Booklet Printing on a Budget – 3 “Must Know” Tips!
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By: Chris Barr
Many businesses have large advertising needs on a small advertising budget. When there is an excess of information that needs to be printed, the best way to include everything is with a booklet style publication. This does not have to be expensive and there are ways of cutting your costs.
#1 – Discuss Booklet Printing and Distribution Options with Your Printer!
The very first step is to discuss printing and distribution options with your printer. There are standard sizes in papers and common paper weights that can be employed in printing a booklet tp reduce costs. Your printer can advise you which sizes are available and in particular, what size will work best for the method of distribution you may have planned. For instance, a mini-booklet (5.5″ X 8.5″) design may not be best for a newspaper insert while a standard 8.5″ x 11″ may not be suitable for direct mail. Also, your printer can advise you which types of finish on the paper work best. In most cases glossy finish works best because it is the most attractive. Also, the number of pages will impact price.
#2 – Design the Cover to Capture Attention
Even before planning the layout it is important to come up with a design for the cover that will grab the reader’s attention. The key to getting readers to open the booklet is to get them to notice it first! Full color always works best because two color or black and white just end up looking cheap. You may be on a budget but you don’t want the booklet to reflect that. Any graphics or images, especially on the cover, should be high resolution images. High quality, full color images will not cost more to print than lower resolution full color images but they sell better because they look more professional.
#3 – Carefully Plan Layouts
One of the most common mistakes that many people make is missing a page. Once you have decided upon the number of pages in your booklet, go over the layout again and again to make certain every page is accounted for. Booklets will be in multiples of four with one page being the cover so remember to plan the layout based on pages. Each sheet accounts for four pages in a booklet. For instance, if you have chosen an 8 page mini-booklet, one page is the cover so you have 7 pages to plan content for in your layout. The same holds true whether your booklet is 12, 16, 24 or 32 pages. Subtract one page for the cover and what you are left with is what you need to fill with content.
When your advertising needs are larger than your expense account, use these tips for booklet printing on a budget. Talk to your printer and discuss options, design an attention-grabbing cover and plan your layout carefully to make the most of available space. No one ever said that advertising had to be expensive to drive in results!
Chris Barr is a marketing professional and graduate of Christopher Newport University. His areas of expertise include direct mail, internet marketing, copy writing, SEO, and new business development. Chris currently serves as Marketing Director for Taradel LLC in Richmond, VA.
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