Most Dubai offices do not run out of printed stationery gradually — they run out on the morning of a client meeting. The fix is not ordering more often; it is knowing which six or seven items actually deplete, how long each one takes to reprint, and what a sensible 3-month buffer costs. For a typical 15–40 person company in Dubai, a full stationery reorder runs AED 1,800–3,500 including VAT, lands in 3–8 business days, and only needs doing two to four times a year if you buy at the right break points.
This is the working reorder list we see used by office managers and marketing coordinators across Business Bay, JLT and DIC — item by item, with real prices from our catalogue, real lead times, and the quantity at which each one stops being expensive.
The nine items that actually run out
Office print spend concentrates in a surprisingly short list. Everything else is a one-off (signage, roll-ups, company profiles) or seasonal (calendars, greeting cards). The recurring nine:
- Business cards — the fastest-depleting item in any sales-facing company
- A4 letterheads — proposals, offer letters, NOCs, bank and government correspondence
- DL envelopes — invoices, cheques, formal letters
- NCR invoice / delivery books — still mandatory in practice for site deliveries and cash sales
- Compliment slips — the cheapest way to make a courier handover feel deliberate
- Company stamp — replaced when the trade licence address or logo changes
- Branded pens — reception, meeting rooms, events
- Branded notebooks — new joiners, client meetings, training
- Logo stickers / seals — outgoing packaging, document files, asset labelling
How often to reorder each
A rule of thumb that holds up well in UAE offices: reorder when you hit 20% remaining, not when you hit zero. Printing is not same-day by default — most stationery jobs are 3–8 business days after artwork approval, and approval itself often eats two days while someone chases a managing director for a signature.
- Business cards: per person, annually; for a sales team, every 6 months
- Letterheads & envelopes: every 6–12 months at 1,000–2,000 quantities
- NCR books: every 3–6 months for an active delivery or service operation
- Pens & notebooks: quarterly, tied to headcount and event calendar
- Stamp: only on a licence, address or logo change — but order it the same week the change is approved
Real reorder prices (AED, VAT inclusive)
These are live catalogue prices, not estimates. Note how sharply the per-unit cost falls between the 500 and 5,000 break points — this is the single biggest lever on your annual stationery budget.
| Item | Spec | Quantity | Price (AED) | Per unit | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business cards | 350 gsm art matt, matt lamination both sides | 500 pcs | 99 | 0.20 | 3 days |
| Business cards | 350 gsm art matt, matt lamination both sides | 1,000 pcs | 119 | 0.12 | 3 days |
| Business cards | 400 gsm art matt — heavier, premium feel | 1,000 pcs | 139 | 0.14 | 3 days |
| Letterheads A4 | Wood free 100 gsm, full colour 1 side | 500 pcs | 210 | 0.42 | 5 days |
| Letterheads A4 | Wood free 100 gsm, full colour 1 side | 1,000 pcs | 380 | 0.38 | 5 days |
| Letterheads A4 | Wood free 100 gsm, full colour 1 side | 5,000 pcs | 750 | 0.15 | 5 days |
| Letterheads A4 | Wood free 120 gsm — heavier for proposals | 1,000 pcs | 420 | 0.42 | 5 days |
| Envelopes DL | Wood free 100 gsm, full colour 1 side | 1,000 pcs | 760 | 0.76 | 5 days |
| Envelopes DL | Wood free 100 gsm, full colour 1 side | 5,000 pcs | 1,420 | 0.28 | 5 days |
| NCR invoice books A4 | Duplicate 1+1, 4-colour, sequential numbering | 10 books | 500 | 50 / book | 5 days |
| NCR books A5 | Duplicate 1+1, 4-colour | 10 books | 400 | 40 / book | 5 days |
| NCR books A5 | Duplicate 1+1, single colour — budget option | 5 books | 265 | 53 / book | 5 days |
| Compliment slips | Printed with logo and message | Standard run | 165 | — | 5 days |
| Company stamp | 32 x 32 mm, custom artwork | 1 pc | 210 | — | 5 days |
| Logo stickers | 9 x 5.5 cm, 80 gsm, glossy laminated | 1,000 pcs | 350 | 0.35 | 8 days |
| Flyers A5 | 170 gsm glossy, full colour | 1,000 pcs | 270 | 0.27 | 5 days |
| Branded pen | LYSI plastic ball pen, logo print | Per piece | 0.76 | 0.76 | On stock |
| Branded pen | PILA recycled aluminium ballpoint | Per piece | 3.19 | 3.19 | On stock |
| Branded notebook | BARON Santhome expanded A5 hard cover | Per piece | 12.00 | 12.00 | On stock |
| Desk gift set | HEVIZ tumbler + A5 notebook + pen | Per set | 35.00 | 35.00 | On stock |
Full ranges: Stationery, Office, Desk & Writing, Business Cards and Print & Marketing.
Three budgets that actually work
Small office (5–15 people) — about AED 1,250 per reorder
1,000 business cards at 350 gsm (AED 119) + 1,000 A4 letterheads at 100 gsm (AED 380) + 1,000 DL envelopes (AED 760) comes to AED 1,259, and realistically lasts a year. Order the envelopes only if you genuinely post documents; many small Dubai offices send almost everything by courier or PDF and should spend that AED 760 on 1,000 logo stickers (AED 350) and a stamp (AED 210) instead.
If you are a brand-new company, the Startup Stationery Pack in our stationery range bundles 1,000 business cards, 500 A4 letterheads and 10 A4 NCR invoice books for AED 799 against AED 900 bought separately — and more usefully, it gets all three items laid out in one consistent identity from a single proof.
Mid-size office (15–40 people) — about AED 2,600 per reorder
Go up a quantity tier on the paper items, because that is where the per-unit price collapses: 5,000 A4 letterheads (AED 750) costs less than twice 1,000 (AED 380) and takes the per-sheet cost from 38 fils to 15. Add 1,000 business cards at 400 gsm (AED 139) per client-facing person, 10 A4 NCR books (AED 500), 5,000 DL envelopes (AED 1,420) if you post regularly, plus compliment slips (AED 165).
Sales or delivery-heavy operation — about AED 3,400 per quarter
NCR books and business cards dominate here. Budget 10 A4 NCR invoice books (AED 500) plus 10 A5 books for delivery notes (AED 400) every quarter, 1,000 cards per rep, and 1,000 A5 flyers (AED 270) if your team leaves anything behind at site visits.
The four mistakes that cost the most
1. Reordering at the 500 tier out of habit. 500 letterheads cost 42 fils each; 5,000 cost 15 fils. If you reliably consume 2,000 sheets a year, buying 5,000 once saves roughly AED 580 over two years of 500-sheet orders — and saves four approval cycles.
2. Reprinting before a known change. If your trade licence renewal, office move or rebrand is within 90 days, order the minimum quantity and wait. A reprint after an address change means binning everything. Our office launch print checklist covers the right order for a move.
3. Mixing paper weights across the set. A 400 gsm business card next to a 70 gsm letterhead reads as inconsistent to anyone who handles both. Keep letterheads at 100–120 gsm wood free and cards at 350–400 gsm; see our paper GSM guide for the full mapping.
4. Not keeping an approved artwork file. The single biggest cause of slow reorders in Dubai offices is no one having the print-ready file. Keep the approved PDF with bleed and crop marks in a shared folder — reorders then skip design and go straight to production. Our print-ready artwork checklist lists exactly what the file needs.
How to place a reorder in under five minutes
- Count what is left of the nine items above and note anything under 20%.
- Pick the quantity tier, not the quantity you need. Round up to the next break point if your annual usage justifies it.
- Send the approved artwork — or just say "same as last order" on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909; repeat jobs are produced from the archived file with no new design step.
- Approve one digital proof covering all items in the order, so the 3–8 business day clock starts once, not five times.
- Take delivery anywhere in the UAE. Dubai and Sharjah are the quickest; Abu Dhabi, Ajman, RAK and Fujairah typically add a day.
If you need something faster than the standard window, say so before you order — some items can be produced on an express basis, and our guide to same-day and next-day printing in Dubai explains what is genuinely possible versus what is not.
Frequently asked questions
Are the prices VAT inclusive?
Yes. Every price shown on the site and in the table above includes 5% UAE VAT, so the figure you see is the figure you pay. A tax invoice is issued with every order for your accounts.
What is the minimum order for office stationery?
It varies by item: business cards start at 500 pcs (AED 99), letterheads at 500 pcs (AED 210), envelopes at 1,000 pcs (AED 760), NCR books at 5 books, and a stamp is a single piece at AED 210. Offset items like envelopes carry higher minimums because the plate and setup cost is fixed — our guide to printing MOQs in Dubai explains why.
How long does a reorder take if nothing changes in the design?
Production is the same 3–8 business days, but you skip the design and proofing stage entirely, which in practice is where most of the calendar time goes. A repeat business card order approved on a Sunday morning is usually delivered mid-week.
Can I split one order across multiple delivery addresses?
Yes — this is common for companies with a head office and a warehouse or a second emirate branch. Tell us the split at order stage so the cartons are packed and labelled per address rather than consolidated and re-sorted on arrival.
Do I need separate NCR books for VAT invoices and delivery notes?
In practice, yes. A VAT invoice book needs your TRN, VAT line and sequential numbering; a delivery note needs signature and item columns. Printing them as one document creates problems at audit. 10 A4 invoice books (AED 500) plus 10 A5 delivery books (AED 400) covers both — see our NCR invoice book guide for the 2-part versus 3-part decision.
Is 100 gsm or 120 gsm better for letterheads?
100 gsm (AED 380 per 1,000 A4) is the right default — it runs cleanly through office printers and feels like proper business paper. Step up to 120 gsm (AED 420 per 1,000) only for the sheets that go into proposals and tender submissions, where the extra weight is noticed. Many offices order both and keep the heavier stock in a separate tray. Our letterhead printing guide compares the options in detail.
Set your reorder date, not your reorder quantity
The companies that never run out are not the ones that buy the most — they are the ones with a diarised quarterly check against the nine-item list, an approved artwork file in a shared folder, and quantity tiers chosen once rather than renegotiated every time. That is a twenty-minute exercise that removes a recurring fire drill from your year.
Send your current stationery list on WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909 and we will come back with a line-by-line quote and the quantity tier that makes sense for your actual consumption. Or browse the full office stationery range and order directly.
