Brochure Printing and Design Shopping Tips

Brochure Printing and Design Tips

Brochure printing is a practical process for any business. There are a large number of printing companies that compete for printing jobs, often getting a second or third opinion can often save, money, increase commercial printing quality and net you added extras that you would not otherwise have been entitled to.

Professional companies that provide brochure printing can be easily identified by one simple method…the people behind the scenes. If you are going to entrust a strange company with an important task such as the design and print of your company brochure then it would stand to reason that want to know more about the people you are dealing with.

Do yourself a favor and look for a contact phone number on their website. If it is hard to find or isn’t event available one might assume the same will happen with the printing order placed. When you find a phone number pick up the phone and dial it. At this point you may get a response from an automated attendant. To me I am not convinced yet! I WANT TO TALK TO A REAL PERSON. After all, you are going to be spending hard earned money here. The simple rule I have made is if I cannot speak to someone I will move on until I can find a real voice that can answer my concerns. If/ when you find a human that is willing to discuss your needs with you here are a few key questions to ask:

  • Is printing done Litho or digital
  • Does the price include artwork, if not can they accept a file from you? If the answer is yes than you need to find out the exact specifications that have for best setting up your file- ask them.
  • What are the payment terms?
  • What is the Guarantee; what If I don’t like what is printed?

These are just a few of the key questions you can ask to determine whether you want to do business with them. The answers and the way they reply can offer you some tell tale signs about your possible future. I suggest you really take the necessary time needed to make the right choice because once you make that choice and willingly give a deposit there is no turning back.

Most professional companies that provide brochure printing will usually exceed your brochure printing expectations. At the same time there are bad apples in every bunch. The purpose of your screening test is to quickly filter out the bad apples to avoid getting burned. Also consider what finishing capabilities are available to you such as bindery and mailing services. It is often the case that a brochure requires folding, tabbing, gluing and many other custom finishing possibilities that designers may build into the project. When you are ready to place an order you need to know the following basic information:

Details Of Your Brochure

STOCK: What type of paper? Thickness, color and finish

INK: What are the ink colors that are printing? Does the ink bleed? 4 / 0, 4/1, 4/4 or any special colors and protective coatings

SIZE: What is the final trimmed size? Most commonly 8 ½ X 11” is used for brochures

FINISHING: Will the brochure be flat or folded? Are there any custom operations such as perforating for tear offs? Make sure that you know what operations will be required to finish your order so you can clearly communicate this during the estimation stage

PREPRESS: Will you supply a digital file? Is the concept going to be completely developed by you? If so what it the best way to send the file for accurate reproduction? If not what is the fee to create the brochure?

QTY: How many will you print? With 4 color brochures the more you order the cheaper (Per unit) they will be. A good starting point for a real litho press is 5,000 8 ½ X 11”

By having your brochure is laid out in the right manner it will serve its readers well and likely provide a good response. Brochure printing can be very inexpensive when you stay within the realm of standards. It when you want customized brochures that it can get costly . You want to try and stay within the means of standard four-color printing as pretty well every brochure printing company is equipped well for this.

1 Way a Commercial Printer Will Print Your Order

This depends on the equipment the printer has. The scenarios below assume the printer has access to all machines.

11 X 17 ” Final Trim Size folds in 1/2

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