Booklet Printing Page Ideas
Booklet printing and design can be tricky because of the amount of written words and information often involved. Most companies cannot avoid booklets, though, because they are needed in almost any industry. Your company may need instruction manuals, company reports, catalogs, or magazines, all of which are types of booklets. The tone, images, and layout are all determined by the purpose. For instance, it may include graphs or charts if a manual or report, while a catalog will contain photographs of products.
You may already have some page ideas for your booklet printing, or maybe you don’t even know where to start. Both problems have a solution. You might want try first perusing similar booklet designs for some ideas, but if you still run into a block, maybe the list of booklet pages below will help.
1. Introduction, Preface, or Foreward - Each of these terms refer to a different type of introductory page. An “introduction” includes company background, goals, or objectives. The “preface” would contain a summary of the booklet itself along with the main highlights. The “foreward” is any written piece by an expert in the field, often with references to the booklet.
2. Dedication - When you need to thank those who have contributed or inspired your booklet, put these on the dedication page. You can also include a “Dedicated to” list.
3. Table of Contents - Sometimes booklet printing needs to include a table of contents in the front so that readers can easily flip to the information they need. This page is especially important when your booklet contains chapters or long sections.
4. Appendix, Glossary, or Index - All of these pages are included at the back of the booklet. The “appendix” is any extra reference information needed, for instance a list of stores that donated the information or products. A “glossary” is a list of terms and definitions contained within the booklet. An “index” often replaces the table of contents because it contains a list of terms and the page numbers on which they can be found.
5. Interesting, Fun, or Educational Information - You may want to include a page filled with tips, hints, facts, or anything else that would interest the reader. Customer reviews or testimonials are an excellent selling tool as buyers trust the satisfaction of other consumers. This page should be advertised either on the cover or in the beginning pages to encourage readers to flip through the booklet.
If you are still stumped on page designs, incorporate the help of a professional. Often, you can find more cost-effective designers provided by your booklet printing company, so check with them before searching for an actual graphic designer or design company.
Cost-effective Catalog Printing
When designing a catalog, many companies end up spending more money than they intended in the first place. Choosing a format for catalog printing affects the cost greatly, and often the more creative layouts can be the most expensive. The list below gives some of the common choices available when printing a catalog and separates the economical ones from the budget breakers.
1. Paper Stock
Two choices that need to be made for the paper of a catalog are for the cover and inner pages. The cover of a catalog can be either the same as the text pages or heavier. Lighter paper text will cost less, as a will uncoated vs glossy. Choosing a different cover stock than the regular text paper will also raise costs. Some choices for text include 100# text, 80# text, or 70# text. A cover stock is usually 10 pt weight.
2. Page Count
Because of the way that conventional printing presses work, choosing 8 page increments is much more cost effective than four page increments for catalog printing. For a self-cover design (the cover paper is the same as the inner pages), the best count is 8, 16, 24, or any other 8 page multiples. For plus-cover formats (the cover is different from the inner pages), the page count is separate from the cover: 4 page cover + 8 page text, 4 page cover + 16 page text, and so on are the most economical choices.
3. Trim Sizes
Offset printing presses offer standard catalog sizes along with trim options, which can be costly. The cheapest trim options are 5.5×8.5 up to 6×9 or 7×10 to 9×12.
Keeping catalog costs low enough to make it a profitable venture is always important. Although, when choosing the different options available for catalog printing, a company should always keep in mind that sometimes the extra cost is worth the unique design, especially if the catalog advertises common products and needs to stand out from competitors.
Design Basics: Business Cards
In looking for something to represent your business, it’s only expected that you want it to look its best. Print advertisements, big or small, represent your company and should not be ignored. Yes, even if it comes in the smallest dimensions like your business card.
Not only is a business card going to be what people use to remember who you are, but quite often you’re actually there when you hand it to them. You’ll see that person look right down at your card and you’ll have to deal with whatever their reaction will be.
Here are some of the basic tenants of any high quality business card. I don’t plan to get into anything too fancy, and really, you can design your own business card with ease if you know all of the basics for what makes a card effective.
The first thing to look for is the information you plan on putting on your card. Ask yourself what you want people to know about you. Obviously your name should be on it, but what kind of contact info? Do you want a phone number, an email address, a fax number, maybe a building number? Maybe you have an office phone, a cell phone, and a home phone that you might consider using, or multiple email addresses that would all work.
Wouldn’t that be a little too much information? Probably. A good business card needs to be concise enough that people can just glance at it and get all of the information they need. The more complicated you make your cards, the less likely it will be that people will bother wanting to sort through the mess of information.
Figure out only the best pieces of information and that’s what you’re going to stick with.
Now, let’s talk about the design. If you have a company logo you definitely want to make sure that’s on your card. Any good logo shouldn’t be overly complicated or too colorful. Where you place the logo is up to you, but I’d say it would probably be best to keep it close to your name. A colorful logo will be the first thing someone looks at, which means your name will be the second if the logo is close enough to it.
When it comes to something like font type I would try to primarily stick to a single style. You could probably get away with two fonts, such as having your company name in a different font, but any more than that will make the card look messy.
Also remember that white space isn’t always a bad thing. Don’t try to fill your card up with too much info or too many pictures. Sometimes I like to be able to write something down on the back of my business cards. Why rob people of the ability?
All of these things can be handled and designed in something as simple as Adobe Photoshop. You don’t have to be an expert in design to make your print business cards look professional.
