Even though it’s the age of digital marketing, printed catalogs are still one of the most popular tools for businesses to sell their physical products. Apart from being easy-to-use and tactile, they can be easily integrated into any marketing strategy.

A printed business catalog is a very effective way to showcase your products and services. When you have a well-designed printed catalog, you can reach out to thousands of potential customers and grab their attention within no time. Here is a guide to create a printed business catalog that works for your business.

 

Come up with a structure for the print catalog

 

It’s not difficult to come up with the design of your own printed catalog. Just go through a bunch of printed catalogs and you are sure to notice the salient features that are common to them all. To successfully bring your products to the market, you business catalog should speak for itself. For designing a successful catalog that will promote sales of your products, you may use the following elements depending on the kind of catalog you are trying to create:

● Covers (front and back)
● Index
● Table of contents mentioning the various sections present in the catalog
● Product pages with product descriptions
● Section separators and different themes for each section to make it easy for readers to quickly jump to the relevant page
● Advertising section promoting other businesses

 

Collect product information

 

It goes without saying that one of the most important parts of a catalog is the product description along with other information that may help the customer make their choice. The text along with the product images tells the customers everything they would like to know about the product before making a buying decision. You may choose to have any or all of the following product information ready with you to be included in the product catalog:

● Product name
● Product category and subcategory
● SKU codes or product reference/number
● Barcodes
● Product description
● Product’s features and USPs
● Pricing (individual vs. bulk)

You may also want to make use of QR/AR codes alongside the product descriptions that can take the potential customers to your website or respective landing pages.

 

Collect product images

 

The product’s images are one of the first things that customers notice as soon as they open the catalog. This is why you will need to ensure they clearly showcase the product’s features and the images need to be high resolution (300 DPI or more). You should try and get the help of a professional photographer to get this done if you are not experienced with this.

Organize the catalog layout

 

Now that you have the product information and images together, it’s time to construct the layout of different sections of the catalog. This is where you will need the help of a graphic designer who can put all the pieces together in a readable format. Keep in mind the number of pages you want to create. The size of your catalog will also have an impact on the catalog printing cost.

 

Use elements that grab their attention

 

By using design elements and style trends that grab your reader’s attention, it becomes easier to connect with them and make them interested in your product. Some of the popular design styles that you may consider for the catalog include:

● Still-life images
It just feels more appealing to see the products stylishly arranged in a close to ‘real-life’ environment instead of a plain background.
● Vibrant colors
It always helps to use vibrant, bold, and experimental colors if you want to catch the eye and spike their curiosity about the various pieces of contents inside the catalog.

● Illustrative photos
By adding illustration and other design elements to the product photos, you can offer information that simple images can’t.

 

Find a printing company that does wholesale catalog printing

 

You need to find a company that offers professional catalog printing such as Mixam. In order to partner with them for bulk catalog printing, you need to check their past work quality to make sure they can deliver on the job well. So instead of searching “catalog printing near me” or “how much to print a catalog”, you should rather look for companies that have shining customer testimonials, reliable service, and affordable rates.

 

Perform final quality checks

 

Make sure the designer has included a 1/4″ quiet area and a 1/8″ bleed area. If this is not done correctly, the images that are close to the edge of the page can get cut off after printing. As mentioned earlier, check if all the images included in the catalog have at least a 300 DPI image resolution. Try printing out a sample to see if everything looks as expected.

 

 Send the final design material to the printing company

 

When you are ready to send the final catalog design to the printer, run a final check to see if the pages are in the correct order and together in a single file. Allow the printer ample time for delivery and make sure you plan ahead so that distribution happens on time as per the schedule. Always ask for a preview before the final printing. This may save you from any unwanted upshots.

Catalogs don’t just tell about the products, but they also inspire potential customers to connect with your brand and ultimately help drive sales. When it comes to designing the catalog, the focus should remain on making it easier for the potential customer to make their buying decision.