Plate Change**
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Cutting
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Perforations
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Hole Punching
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Shrink Wrapping
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Rush
  • product dependent
  • available
  • not available

* Paper color sequence can be changed on forms with your own design, so that means that you can deviate from the common white/yellow/pink sequence on most forms and go with white/blue/green if you prefer.

* A plate change is when one of the copies prints different information than the rest. This results in the graphic department needing to design multiple files and for the production department to create more than 1 printing plate for the press.

Computer Forms: Laser
Pre-Set (Customized Online)
Custom
Custom (Full Color Printing)
Size
  • 8 1/2" x 11"
  • 8 1/2" x 11"
  • not available
Ink Colors
  • 1 ink (restricted)
  • 1 ink 
  • 2 inks
  • 3 inks
  • not available
Paper Type
  • 20 lb
  • 20 lb
  • 24 lb
  • not available
Paper Color
  • white
  • canary (2nd sheet)
  • pink (3rd sheet)
  • goldenrod (4th sheet)
  • white top sheet ONLY
  • canary
  • pink 
  • goldenrod
  • not available
Paper Sequence*
  • no changes allowed
  • changes allowed
    • canary
    • pink
    • white
  • not available
Copies
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate (3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • duplicate (2-part)
  • triplicate (3-part)
  • quadruplicate (4-part)
  • not available
Numbering
  • 4-6 digits
  • prefix seldom allowed
  • up to 6 digits
  • prefix allowed
  • suffix allowed
  • not available
Printing on the Back
  • not available
    (unless pre-printed)
  • available
  • not available
Bleeds
  • not available
  • not available
  • not available
Plate Change**
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Perforations
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Hole Punching
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Shrink Wrapping
  • not available
  • available
  • not available
Rush
  • product dependent
  • available
  • not available

* Paper color sequence can be changed on forms with your own design, so that means that you can deviate from the common white/yellow/pink sequence on most forms and go with white/blue/green if you prefer.


* A plate change is when one of the copies prints different information than the rest. This results in the graphic department needing to design multiple files and for the production department to create more than 1 printing plate for the press.

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