BROCHURES

  

Whether you’re utilizing them as promotional materials, mailing them to customers or handing them out during a pitch, brochures are a versatile and powerful marketing tool to convey information about your company, products or services and stand out from your competitors.

Brochures are classic marketing materials for a reason. They are an efficient and clear way of getting valuable marketing messages in both images and text directly into the hands of potential or existing customers. Brochures allow customers to quickly grasp your products or services, find answers to many of their initial questions and become familiar with your brand.

 

Ideal for presenting a more significant amount of information in a concise and compact format, brochures provide a bridge of information between you and your customers. The numerous folds available mean that there is no shortage of ways to present information using both graphics and copy in an engaging and attention-grabbing way.

 

Taking advantage of the right fold for your brand could make the customer experience interactive while also helping present information in the right order. Aside from the fold, paper quality is equally important. Our many options available range from text weight for excellent foldability to light card stock for structure and durability. Whatever the application, there is sure to be an option to fit your projects’ needs.

 

We have years of experience helping our customers achieve stunning print pieces that exceed their expectations at a reasonable price and are always on time. Our print facility operates 24/7 to deliver fast, short-run print projects without compromising quality. Take the quality of offset printing and add the benefit of variable capabilities and watch your highly effective marketing campaigns come to life overnight. At Direction Printing, we strive to remain a leader in innovation by continuously bringing new printing solutions to an ever-changing market.

 

Direction Printing offers a digital printing service for any orders with smaller print runs. Using our digital printing process means that we save paper, time, and money over doing sheetfed printing on smaller quantities. You still get similar quality, and we can complete the project faster for you. When you speak with our expert staff, they will advise you on the best printing option for your project.

 

Let’s connect to discuss your current or upcoming projects. Our work speaks for itself, so be sure to ask us for an introductory package tailored specifically to your printing needs.

 

 

Paper Quality

 

The paper quality of your brochure print project speaks volumes in the hands of your customers. It allows them to see and feel firsthand your dedication to quality, attention to detail and creativity. At Direction Printing, we don’t cut corners when it comes to paper.

 

The most common order options are 11" x 8.5" before folding on 100lb Gloss Text paper. Almost always, brochures are printed in full colour on both sides (4/4) and are coated AQ 2 sides. The most common folds are Trifolds, Z-Folds, and Half-Folds. Trifolds and Z-Folds give you six panels to display your information while Half-Folds give you four panels.

 

Below you can find additional information on the variety of paper options available for your print project. For a custom approach or a more unique quality, send us an email and we will work together to ensure your creative vision comes to life.

 

80 lb. Paper - Uncoated

  • Best choice for Brochures, Flyers, Envelopes, and marketing materials that have sections for forms
  • Uncoated for excellent writability and printability
  • Environmentally friendly and sustainable source papers available

 

100 lb. Paper – Gloss or Silk/Matte

  • Most popular choice for Flyers, Posters and Catalogs
  • Thick, substantial paper with a gloss, silk, or matte finish for sheen and vibrant colour
  • Ballpoint pens (oil-based ink) and permanent markers work best
  • Using the matte options will allow brochures to be easily written on

 

12-14 pt. Cardstock – Gloss or Silk/Matte

  • Lightweight cardstock with a non-reflective matte finish for a classic and elegant feel
  • Requires scoring prior to folding
  • Ballpoint pens (oil-based ink) and permanent markers work best. May be written on but testing is advised

 

 

Fold Types

 

Brochures, and other print materials, can be printed using various fold types. These fold types break up the design into multiple panels that showcase graphics, text, infographics or various calls to action that help the customer better understand your brand, products and services. There are nine available brochure folding formats that will help your design stand out and communicate information efficiently and interestingly.

 

 

2-Panel Folds

Bi fold or Half fold

As its name indicates, this brochure contains two panels with enough space for lengthy text or large images. This simple design is effective in communicating larger amounts of information or instructions.

 

3-Panel Folds

Three-panel folds work best for most brochures. Choose from the following three-panel folding options: the trifold or letter fold, the z-fold, and the gatefold. They have ample space for all the important information about your product or business, and the folding design keeps the customer engaged as they flip through the brochure.

 

Trifold

The trifold is folded twice to create three panels for a short, visual, and informative brochure. It is the most popular folding option. This interactive fold could also work well for maps or other similar engaging content.

 

Z-Fold

This commonly used brochure has six printed panels on both sides. This allows you to break down the information into smaller sections that keep the customer interested, but not overwhelmed.

 

4-Panel Folds

Four-panel folds are great for brochures that need to contain more information while keeping them perfectly organized.

  • Accordion Fold - This brochure fold forms a zigzag pattern.
  • Double Gate Fold - This fold is like the gate fold, with an extra fold in the center. It is also known as a closed gate fold.
  • Double Parallel Fold - This fold is folded equally in half and then folded again in the same direction.
  • French Fold - The French fold is folded in half horizontally and then vertically folded in half to create the four equally sized panels.
  • Roll Fold - The Roll Fold is folded three times from right to left. Each panel is directed to fold toward the left.

 

 

Potential Business Brochure Promotional Uses

 

Promotional brochures can be used for a variety of purposes, from brand initiation to customer communication to simple product sales. Each kind of brochure has its own unique use and since we have spent years printing promotional materials for our customers, we have come to learn a few tricks of the trade about what works best depending on the industry.

 

Standard brochure sizes from 5.5" x 8.5" to 8.5" x 14" are used by businesses that want to promote information about their products and services. Below are examples of industries and/or events where these sizes are most frequently used:

  • Services - A good example of this would be photography studios. These brochures can feature sample work, special packages, and contact numbers.

  • Medical - informative guides that give summaries of health care facts, medical conditions, health concerns, and general first aid topics.

  • Real Estate - description of commercial and residential properties and property information such as the address, property specifications, and contact numbers.

  • Trade Fairs - participating companies in these events have an opportunity to communicate with their audience through brochures and promote their strengths and products. They can showcase and demonstrate their products and services and position their brand among competitors.

  • Non-Profit Organizations - these organizations use brochures to explain advocacy, history, and mission to gain support from potential benefactors and the public.

On the other hand, larger brochure sizes such as 11” x 17 and 11” x 25.375 are more appropriate for more detailed promotional tools that include image-heavy content. Some of these could include:

  • Amusement/Theme Park Brochures - a definite need for theme parks to have because this informs people of featured attractions, rides, and other events.

  • Mini maps - map representations are especially helpful for tourists to guide them throughout their trip. Ideally, mini-map brochures contain street names and popular landmarks. These are displayed on hotel counters and souvenir shops. A more detailed map may need custom sizing and options.

 

 

Further Helpful Information

 

There is so much to consider when designing your brochure or promotional product. How will the customer engage with the content? Is the content sufficiently clear yet also informative and fun? How to create a brochure that motivates the customer to follow a call-to-action rather than toss it in the recycling bin? How to ensure that the brand is presented well? On and on. At Direction Printing, we have put our heads together to come up with a few important tips and tricks — think of them as your pre-printing checklist — to ensure that your brochure or promotional product stands out in the hands of your customers.

 

One challenge in designing brochures is creating a thoughtful layout without crowding the copy and images. You should maximize space, but also position the design elements for a visually appealing experience. Some other things to consider are the fonts used and the text alignment in your brochure.

 

 

Font

  • Choose easy-to-read fonts (i.e., Garamond, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Century).

  • Use a sans serif font, such as Arial, for captions or small type.

  • Limit your font choices. Using more than two types of fonts will make your brochure messy, unprofessional, or playful.

  • Use highlighting techniques – bold, italic, and bigger font size — instead of varying font styles.

  • Use a bigger text size for headlines and calls to action. Although not always, font size can be relevant to the importance of information.

  • Choose font sizes that are proportionate to the size of your brochures. To help you decide on the font size, assess how many words you want to fill the space with.

  • Use a 12-point font for the body, 10-point font for captions, and a 14- to 22-point font for headlines. These are recommended sizes, but your choices will depend on the overall look of your design.

 

 

Text Alignment

  • Avoid putting borders on your paragraphs unless needed.
  • Break long paragraphs into bullet points. Walls of text can discourage people from reading further and bulleted information is easier to recall.
  • Use proper typographic alignment (flush left, flush right, justified, and centered) for a neat layout.
  • Align design elements — headers, images, and text — properly.
  • Make spacing consistent throughout your design. Remember to leave some white space on your layout to give your content a balanced look. This helps make your design easier to read and it will leave room in the margins for your customers to make notes for themselves if needed.

 

Let’s connect to discuss your current or upcoming projects. Our work speaks for itself, so be sure to ask us for an introductory package tailored specifically to your printing needs.

 

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BROCHURE PRINTING

  

Whether you’re utilizing them as promotional materials, mailing them to customers or handing them out during a pitch, brochures are a versatile and powerful marketing tool to convey information about your company, products or services and stand out from your competitors.

 

Brochures are classic marketing materials for a reason. They are an efficient and clear way of getting valuable marketing messages in both images and text directly into the hands of potential or existing customers. Brochures allow customers to quickly grasp your products or services, find answers to many of their initial questions and become familiar with your brand.

 

Ideal for presenting a more significant amount of information in a concise and compact format, brochures provide a bridge of information between you and your customers. The numerous folds available mean that there is no shortage of ways to present information using both graphics and copy in an engaging and attention-grabbing way.

 

Taking advantage of the right fold for your brand could make the customer experience interactive while also helping present information in the right order. Aside from the fold, paper quality is equally important. Our many options available range from text weight for excellent foldability to light card stock for structure and durability. Whatever the application, there is sure to be an option to fit your projects’ needs.

 

We have years of experience helping our customers achieve stunning print pieces that exceed their expectations at a reasonable price and are always on time. Our print facility operates 24/7 to deliver fast, short-run print projects without compromising quality. Take the quality of offset printing and add the benefit of variable capabilities and watch your highly effective marketing campaigns come to life overnight. At Direction Printing, we strive to remain a leader in innovation by continuously bringing new printing solutions to an ever-changing market.

 

Direction Printing offers a digital printing service for any orders with smaller print runs. Using our digital printing process means that we save paper, time, and money over doing sheetfed printing on smaller quantities. You still get similar quality, and we can complete the project faster for you. When you speak with our expert staff, they will advise you on the best printing option for your project.

 

Let’s connect to discuss your current or upcoming projects. Our work speaks for itself, so be sure to ask us for an introductory package tailored specifically to your printing needs.

 

 

Paper Quality

 

The paper quality of your brochure print project speaks volumes in the hands of your customers. It allows them to see and feel firsthand your dedication to quality, attention to detail and creativity. At Direction Printing, we don’t cut corners when it comes to paper.

 

The most common order options are 11" x 8.5" before folding on 100lb Gloss Text paper. Almost always, brochures are printed in full colour on both sides (4/4) and are coated AQ 2 sides. The most common folds are Trifolds, Z-Folds, and Half-Folds. Trifolds and Z-Folds give you six panels to display your information while Half-Folds give you four panels.

 

Below you can find additional information on the variety of paper options available for your print project. For a custom approach or a more unique quality, send us an email and we will work together to ensure your creative vision comes to life.

 

80 lb. Paper - Uncoated

  • Best choice for Brochures, Flyers, Envelopes, and marketing materials that have sections for forms
  • Uncoated for excellent writability and printability
  • Environmentally friendly and sustainable source papers available

 

100 lb. Paper – Gloss or Silk/Matte

  • Most popular choice for Flyers, Posters and Catalogs
  • Thick, substantial paper with a gloss, silk, or matte finish for sheen and vibrant colour
  • Ballpoint pens (oil-based ink) and permanent markers work best
  • Using the matte options will allow brochures to be easily written on

 

12-14 pt. Cardstock – Gloss or Silk/Matte

  • Lightweight cardstock with a non-reflective matte finish for a classic and elegant feel
  • Requires scoring prior to folding
  • Ballpoint pens (oil-based ink) and permanent markers work best. May be written on but testing is advised

 

 

Fold Types

 

Brochures, and other print materials, can be printed using various fold types. These fold types break up the design into multiple panels that showcase graphics, text, infographics or various calls to action that help the customer better understand your brand, products and services. There are nine available brochure folding formats that will help your design stand out and communicate information efficiently and interestingly.

 

 

2-Panel Folds

 

Bi fold or Half fold

As its name indicates, this brochure contains two panels with enough space for lengthy text or large images. This simple design is effective in communicating larger amounts of information or instructions.

 

3-Panel Folds

Three-panel folds work best for most brochures. Choose from the following three-panel folding options: the trifold or letter fold, the z-fold, and the gatefold. They have ample space for all the important information about your product or business, and the folding design keeps the customer engaged as they flip through the brochure.

 

Trifold

The trifold is folded twice to create three panels for a short, visual, and informative brochure. It is the most popular folding option. This interactive fold could also work well for maps or other similar engaging content.

 

Z-Fold

This commonly used brochure has six printed panels on both sides. This allows you to break down the information into smaller sections that keep the customer interested, but not overwhelmed.

 

4-Panel Folds

Four-panel folds are great for brochures that need to contain more information while keeping them perfectly organized.

  • Accordion Fold - This brochure fold forms a zigzag pattern.
  • Double Gate Fold - This fold is like the gate fold, with an extra fold in the center. It is also known as a closed gate fold.
  • Double Parallel Fold - This fold is folded equally in half and then folded again in the same direction.
  • French Fold - The French fold is folded in half horizontally and then vertically folded in half to create the four equally sized panels.
  • Roll Fold - The Roll Fold is folded three times from right to left. Each panel is directed to fold toward the left.

 

 

Potential Business Brochure Promotional Uses

 

Promotional brochures can be used for a variety of purposes, from brand initiation to customer communication to simple product sales. Each kind of brochure has its own unique use and since we have spent years printing promotional materials for our customers, we have come to learn a few tricks of the trade about what works best depending on the industry.

 

Standard brochure sizes from 5.5" x 8.5" to 8.5" x 14" are used by businesses that want to promote information about their products and services. Below are examples of industries and/or events where these sizes are most frequently used:

  • Services - A good example of this would be photography studios. These brochures can feature sample work, special packages, and contact numbers.
  • Medical - informative guides that give summaries of health care facts, medical conditions, health concerns, and general first aid topics.
  • Real Estate - description of commercial and residential properties and property information such as the address, property specifications, and contact numbers.
  • Trade Fairs - participating companies in these events have an opportunity to communicate with their audience through brochures and promote their strengths and products. They can showcase and demonstrate their products and services and position their brand among competitors.
  • Non-Profit Organizations - these organizations use brochures to explain advocacy, history, and mission to gain support from potential benefactors and the public.

 

On the other hand, larger brochure sizes such as 11” x 17 and 11” x 25.375 are more appropriate for more detailed promotional tools that include image-heavy content. Some of these could include:

  • Amusement/Theme Park Brochures - a definite need for theme parks to have because this informs people of featured attractions, rides, and other events.
  • Mini maps - map representations are especially helpful for tourists to guide them throughout their trip. Ideally, mini-map brochures contain street names and popular landmarks. These are displayed on hotel counters and souvenir shops. A more detailed map may need custom sizing and options.

 

 

Further Helpful Information

 

There is so much to consider when designing your brochure or promotional product. How will the customer engage with the content? Is the content sufficiently clear yet also informative and fun? How to create a brochure that motivates the customer to follow a call-to-action rather than toss it in the recycling bin? How to ensure that the brand is presented well? On and on. At Direction Printing, we have put our heads together to come up with a few important tips and tricks — think of them as your pre-printing checklist — to ensure that your brochure or promotional product stands out in the hands of your customers.

 

One challenge in designing brochures is creating a thoughtful layout without crowding the copy and images. You should maximize space, but also position the design elements for a visually appealing experience. Some other things to consider are the fonts used and the text alignment in your brochure.

 

 

Font

Choose easy-to-read fonts (i.e., Garamond, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Century).

  • Use a sans serif font, such as Arial, for captions or small type.
  • Limit your font choices. Using more than two types of fonts will make your brochure messy, unprofessional, or playful.
  • Use highlighting techniques – bold, italic, and bigger font size — instead of varying font styles.
  • Use a bigger text size for headlines and calls to action. Although not always, font size can be relevant to the importance of information.
  • Choose font sizes that are proportionate to the size of your brochures. To help you decide on the font size, assess how many words you want to fill the space with.
  • Use a 12-point font for the body, 10-point font for captions, and a 14- to 22-point font for headlines. These are recommended sizes, but your choices will depend on the overall look of your design.

 

 

Text Alignment

  • Avoid putting borders on your paragraphs unless needed.
  • Break long paragraphs into bullet points. Walls of text can discourage people from reading further and bulleted information is easier to recall.
  • Use proper typographic alignment (flush left, flush right, justified, and centered) for a neat layout.
  • Align design elements — headers, images, and text — properly.
  • Make spacing consistent throughout your design. Remember to leave some white space on your layout to give your content a balanced look. This helps make your design easier to read and it will leave room in the margins for your customers to make notes for themselves if needed.

 

Let’s connect to discuss your current or upcoming projects. Our work speaks for itself, so be sure to ask us for an introductory package tailored specifically to your printing needs.