These days, business are relying on digital media more than ever before. Yet print still retains power, and there’s nothing that beats the feeling of holding a physical catalog in your hand.
Whatever your occasion for printing a catalog, there’s an art and a science that goes into printing catalogs, and you have to know how to navigate it before placing your order. Here’s what you need to know to create the catalog you’ve been dreaming of.
Before You Get Started with Catalog Printing Services
Before you place an order for wholesale catalog printing, small catalog printing, or anything in between, you need to ask yourself one question: what are you looking for in a catalog booklet?
Are you trying to sell business services? Are you showing your products to customers? Perhaps you’re a magazine displaying articles. Or maybe you’re ordering a novelty catalog for an event.
Whatever your reason for creating a catalog, the catalog you get as a result is quite different than the perfect catalog for someone else. As such, it pays to know what you’re trying to achieve and how you want to achieve it.
It’s also useful to think about how much content you want to have in your catalog and how big of a catalog you want to have, i.e. the size of the catalog and the bulk of the catalog, which are two slightly different considerations. The volume of content will determine how long your catalog is, vis-a-vis how tightly packed you want your content to be.
By the size of the catalog, we mean the size of the catalog in your hands, i.e. how big the page measurements are. This changes how much space you have on a given page. It’s related to the bulk of the catalog (how many pages you have in total), as bigger pages allow you to fit more content on a single page.
Choosing Your Page Size and Page Count
We asked you to think about these things first because it will help you choose your page size and your page count, which are two of the most basic considerations for your catalog.
We offer four standard page sizes:
- 5.5″ x 8.5″ portrait
- 8.5″ x 5.5″ landscape
- 8.5″ x 11″ portrait
- 8.5″ x 11″ landscape
The larger size will get you a catalog the size of a standard sheet of printer paper, which is the size of many standard magazines. On the other hand, the smaller size offers you a more compact catalog, which can significantly reduce your printing costs.
Keep in mind that your printing costs will also be affected by the number of pages in your catalog. We offer the following standard page counts:
- 8pp (cover 4, inside 4)
- 12pp (cover 4, inside 8)
- 16pp (cover 4, inside 12)
- 20pp (cover 4, inside 16)
- 24pp (cover 4, inside 20)
- 28pp (cover 4, inside 24)
You’ll notice that the pages increase in multiples of four. That’s because of the unique layout of catalog spreads and how catalogs are bound. This means that if you want to add extra pages to your catalog, you can’t simply add an extra page–you have to add another four pages.
Types of Catalog Paper
Once you know how many pages you want and how big you want them to be, you can start to think about the fun part: what you want your pages to look like.
The best place to start is the basic details, like the type of catalog paper, as this will influence every other aspect of the appearance of your catalog. We offer three types of catalog paper:
- Gloss
- Matte
- Uncoated
For your cover, you also have the same options, but you can choose between paper and cardstock. You’ll also note that the paper options have a weight listed next to them, from 70 lbs to 100 lbs. That refers to paper weight, or the thickness of the paper, and our guide can help you make sense of it.
Gloss, Matte, or Uncoated?
The easiest way to understand the difference between the three types of paper is shine.
If the paper is shiny, it’s gloss paper. Standard printer paper is matte, meaning it has no shine. This is not to be confused with uncoated paper, which is matte but lacks the protective coating of matte or gloss paper, which means it feels more like loose ordinary paper in the hand but doesn’t age quite as gracefully.
Gloss paper provides the highest color contrast and shine of the three, which makes it a good choice for full-color images that need an extra pop.
That said, matte paper offers a subtler, subdued finish. It doesn’t have a glare the way gloss paper does, and it still enhances the color without distracting the eye.
Uncoated paper is ideal for sheets that will have a lot of text, since there is no glare on the surface (less glare than matte paper).
Paper or Cardstock?
We mentioned earlier that you can choose between paper and cardstock for your cover, which is an important consideration, if a subtle one.
Paper is better for the inside of your catalog since the pages will be lighter and easier to turn. But the cover is a different story. You want the cover to hold up to some abuse and still look good doing it.
If you want a sturdier cover, cardstock is the way to go. On the other hand, this can also make the catalog itself more like a book, which may make the pages harder to turn and may be the wrong choice for a small, short run catalog that only has a few pages and is frequently replaced.
All About That Catalog Binding
Of course, you also need to hold the pages together. That’s where the binding comes in.
There are two main types of bindings for catalogs:
- Saddle stitch binding
- Wire-O binding
Saddle stitch binding is a simple binding process that puts wire staples through the middle of the catalog. It gets its name from the saddle-like apparatus pages are draped over during the binding process.
Wire-O binding is a type of binding using pre-formed pairs of wire loops to run along a C-shaped unit. The wire loops are inserted through holes punched through the catalog’s cover and pages.
Saddle Stitch binding is a sturdier type of binding, but it makes the catalog far less flexible and is more practical for a large number of pages. Saddle stitching only allows for small page counts between 5 and 80 pages, so larger catalogs should not plan on using saddle stitching.
Binding Placement
You’ll also need to consider where you want the binding placed. We offer two options: along the left-hand side and top-side binding.
Left-side binding will produce a catalog bound similarly to those you would see in any bookstore. Top-side binding, on the other hand, produces a catalog you would flip through like a legal pad and is less ideal for pages printed on both sides.
Ready to Get Started with Custom Catalog Printing?
Printing a catalog is an exciting time–you get to see a digital product become something tangible in your hands. We’re here to ensure the final product is exactly what you envisioned, with high-quality catalog printing using only the best paper products and printing techniques.
Ready to get started printing your catalog? Check out our catalog printing page today.