7 Catalog Printing Mistakes to Avoid - By: Frank Salsa

Creating a catalog is no easy task, and there are numerous considerations that you must make when printing. However, there are many common mistakes that are made during the process that you should carefully avoid. Catalogs are an important investment in your business and they should be treated accordingly with care. Printing or Distributing Too Late One of the mistakes that you need to avoid when printing catalogs is printing too late. The catalog needs to get into the hands of your customers before the sale or season starts so that they have time to plan and order what they want. If they receive the catalog well into the sale season, they may have already ordered their products from another vendor. In addition, you want to make sure that you have time to correct any errors that might appear. Boring Pictures Remember that your catalog is supposed to help sell your items. If your pictures do not generate a positive reaction in the reader, then they will be less likely to buy your products. Strive to have the most impressive images possible. Get a professional photographer if you do not have an artistic eye. Poor Layouts A catalog that has a poor layout will not attract customers. Most often people will flip through a catalog glancing at the pictures first and then reading about the items that catch their eye. If the catalog is difficult to understand, they won’t look too long at it. Make sure prices and descriptions are easy to find and are well associated with your images. Poor Quality Materials The quality of the printing materials that you choose should match the quality that you want people to associate with your products. Don’t skimp out on materials to make your printing process cheaper unless you want clients to think that your products are cheap. Lack of Crucial Information Remember, the main goal of a catalog is to get your reader to purchase something. But to do this, they have to know how to purchase the item. Do they call in, stop in your store, or mail in an order? How can they contact you if they have questions? Make sure that all of the pertinent details are easy to find in the catalog. Placing your contact and ordering details on one of the covers or on the first page makes it easy for clients to find you. Wrong Concept Along with materials, you have to make sure that your marketing concept matches your product. Choose an image that is cartoony or cheap for a high end market, and people will feel that you are overpriced. Or choose something too sophisticated and they may feel that they cannot afford what you are selling. Amateur Design Your catalog is one of the collateral pieces that you should have designed by a professional. While computer programs can allow you to do many steps of the publishing process yourself, you have to consider the end result. An amateur result will cause your business to lose credibility. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can make sure that your catalog reaches its target audience and does what you intended it to do – sell your products.