Short answer: a new company in Dubai needs five printed things before it needs anything else — business cards, a letterhead, an invoice book, envelopes and stickers. The whole set costs under AED 1,200 at current prices, and the fastest route is the Startup Stationery Pack at AED 799, which bundles 1,000 business cards, 500 A4 letterheads and 10 NCR invoice books (AED 900 bought separately). Everything else — signage, folders, roll-up banners — can wait until you have a lease and a first client.
This is the order in which a Dubai startup actually hits print, with real prices in AED, VAT inclusive, from the live store.
Week one: the three items you cannot trade without
In the UAE, trade licence in hand, your first week is meetings and paperwork. Three printed items carry that week.
1. Business cards
Still the highest-return print item in this market. In Dubai you will hand out more cards in your first month than in your first year anywhere else, because business here still opens with an exchange, not an email.
| Business card | 500 pcs | 1,000 pcs |
|---|---|---|
| Art paper, no lamination | — | AED 89 |
| Matt laminated, 350 gsm | AED 99 | AED 119 |
| Glossy lamination | — | AED 139 |
| EXPRESS next day, matt laminated 350 gsm | AED 149 | AED 179 |
| Matt laminated, round corner | — | AED 159 |
| Matt lamination + spot UV | AED 189 | AED 229 |
| Rounded corner, spot UV, velvet lamination 760 mic | AED 279 | AED 339 |
| Matt laminated + gold foil | — | AED 299 |
| Rounded corner, gold foil + spot UV, velvet 760 mic | AED 389 | AED 489 |
Pick by what you are selling. A logistics or trading company gets nothing back from velvet stock — AED 119 for 1,000 matt-laminated cards is the correct answer. An agency, a law firm or a luxury brand is judged on the card itself, and the 760-micron velvet card with spot UV at AED 339 per 1,000 does real work in a meeting.
Two special cases worth knowing: Metal Business Cards at AED 0.70 each for a small executive run, and the NFC digital business card with GPS tracker and anti-loss tag at AED 56 — one card for the founder who will be at every exhibition this year. If you have a pitch in 48 hours, the EXPRESS next-day card at AED 149 per 500 exists exactly for that. Compare finishes in the business card collection or read our guide to spot UV, foiling and embossing.
2. Letterhead
Quotations, offer letters, NOCs, bank correspondence, tenancy paperwork — in the UAE a surprising amount of business still moves on a letterhead with a stamp on it. Wood-free 100 gsm is the working standard; 120 gsm is what you use for proposals.
| Letterhead (wood-free 100 GSM) | 500 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 5,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | AED 210 | AED 380 | AED 575 | AED 750 |
| A5 | AED 150 | AED 230 | AED 350 | AED 420 |
| A6 | AED 130 | AED 170 | AED 230 | AED 320 |
A4 at 500 sheets is the right first order. Nobody in year one gets through 5,000 letterheads, and your address will probably change once. Full sizes and GSM options are in the letterhead collection, with a deeper breakdown in our letterhead printing guide.
3. The invoice book
This is the item founders skip and then need urgently. NCR (carbonless) books print in duplicate with sequential numbering: the customer gets the top copy, you keep the carbon. For cash-handling businesses, deliveries and site work, it is the practical record.
- 5 NCR Books A5, one colour 1+1 — AED 265
- 5 NCR Books A4, one colour 1+1 — AED 294
- 10 NCR Books A5, one colour 1+1 — AED 390
- 10 NCR Books A4, full colour 1+1 — AED 500
- 10 NCR Books A4, full colour 1+2 (triplicate) — AED 580
- Ready formats: Invoice Books AED 225, LPO Books AED 235, Delivery Order Books AED 185, Petty Cash Vouchers AED 135, Payment Vouchers AED 145
Go 1+2 triplicate if you deliver goods — one copy for the customer, one for the driver, one for accounts. Details in the NCR invoice book guide.
The shortcut: one pack instead of three orders
The Startup Stationery Pack at AED 799 covers all three: 1,000 matt-laminated business cards, 500 A4 letterheads on wood-free 120 gsm, and 10 A4 NCR invoice books in duplicate with sequential numbering — 50 sets per book. Bought separately those three come to AED 900.
The saving is AED 101, but the real benefit is that all three are laid out by the design team as one identity, proofed together, and delivered together in about five business days after approval. Three separate orders means three proof cycles and three chances for your logo to sit at three different sizes.
Month one: the pieces that make you look established
Envelopes
The moment you send a physical document — a signed contract, a cheque, an invoice — an unbranded envelope undoes the letterhead inside it.
| Envelope | Quantity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| A5, wood-free 100 GSM, 1 colour 1 side | 200 | AED 360 |
| A4, wood-free 100 GSM, 1 colour 1 side | 200 | AED 460 |
| DL, wood-free 100 GSM | 1,000 | AED 760 |
| DL, wood-free 120 GSM | 1,000 | AED 810 |
| A5, wood-free 100 GSM | 1,000 | AED 920 |
| A4, wood-free 100 GSM | 1,000 | AED 1,340 |
Start with the 200-piece one-colour runs — AED 360 for A5 — rather than committing to 1,000 of a design you may revise. See all sizes in the envelopes collection.
Stickers and labels
The most versatile AED 350 a young company can spend. Stickers seal packaging, label equipment, brand a laptop, close a gift box and turn a plain courier bag into branded delivery.
- 1,000 economy stickers, glossy laminated 80 gsm — AED 350
- 1,000 economy custom stickers, glossy laminated 80 gsm — AED 370
- 1,000 transparent PVC stickers 5 × 5 cm, glossy lamination — AED 410
- 1,000 stickers 8 × 12 cm, no lamination — AED 410 (5,000 for AED 810)
- 100 paper stickers 7 × 7 cm, matt or glossy — AED 230
- 200 rounded paper stickers, 5 cm diameter — AED 375
Transparent PVC is the one to choose for anything going on glass, a bottle or a laptop — the white paper edge is what makes a cheap sticker look cheap. More options in the sticker and label collection.
Thank-you cards and compliment slips
Small spend, disproportionate return, particularly for e-commerce and service businesses: Compliment Slips at AED 165, Thank You Cards at AED 235, with round corners at AED 265 or gold foiling at AED 395. One printed card in a delivery box is the cheapest repeat-purchase mechanism available to a new brand.
When the office opens
Once you have a lease, three more items come into play — and not before, because signage is cut to a specific wall.
- Indoor Wall Signage — AED 395, cut to your logo and wall dimensions
- Acrylic Reception Signage — AED 750
- 3D Acrylic Signage — AED 1,150, for the main entrance
- Roll-up banner 85 × 200 cm — AED 190, for your first exhibition or networking event
- 100 A4 folders, 400 gsm art matt, velvet lamination with 3D gold foil — AED 1,425, when you start pitching with printed proposals
What week one actually costs
| Scenario | What you get | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Lean | 1,000 art-paper business cards (AED 89) + 500 A5 letterheads (AED 150) + 5 A5 NCR books (AED 265) | AED 504 |
| Standard | Startup Stationery Pack — 1,000 cards + 500 A4 letterheads + 10 A4 NCR books | AED 799 |
| Client-facing | Startup Pack (AED 799) + 200 A5 envelopes (AED 360) + 1,000 stickers (AED 350) + roll-up banner (AED 190) | AED 1,699 |
How to order
- Send your logo and company details on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 052 210 0909 — trade name, licence number if it goes on the letterhead, address, phone, email, and brand colours if you have them.
- No logo yet? Ask about the logo and brand identity service before you print anything. Printing a placeholder logo costs the price of the job twice.
- Approve one proof set covering every item, so the card, letterhead and invoice book share one typeface and one logo size.
- Production: about five business days after approval for standard stationery; next day for the EXPRESS business card.
- Delivery anywhere in the UAE — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, RAK and Fujairah.
Design layout is free. Send a vector logo (AI, EPS or PDF) rather than a PNG from your website — at business-card size the difference between vector and a 72 dpi web file is visible to the naked eye.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trade licence to print company stationery in Dubai?
Not to place the order. But print the trade name exactly as it appears on the licence — a mismatch between your letterhead and your licence creates avoidable friction with banks, landlords and government counters. Check the spelling and the legal suffix (LLC, FZ-LLC, FZE) before you approve the proof.
How many business cards should a startup actually order?
1,000 for the founder and anyone client-facing; 500 for back-office staff. At AED 119 per 1,000 matt-laminated, the price gap between 500 and 1,000 is AED 20, so ordering 500 to "be careful" saves almost nothing and guarantees a reprint. The real risk is printing 1,000 with a phone number that changes — verify every digit on the proof.
Can I print before I have a fixed office address?
Yes, and many Dubai startups do. Leave the address off the business card — phone, email, website and WhatsApp are what people use — and put the address only on the letterhead, where it is required. That way a move costs you one reprint, not two.
What is the fastest I can get business cards in Dubai?
Next day, with the EXPRESS matt-laminated 350 gsm card at AED 149 per 500 or AED 179 per 1,000, provided print-ready artwork is approved early in the day. Standard stationery runs about five business days after proof approval.
Is the Startup Stationery Pack customisable?
The pack is fixed at 1,000 business cards, 500 A4 letterheads and 10 A4 NCR books for AED 799. If you need different quantities — say 500 cards and 20 invoice books — send the split on WhatsApp and it is quoted as a custom bundle the same day.
Start your company's print kit today
Send your logo and trade name on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 052 210 0909 and you will have a proof to approve within a day, with free design layout and delivery anywhere in the UAE. Start with the business card collection, add a letterhead, and finish with stickers and labels — the three items that make a new company look like it has been trading for years.
