The first tip to keep in mind is the fact that custom printed booklets offer multiple benefits for businesses of all sizes. Custom booklet printing lets you choose the purpose of the book whether it is an employee handbook, description of your products, a marketing manual or a booklet to give to prospective clients at trade shows.
Booklet sizes for your business are determined when you keep two questions in mind that also serve as tips two and three:
- What is the purpose you are trying to achieve with the book?
- Who is your booklet for?
No matter the answer to these questions, custom booklets put a fresh spin on your branding and keep you top of mind to consumers. Check out the other tips and suggestions we have for you to make sure your custom printed booklets properly deliver your message.
Stay Top Of Mind With These Tips
- Prepare Your Art Files with Bleeds: Your custom booklet printing design can be a little “off” if you do not properly prepare your art files with bleeds. Skipping this step means your images and color blocks could end up with design disruptive white borders. Extend your images and color blocks about an 1/8th of an inch beyond the trim so you can ensure the entire page is filled.
- Keep It Clean-Cut: Avoid distracting or off-putting features such as too much text, multiple typefaces that can look confusing, or busy layouts that distract readers. Keep it simple to keep your audience interested and focused on your message.
- Select The Right Color Mode: Check the color mode (AKA the color quality) of your digital file because some files automatically save in the RGB color mode. Keep in mind that CMYK is preferred and we automatically convert your file to CMYK before printing.
- Check The Resolution: When it comes to the resolution of your files, you want an image resolution of 300 dpi or higher. We can print lower-resolution images but a lower resolution creates pixelated or fuzzy images.
Make It Affordable
No matter the booklet sizes you have in mind, it is important to know the printed materials you can use to save money.
- Standard Page Sizes Help You Save: Choosing a standard booklet size saves money during the production process because it produces less waste. The most common print sizes are 8.5” x 11” and 5.5” x 8.5” as they offer the best value for almost any booklet project.
- Choose the Right Paper: Printing companies paper is thick, thin, glossy or matte which means picking the right paper can be confusing and costly if the wrong choice is made.
- Cover Papers are heavier and are often used for the outside front and back pages of a booklet. They are more sturdy than regular text papers and are similar to cardstock, file folders or thin cardboard.
- Gloss Papers have a shiny, smooth coated finish while Matte has more of a diffused sheen that enhances photo contrasts.
- Text Papers are thin, flexible sheets of paper that are similar to high-quality printer paper or the interior pages found in a book or magazine.
- Self-Cover (soft cover) is when the cover and the inside paper have the same weight. Self-cover booklets should use 100# Text (Gloss or Matte) for both the inside and cover papers as it is not flimsy and maintains a good texture that looks and feels professional.
- Plus-Cover (cardstock) is when the cover is thicker than the inside pages which means the extra stiffness makes the booklet feel more substantial with a consistent quality feel to the whole booklet. Use an 80# Cover (Gloss or Matte) with 100# Gloss Text for the inside paper.
- Saddle-Stitched Binding: Two staples are placed in the spine of the folded piece in order to secure the sheets together. The binding can go along the left edge or the top of the booklet. Saddle-stitched binding is inexpensive and commonly used to bind everything from magazines to calendars and programs. A booklet with 8 to 92 pages is a budget-friendly choice for this printing option.
- Bulk Ordering: Ordering a large quantity of booklets at one time results in you paying less per piece. For runs of 10 to 1000 booklets, digital printing costs less than offset printing while an order of more than 1000 is ideal for offset printing.
Ask for suggestions from your printing company early in the design process as getting in touch with an online printer could save you lots of money. Looking for help? Reach out here and let us help you.
Contact Us Now for More Information
Phone: (816) 459-8404