Welcome New Customers with Beautifully Printed Brochures

Brochures are one of the most effective ways to market your business to both existing and potential customers. A well designed and beautifully printed brochure goes a long way to attract customers and provide valuable information about you and your business.

Often businesses will use a brochure to promote a new service, product, event or campaign. A beautiful and tactile printed brochure is valuable in getting you noticed and staying memorable, two key factors which will help draw in new leads. If you can provide a customer with an attractive brochure to take away, you have a great chance to distinguish yourself from your competition.

Things to consider when designing a brochure

Every business is unique, with specific products and services on offer. Printed collateral such as brochures are proven to be successful in appealing to new business partners and customers alike.

Some of the most effective ways to create an engaging brochure design include:

Clear call to action; such as a website URL, phone number, email address or promotional codes.
Bright and bold colours.
Succinct copy that is informative and memorable.
Engaging imagery/photos; including depictions of products and services.
Your business unique branding/visual style so people can easily identify you.

Brochure Printing Choices and Options

Once you have put together your design with product information, imagery and a call to action, you can start to make decisions for how your prints will look.

Selecting the right options with your print supplier will ensure that your brochure ends up looking professional and credible. There is a wide range of options for you to compare, however it is important to select the right ones to match the styling of your product and branding.

Paper Stocks

When selecting brochure printing options it is best to start with your paper stock. Once you have decided the weight, texture and colour of your paper stock, you will have a guide for some of the decisions available to you later in the selection process.

Coated & Uncoated Paper Stock: Depending on your project you may decide to choose coated or uncoated paper. Uncoated paper is often used for printed materials that may be written on, as they can often have texture, such as recycled paper or linens. Coated paper is given a protective coating to resist wear and tear. This coating also gives prints a glossy finish and a sharper look, because the ink does not soak into the paper and bleed like it can on uncoated paper stock.
Colour Alternatives: Depending on the type of brochure you are printing you may want to select a colour other than white for your project. Additionally, there are many variations of white paper stocks which may add to the style of your design, such as giving your print an aged or environmentally conscious look.
Paper Stock Weight: There are numerous paper stock weights you can select from; the most common being standard paper at 80gsm, all the way up to heavy weight card stocks that are around 300-400gsm. The rigidity of your card stock can give your brochure a sense of solidity and substance. But keep in mind, selecting a thick card stock will limit your folding options later.
Specialty Papers: You can also select from a range of unique paper varieties such as textured, patterned, metallic and translucent papers.

Brochure Folding Options & Styles

Bi-fold and Tri-fold are two of the most common folding varieties for leaflets and brochures. These options divide a single printed sheet into two or three panels. There are many other folding choices which you may consider, such as Gate Folds that divide the sheet to showcase a focal point, like a call to action when it is opened. Some of the available options are:

Bi-Fold Brochure: This style of fold is used to create a booklet appearance. A single printed sheet, commonly an A3 sheet, is folded in half to create two A4 pages.
Tri-Fold Brochure: Similar to a Bi-Fold, however the sheet is folded into three panels. The Tri-Fold style is most often used for DL brochures, which are folded from an A4 printed sheet.
Accordion Fold Brochure: This fold variation is used for brochures where 4 panels are desired. These folds are made back and forth in alternating directions.
Map Fold Brochure: As the name suggests, this fold is often used for guides and maps which are folded many times in different directions to reduce the size of a very large printed sheet.
Gate Fold Brochure: A Gate Fold is used when the design calls for a big statement. This type of fold is made inwards from both sides, similar to a double door gate. Common variations include 3 panel and 4 panel Gate Folds.

*If your brochure has more than 8 pages you might want to chose a binding finishing instead – that will give your brochure a “catalogue” kind of look.

Print Finishing & Embellishments

You can create a wide array of effects for your printed brochures using embellishments such as Embossing, Die Cutting, Perforations, Celloglazing, UV Spot Varnish, Foiling and more. These effects are applied to the printed brochure in order to make a statement and draw attention. This is why these effects are popular for covers, logos and call to action text. Some of the options you may consider are:

Die Cutting: This process is used to cut shapes through the printed paper using a sharp blade known as a Die. This Die can be formed to a custom shape as specified by you.
Embossing & Debossing: This process involves pushing a metal Die into the paper so that the opposite side shows either a raised or sunken design. This is a unique 3D effect to which you can apply other finishes like foiling or a UV Spot Varnish.
UV Varnish: The UV Varnish technique involves applying a varnish to a printed sheet and then drying the sheet under ultraviolet light, resulting in a smooth and glossy effect that is eye-catching and elegant.
Foiling: This embellishment effect uses a die to stamp a thin piece of metallic film onto a printed sheet. Gold foil is a popular choice to create a luxurious look.
Celloglaze: This finishing effect applies a thin film over the print and adheres it using heat and pressure. A cello glazed print has a silky feel and additional durability. You can select from either a matt or gloss option to best suit your chosen style.

If you are looking to promote your business’ product or service, a brochure is a great way to communicate with potential customers. Well designed and professionally printed brochures are an effective way to stand out from the crowd and distinguish yourself over your competitors.

Focus Print Group has one of the largest in-house print manufacturing footprints in Australia. Our expert team can assist you with the latest in printing service and technologies for Brochure Printing, Marketing Materials and Packaging. To get started on your exciting new brochure printing project, contact our Sydney Office on (02) 8755 7888 or Melbourne Office on (03) 8831 2000, for a Free Consultation.