When you don’t want your catalog printing budget to go overboard, here are a few suggestions from printing companies themselves to help you on your next catalog printing job: One way to save on your printing costs is to keep your catalog paper to the standard size. Often, the standard measurement is 8-3/8” x 10-7/8” (width and length respectively). By considering your printer’s accepted page size, you will have less paper wastage, as well as minimal adjustments made, if not total elimination. All of which results to a lower catalog printing costs. And if your catalog printing company has a standard paper size, it’s also more likely that they have house paper available that they keep for regular catalog printing jobs. Don’t be afraid to ask. Most often than not, the paper they store has quality and costs much less than your regular paper merchandiser. Keeping your page count at an even number would likewise give you less expense for your catalog printing. Catalog printing companies usually print a group of pages in one pass on the press. This is called a signature in catalog printing lingo. Most often, an increment of 16 pages is applied for every press run. For larger presses, they usually have 32 prints or more. To economize, your page count should be printed in increments of even signatures. If this is not possible, the next best thing would be in half signatures. Finally, most catalog printing business owners suggest that before you give them your final catalog print files, make sure that all your design and text copy are proofread and are devoid of any errors. It will save you money because you don’t need to pay additional charges for corrections, such as hourly labor costs and other material costs needed to make the necessary adjustments to your catalog pages.

You’re a small business owner and you only have a small amount of money for your promotional catalogs. Well, you’re not alone. Almost everybody encounters this part one time or another. So here are suggestions from one fellow business owner to another to reduce your costs of in your catalog design for your products and services:

1 - As much as possible, provide your catalog printing company with all the product information to avoid errors and corrections later on. Supply your printer with all the copy text for each of the product that will be highlighted in your catalogs. Make a complete and consistent product content that includes the title, description, item name, number, and price.

2 – Provide an organized grouping for your products. Sort and group all the products that go in a particular category. You, of all people, would know better what product goes where, as well as where they should belong in terms of product group. If you have specifications for spacing in between the products that would be much appreciated by your catalog printer.

3 – All supporting text and data of the product should be provided. A well designed catalog includes not only has product description but also supporting data that can help your potential clients purchase your products. These may include your terms and agreements, your how-to’s, and your contact information.

4 – Provide only the images you want to use. Providing your printer with only the images you want applied in your catalogs would mean a great deal in saving time, hence, a much faster turnaround for your catalogs.

When you are a real estate agent, what do you sell exactly? A house atop a hill with a scenic view of the lush landscape? Or a 15 floor building with a spectacular view of the coastline? Or do you sell a 40-hectare ranch? As a real estate agent, what you have to offer doesn’t stop to the type of home or how many floors or the type of structure. You must go beyond that to be effective. You must be able to sell a dream. Be it the first house for a young couple or another high rise structure to a conglomerate. What you sell basically is a dream- a dream for every person to acquire something which they will call their own. You sell a future of happiness and stability. That is what people buy. More than a structure or a piece of land, people will buy what they perceive will make them happy or happier. That is something you might want to consider when thinking about your marketing materials such as your calendar printing. Basically, you appeal to the emotions – an appeal for a better if not brighter future. For instance, you might want to sell the prospect of raising a family in the bounds of stability and comfort rather than selling a three bedroom 1 1/2 house with a one port car garage. Your marketing strategy must focus on this. You must be able to help them make that dream a reality.

Designing an effective poster begins with a well thought of idea. Before you could even start to combine all the necessary elements for your poster, you had to have one message that you want to convey to your target clients.

If you have one message that you want your target audience to know when they see your poster, what would it be? Do you intend your poster to sell your business or to inform your target clients about it? From there you could start planning for the design and content of your poster printing project.

Your one idea would be the main theme of your poster. Every element that you would want to incorporate during your poster printing would stem from this main point. And as always, you should remember that your poster should be able to tell a compelling story- that of your idea or message. Thus, your poster becomes your medium to tell your story. It tells your audience basically of what you did to enhance your target clients’ life, as well as how and why you’ve done it.

Finally, in order for you to have an effective poster, you should also be able to design it in such a way that your target audience would be able to see everything while standing three feet away. And as people are always very busy, your target clients should be able to know all about you in just a few minutes. If not, then that’s the end of your story.