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Last Updated on January 9, 2023 by Packoi Team
The extra pages, the quality sheets, and the ink selections can all make your catalog more expensive than it should be.
But don’t worry. Some guidelines can help you ensure that you’re only spending on what’s necessary.
In this article, you’ll read about the ultimate guide and trade secrets from printing companies that’ll guarantee you’ll spend less on your next catalog printing project.
10 Tips to Save Money on Catalog Printing
Your catalog is important. It’s a marketing tool that’ll help your customers know about what your business can offer.
When done the right way, it can help increase sales and can even develop loyal customers.
The thing about a catalog is it works for a very long time. You print it once and it’ll keep on advertising your business and products for you. As long as the customer has it with them, they can keep looking at it to get inspiration on what to buy from you.
This is why it’s important to ensure that you’re producing high-quality printed catalogs.
Does that mean you have to spend a lot on it?
High quality does require you to pay more – but there are clever ways for you to save money during the designing and ordering process.
Here are 10 Tips to Help You Make It Happen
Choose the Right Paper
Paper is probably the biggest expense that you have to make on printed products. That includes books, brochures, and of course, catalogs.
That means your choice of paper will have a huge effect on your budget. If you want the most cost savings, this is where you should start.
The best way to save money on this is to use the printer’s paper stock. This means you’ll just use whatever paper the printer has available – or the ones they generally use for their other printing jobs.
Another way to get value out of the paper is to use a lighter weight of paper. This includes 60gsm to 70gsm paper. These are all acceptable for product catalogs and even for brochure printing. When you buy lighter-weight paper in tonnes, you get more savings.
Make sure you inquire with the printing company about your options to save money on the cost of paper.
Stick to 16 Pages
The pages of the catalog will also affect your printing costs. And it doesn’t always mean you have to do fewer pages.
The rule to remember is 16.
Regardless of book printing, brochure printing, or catalog printing, keep the pages in multiples of 16. You see, printing jobs are broken into sections. Every section uses a set of plates. After printing, this section will be grouped before it’s bound into one. These sections have one cost – regardless if you only print 10 pages or if you maximize it to 16 pages.
That means fewer pages don’t always mean more savings.
For instance, if you find that you need 40 pages, that means the printer will produce 2 16-page sections and 1 8-page section. This will be more expensive because the print run of the 8-page section will have additional costs.
That means to be cost-effective, you have to complete the 16 pages. Add 8 more pages to make your catalog 48 pages.
You can always ask the printer to explain this to you further so you can understand the concept better.
Use the Right Size
Unlike brochure printing, you have more freedom when it comes to the page size of your catalog. But although you can have it take on any shape you want, you have to consider where you can save money.
Again, that means you should consider choosing the paper stock of the printers again. The standard sizes of printing companies are usually A4 and A5. This is the common calibration of printing presses. Using this will keep you from incurring additional expenses in the printers.
How? Because this is the most efficient way to produce printing products. There’s less waste. Since the printers are using their “house sheet” the ease of supply is also guaranteed. If you decide to print another batch of catalogs, the printers can immediately run it because they have the paper stock to make it happen.
Keep the Inner Pages Simple
This still involves the paper that your catalog will use.
If you decide to use special paper that’s colored, textured, or has a heavier paper weight, the printers will have to order that and it’ll cost you extra.
But if you stick to the paper that the printing company has, you’ll save money on your catalog printing expense. They won’t have to make an additional order and it’ll minimize the cost of printing the catalog.
Apart from the type of paper, you should also consider what’s inside. Images are important but the printing quality doesn’t have to be as high as that of coffee book photos. So think about that and talk to your printer if you can get cost savings if you choose a specific type of printing quality.
Consider the Colors
The colors or any ink that’s not black or greyscale will incur additional costs. So if you want to use full-color or metallic hues, you need to be prepared to pay more.
So if your catalog printing budget isn’t much, you’re better off using simple colors. Stick to black and grey when images aren’t necessary. Stay away from metallic print if the photos don’t need them.
Bi-color catalogs can be just as aesthetically appealing as four-colored ones. You don’t have to go overboard. What’s more important is the layout of the catalog.
Remember, your catalog is usually for people who are half-convinced to buy from you. There’s no need to go beyond what’s necessary to get them to buy. What they’re after in the catalog is information. Make sure that’s what you can deliver.
Print in Bulk
Having fewer pages may not always be the best way to save on catalog printing costs – but printing in bulk is still a great way to save money.
This is true for all types of businesses. So you can expect that most printers will offer discounts when you order to print in bulk. The cost per page is significantly lower compared to when you print on demand.
To enjoy these savings, you have to plan your catalog. If you can print generic catalogs once a year, you can print in large quantities and save on costs. Just keep the inventory with you for when your sales and marketing need to use the catalog to get more sales.
Minimize Changes
If you don’t want to waste your budget, try to minimize the changes on your printed catalog.
Before you have it run on the printing press, check the content of the catalog. Correct any typo, grammatical or spelling errors. Make sure the layout is according to what you envisioned. Check the photos and the contact details to ensure that everything is updated.
Scrutinize the colors and the printing quality in the mock-up that the printer will send you.
Be thorough about this because any changes will cost you. Reworking the details or even a single mistake will incur unnecessary costs.
Try to avoid that to keep this expensive business cost controlled.
Get Multiple Quotes
Printing companies will give you different quotes for printing your catalog. This is why you should always shop around for the best quote. Approach at least 5 printers to make sure that you’re getting the best one.
Admittedly, the quotation might not be too far from each other. But you have to go into details and check with the printer about their inclusions.
Analyze the package that they’ll offer. Consider which one has the most cost-effective quotation. Sometimes, there are printing companies who will charge more but will give you incredible value in return.
Print at the Right Time
Timing is everything. This includes your printing projects. There are peak and off-peak seasons for printers.
If you want to keep your printed catalog costs low, don’t schedule it during the peak season of the printer. This is when they get a lot of print job orders.
Plan it so you can print your catalog either ahead of time or after. If you come in during the off-peak season, there will hardly be any other clients apart from you. The printer can focus on you and your needs.
They also won’t be too busy to negotiate and offer a good price to you.
Ask for Help from Your Printer
If you want to stay within your budget, talk to the printer. Tell them what your budget is and ask them how you can stick to it without compromising the look of your catalog.
The printer is the expert on this. They can give you good advice in terms of page size, color options, and even the ink that you should use.
Give them a clear description of what you want to achieve with your catalog. Then you can ask them what’s the best way to make that happen while sticking to your budget constraints.
If you approach a reputable business, they should be willing to help.
An Important Reminder when Cutting Costs on Printing Services
As you try to figure out the best way to lower the cost of having your catalog printed, don’t forget that money isn’t always everything.
If you have to cut back on costs, make sure it doesn’t affect the quality of your catalog. Remember, this will end up in the hands of your customers. While this isn’t technically a marketing tool to encourage them to buy, you still want to impress them.
The catalog is ideal for giving information. Make sure that’s what your catalog can do. Your readers can still change their minds.
Don’t let the quality of the catalog keep them from making you lose a sale.
Tips to Print a Better Catalog
As you try to calculate the cost of your catalog, don’t forget to give it an upgrade. Since you’re already planning to print a new batch, make sure it performs better than the last one that you did.
Here are some tips that can help you produce a high-quality yet cost-effective catalog.
- Improve the layout. Consider how your customers will read it. Make it easy on the eyes – not too cluttered but filled with information.
- Highlight your most impressive products. You still want to get the most sales out of every encounter with your market. Your catalog is another way to make that happen. It’ll help if you put your best-selling product front and center so it won’t be missed.
- Be strategic with your marketing. Even the best-printed catalog will be useless if people don’t know about it. Have the plan to distribute the catalog to ensure that it reaches the right people.
- Choose the best company to partner with. The one that you’ll choose will play a big role in the end product. Make sure you hire only a reputable and trustworthy printing company for your catalog.
Looking for a Cost-efficient Catalog Printer? Packoi Printing Will Give You the Best Value.
Your catalog doesn’t have to be an expensive project. It can be the most cost-efficient marketing tool that you’ll do.
If you need help cutting costs, we can help. Packoi Printing has the expertise and experience to give you the best value for your catalog budget.
Contact us with all your details. We will get back to you with a fair quotation as soon as possible.
