By FERNANDO ALVAREZ-MANAGUEAK, Associated PressWASHINGTON — Fancy stationeries, like those used by celebs and designers, are a good way to bring a more personalized feel to a business.
The way they are printed gives them the look and feel of an expensive item, but they can be cheaper than similar paper products, according to a new study from the University of Washington.
It’s a common trend in the United States to sell pricey products with an appeal to both the consumer and the artisans who made them.
“If you have an amazing artist, designer or designer, they’ll be more inclined to be willing to pay a little bit more for something,” said Michael J. Smith, an associate professor of business administration at the university who conducted the study.
He said many businesses that produce stationery also make the sale easier.
Fashion labels typically charge up to 30 percent more for their prints than those used in the home, according a 2012 survey by the New York-based consumer advocacy group, Good Housekeeping.
Smith said he has heard from a number of designers who are looking for more affordable stationery.
In a study published in the journal Consumer Reports, the authors of the paper looked at about 1,000 samples of stationery and found that those with the most popular price tags were more likely to have more prints made.
Of the 1,100 samples, 1,400 were branded with the names of designers or artists who were either artists or designers.
More than half were produced in China, and more than one-third of those were hand-drawn.
Only a few of those, like the floral stationery by the Japanese designer Hayao Miyazaki, had names printed on them.
The authors concluded that a higher price tag was associated with better quality.
To get a better look at what made a print stand out, the researchers took samples of three different types of stationeries.
They said the most interesting were those that featured names or initials, as well as a more traditional and stylized look.
One of the more common types was the “sketch-up,” which involves an artist using a brush and drawing the name on the inside of the print, said Mary A. Furlong, associate professor in the UW’s department of communications and information studies.
An artist might draw on the print to create a pattern or design, or it might be a simple image of a bird or a flower.
Another type of stationarity is a more elaborate print, such as a drawing of a tree, a human figure or a bird, said Furlongs study.
The study was based on a survey of about 1 1,200 adults in the U.S. from the Pew Research Center, which includes information about how people perceive the cost of purchasing goods and services.
The researchers surveyed about 1 537 Americans.
A higher price might be because people like the unique look of the prints, Smith said.
But if a print looks like a standard, disposable stationery with a price tag, then people are likely to buy it, Smith added.
