Cost-effective Catalog Printing

2008-09-27 Word Count: 331 Category: Advertising

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
Catalog printers offer standard catalog sizes along with trim options, which can be costly. The cheapest trim options are 5.5x8.5 up to 6x9 or 7x10 to 9x12.

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.

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