Custom Booklet Printing Ideas:
What to Write in a Booklet
Did you know that the average reader retains more of what is read on paper than on screen? When you’re reading a how to guide on your tablet computer, you might have to refer to it repeatedly because the information is not retained in your mind. Reading from an actual recipe book, on the other hand, gives your brain more time to absorb what is written because it is something tangible. This is also one of the reasons why, despite the popularity of e-books, paperbacks and hardbound books are still thriving. There’s just something about flipping through the pages of a physical book that is so satisfying, and makes you retain information more as a reader. If you’re a business owner, this is also one of the reasons why you should launch a full-fledged print promotional campaign. Printed materials promote better brand recall – which is something that will benefit your business in the end.
Flyers, Brochures, Booklets – Learn the Difference
Among the many promotional materials that you should consider creating for your business are flyers, brochures, and booklets. As compared to business cards, postcards, and rack cards, these three give you more space to write content in. It can be quite confusing to distinguish the difference, so here’s a brief description of each:
Cost-effective, quick to print, and easy to distribute, flyers are typically double-sided printed promotional materials. They come in various sizes, starting from neighborhood 4” x 6” flyers to greeting card-sized, or ones as big as 6” x 11” which is preferred in mailer campaigns. Flyers are usually printed in black-and-white, and thin paper is used, making it the go-to choice for quickly put-together print promotional campaigns.
Brochures are another type of marketing material with sizes ranging from 4.25” x 11” to 11” x 25.5”. When you go to a tourist information office, for example, you might see glossy, map-sized brochures depicting the most popular sites to visit in the area. There are different folding options that can be done for brochures, so you can have as many as 12 panels in one piece of paper.
Booklet printing is often confused with brochures – but the main difference is that booklets consist of several pages which are stapled together. As the name implies, these promotional materials take on the appearance of a small book. If a brochure is folded accordion-style, it produces eight panels where you can write the content – but it’s still made with one whole piece of paper. Booklets, on the other hand, consist of several half-fold sheets of paper which are then stapled together to resemble a book. Other binding methods for booklet printing include saddle stitching, using wire spirals, or simply gluing the pages together. What’s good when you print booklets is that the recipient is most likely to keep it somewhere safe, just like a book. Thin flyers can be easily thrown away because of the material used, and brochures can easily get lost. But when you have something more substantial like custom booklets, people are most likely to get one for safekeeping.
Which Sizes are Available for Custom Booklets?
Custom booklet printing is great if there is a lot of content that you would like to share with your readers. It also doesn’t make sense to include information that may change in the future – something more permanent like your company history or a how-to guide for using your products is more suitable. To get you started, here are the available sizes for booklet printing:
If you’re looking for the smallest size, a booklet printing service provider might recommend the 5.5” x 8.5” booklet. This is perfect as an instruction manual and can be printed with a portrait or landscape orientation. What’s good about this booklet printing option is that the printed material will easily fit in a 6” x 9” envelope. If you think that this size will perfectly fit the content that you have in mind, go ahead and choose the instruction manual size booklets.
The second booklet printing option that you can go for is the 6” x 9” size. It can also be made with a landscape or portrait orientation. This is the product showcase size booklet, and is a great choice if you want to include product photos or if there are a lot of images in your booklet content.
If you want something bolder and bigger, go for the magazine size booklet which measures 8.5” x 11”. Just like the first two, this can be printed using a portrait or landscape orientation. This is perfect for product-focused booklets, or if you simply want to hook customers with a promotional material that’s glossy and is the size of a magazine.
Binding Options, Page Count & Other Things to Consider when You Print Booklets
Aside from the size, there are other things that you need to consider when it comes to custom booklet printing:
As mentioned earlier, custom booklets are half-folded and bound in the middle. The most common binding method is saddle-stitching or stapling. Think of this as a bigger version of the stapler and staple wires that you use in the office. In order to bind 20 pages of 5.5” x 8.5” glossy sheets, saddle stitching or stapling is the binding method used. For the really thick booklets, gluing the pages together can be another binding option.
When you decide to print booklets, you most probably already have the content written – or the pictures professionally shot. Based on the content that you have, how many pages would you need? Whichever size you choose, the minimum number of pages that can be turned into a booklet is eight. Any less than that, and you should probably stick to a brochure. You can add as many pages as you’d like – make sure that it’s an even number. The maximum number is 96, although you can always ask the booklet printing service if they can add more to that.
Just like business cards, you can take your pick from different paper finish when you print booklets. A popular paper material is one finished with extreme gloss. This uses 110# gloss paper stock, which is indented before folding. The finish has an extremely glossy look and a thick feel to the hand.
Printed on 100# gloss text paper is the medium gloss booklet. This is the most popular option, which has less sheen than extreme gloss booklets. Or, you can go for the satin matte booklets which are printed with almost zero gloss, using 100# smooth satin paper stock.
When printing custom booklets, make sure that all these elements go together so that you can come up with a truly remarkable printed promotional material.
Custom Booklet Printing: What to Write
Next, how can you come up with the content to be written on the custom booklets? These booklets are used in the first place because the format offers bigger space than brochures, and they also have a longer shelf life. They look like, are printed like, and bound like books – so the people receiving them will most likely take care of them and keep them in bookshelves for future reference.
Before looking for a booklet printing service, you first need to decide how you will market your products or services using the booklet. Here are a few ideas:
- Use the booklet as a mini-product catalog.
Whether you have a brick-and-mortar or an online store, you can use custom booklet printing in such a way that it becomes a mini-product catalog. If you’re selling custom jewelry for women, for example, you can have professionally-shot images of each design and turn the booklet into a mini-catalog. You can send these out as mailers to your existing mailing list, or as inserts in packages whenever a customer orders a product from you.
- Use it as an instructional manual.
If you’re selling electronics, turn the booklet into an instructional manual. How does the product operate and what are the things that they need to remember for maintenance? Include a section with Frequently Asked Questions. This is information that will be useful to customers in the future, so they will most likely keep the booklet as reference.
- Use it to tell customers about your company background.
If you are newly introducing your brand to the market, use booklet printing as a way to tell them about your company background. Include a brief history of how the company came about, trivia about your brand, your mission and vision, as well as a preview of the products or services that you are offering.
- Use it as a technical guide.
If your product is technical in nature, use the booklet as a technical guide so that users will have an idea about its operation and technical specifications.
- Use it as a cookbook, coffee table book, look book, etc.
Customers would prefer it if they can find something useful for your booklet – so why not turn it into a monthly planner, calendar, organizer, coffee table book, recipe book, or look book? If you’re in the fashion industry, take pictures of models wearing your clothes and give them ideas on how they can create a chic look. If you’re selling homemade sauces without preservatives, give them a booklet with recipes that they can use the sauces for. Be creative in writing the content or putting together the images on the pages of the booklet so that it will be more interesting to your target audience.
- Create a booklet that will attract kids and their parents.
If your product is something that everyone can use, target parents and children by creating booklets which double as a storybook, a games book, or a puzzle book. The more colorful and bolder the illustrations are, the better.
- Tell customers about your green campaign or your contributions to the community.
When you print booklets, you can detail your efforts in having a more eco-friendly daily operations. You can also tell readers about your contributions to the community, if you have conducted outreach programs, if you donated to charity, or whatever non-profit activities you got involved in. Customers appreciate companies who exert extra effort in reaching out to those who need a helping hand, especially those who are doing their share in helping save the environment.
- Give readers tips on how they can improve themselves.
If you’re offering a service that’s related to the health or medical industry, you can probably create a booklet that serves like a short self-help book. You can also give tips on how to set goals, how to manage time properly, or how to track health statistics better. The more useful your booklet is, the more valuable it will be for customers.
Choosing the Right Booklet Printing Service
Lastly, how can you choose the right booklet printing service provider? The first thing to do is check whether they offer digital or offset printing services. Offset printers create more professional-looking results because huge printing presses are utilized. Once the design is set, these machines can produce hundreds or even thousands of prints in a short span of time.
You should also consider the length of experience that the company has in custom booklet printing. Do they offer different sizes, page orientation, and finish? What about downloadable templates or an online tool that you can use to design the booklet? What paper stock and paper finish do they offer? What is the cost, minimum order, and turnaround time? What kinds of bonding method do they use for booklets? How about the minimum and maximum number of pages for the booklet? Do your research and narrow down your choices to two or three companies. From here, you can select which one will best print booklets for you.
All in all, booklet marketing is an excellent way to thoroughly explain to customers what you are all about as a business. Whether you are telling them about your company history or giving them a preview of the products or services that you have to offer, each booklet will give you the space necessary to send out your message. Aside from being helpful in your marketing campaign, it also gives additional value to the user so they are bound to keep your booklet for future reference.
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