CATALOGUES
Although digital catalogues are a high-traffic destination on brand websites, print copies are a timeless, durable, and handy asset to distribute to your customer database, build brand recognition and drive sales. Because of this, they are also growing in popularity with many marketing agencies. With the increased overstimulation of digital channels and the move we’re seeing back toward print, the value of a quality printed catalogue in the customers’ hands has never been higher.
A business catalogue lists goods or services on sale alongside their description and prices, published as a printed document and distributed to customers to provide them with an easy and at-your-fingertips opportunity to shop for your products.
Catalogues often get used by multiple readers. In a business setting, they are often used to represent the approved supplier for a particular product line, which individuals refer to when buying items like stationery or office supplies. At home, they hang about for the family to browse, talk about and share. A well-designed catalogue is an indispensable tool for any business wanting to convert customers into sales.
Catalogues are a valued source of information tailored specifically to their customers. Questions relating to specifications, price and look of products are all there in plain, easy to find and easy-to-understand formats that are familiar to most readers. |
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The best catalogues are highly targeted towards a particular reader or customer. These days, catalogue content can be printed either litho or digital for shorter runs targeting niche customer groups – and can be repurposed for off and online channels, making assets work harder than ever before.
Catalogues have always been the best assets to promote services, products, sales, and events. Large corporations, event planning firms, and even retail stores use them to inform and attract customers to buy their products and goods. Strong bindery, attractive and solid covers, high-quality paper and ink, and specialty printing features (foil stamping, embossing, etc.) create a thoughtful and well-designed catalogue that you will be proud to share with your customers.
Direction Printing provides you with a complete production, manufacturing, and shipping service for all your catalogue printing needs. Whether you are a multinational business that needs 5000 catalogue copies for your next big promotional push, or a real estate agent who needs 200 copies for his customer network, your catalogue will be sure to draw customers into pages.
Some industries that benefit from a well-designed catalogue are:
Retail
Automotive or Industrial
Event Planning
Real Estate
Toy & Game
Tourism
Fashion
Home Decor
PAPER QUALITY
The paper quality of your catalogue 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. This is why at Direction Printing we don’t cut corners when it comes to paper.
A catalogue is similar in binding to a book. And just like a big book, a catalogue is bound, rather than folded. Typically, they have higher quality paper than brochures and more durable binding.
Our standard 8.5″ x 11″ catalogue is folded down from an 11″ x 17″ flat, trimmed size.
Our half-size 5.5″ x 8.5″ catalogue is folded down from an 8.5″ x 11″ flat, trimmed size.
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.
100 lb. Paper Gloss
Most popular choice for Flyers, Posters and Catalogues.
Thick, substantial paper with a gloss finish for sheen and vibrant colour.
Ballpoint pens (oil-based ink) and permanent markers work best.
May be written on but testing is advised.
GLOSS vs. MATTE vs. UNCOATED
Each paper type comes in either gloss, matte or uncoated. Paper is either coated or uncoated. Uncoated paper is non-reflective like printer paper. Coated paper can have matte or gloss finishes. Matte stocks are smoother and more refined than uncoated, but not shiny like gloss paper. The coated paper produces sharper and more vibrant printing.
Gloss paper has a shiny and lustrous smooth-coated gloss finish. Excellent for making colour printing pop and catching your customer’s attention. Gloss-coated paper is commonly used to convey professionalism, and the coating results in rich colours that make images and photographs really stand out. Catalogues, magazines, and programs are good examples of projects best printed on gloss paper.
Matte paper exhibits more of a diffused sheen that enhances the contrast of photographs and provides a smoother look than uncoated paper. This makes matte paper an excellent choice for jobs that require high-quality colour reproduction without the reflective shine that comes with gloss paper. Matte paper is glare-free, making it easier to read when there is a lot of typed copy. It is superior to those uncoated papers. Matte paper is a popular choice for art books, look books, photo books and other projects that require a subtler shine. Photos of people and other flesh-toned images really stand out on matte paper since there is less reflection.
Uncoated paper has no coating applied and is a higher grade of paper than normal copy paper. The uncoated paper delivers perfectly printed pieces with stunningly sharp images and bright, compelling photos. It is easy to write on and a popular choice for journals, colouring books, manuals, workbooks, or other materials that are filled with mostly text.
BINDING
Saddle-Stitched Binding
Saddle-stitched binding is two staples nested in the spine of the folded piece, securing the sheets together. It can go along the left edge or on top, depending on how the project is planned out. Saddle-stitched booklets can lie flat and stay open when you are flipping through the pages, making them easier to read. Saddle-stitched binding is our most inexpensive yet professional form of binding. Saddle-stitching is commonly used to bind everything from calendars, magazines, colouring books, programs and more. If your booklet has 8 to 92 pages, this will be the most economical choice to make. If your booklet has a larger page count, we recommend changing your binding type to perfect, spiral or wire-o.
Perfect Binding
Perfect binding is sheets of paper held together by glue attaching the inside sheets of a book to the cover. This type of bind creates an attractive square spine for a polished look. With perfect binding, you can print on the spine and the booklets will not lie flat when open. The minimum page count for a perfectly bound booklet is 28 pages. Keep in mind that while perfect binding has its place, it can be slightly more expensive than saddle-stitch binding.
POTENTIAL PROMOTIONAL USES
Over the last couple of years, catalogue printing has seen a resurgence. This is because of a variety of factors like the over-saturation of digital marketing, the new tracking technology that makes ordering from catalogues easier, and the most important factor, their effectiveness. A study by the DMA found that “response rates from catalogues have increased by 170% from 2003 to 2018”.
Each kind of catalogue 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.
Promotional catalogues are used by businesses that want to share descriptions, specifications and prices for their products or various promotions. Below are examples of industries that most benefit from a well-designed catalogue.
Retail - One of the industries that heavily rely on catalogues to promote their products is the retail industry. Although the largest promotional push for catalogues happens around the holidays, retailers often utilize catalogues year-round to share product information and pricing with their customers.
Automotive - From car parts to various vehicle specifications, the automotive industry benefits from the use of catalogues to promote their products and services. Mechanical shops and dealerships often use catalogues to order parts for their customers’ vehicles.
Fashion - Picture a glossy spread featuring the latest fashion trends, with products highlighted in a tasteful manner. This creative use of a marketing tool entices the customers to visualize themselves in the garments and drives them to shop for your products.
Toy & Games - Major toy and game retailers utilize catalogues to showcase their fun and bright collections. This is especially true and successful around the holidays.
FURTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION
There is so much to consider when designing your catalogue. How will the customer engage with the content? Is the content sufficiently clear yet also informative and fun? How to create a catalogue 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 catalogue stands out in the hands of your customers.
One challenge in designing catalogues 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.
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.
