As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you know that product catalogs are an essential marketing tool. A well-designed catalog allows you to showcase your products beautifully while telling your brand’s story.
But printing a high-quality catalog can get expensive, especially when working with professional designers and printers. So is it possible to print an affordable, good-looking catalog on your own at home?
The short answer: Yes, you absolutely can!
In this guide, as a professional China catalog printing manufacturer, I’ll walk you through the entire process of printing a catalog at home, step-by-step. From choosing the right paper and layout software to optimizing images and handling the actual printing.
By the end, you’ll have everything you need to start designing and printing stunning catalogs cost-effectively using just your home printer.
How to Design Your Catalog
The first step is putting together the actual catalog design and layout before sending it off to print.
When designing your own catalog at home, you have a few options:
Use Catalog Design Software
For the most flexibility and best results, I recommend using catalog-specific software like PagePlus or InDesign. These programs allow you to easily arrange products on virtual pages, including guides and master pages.
The learning curve can be steep, but once you get the basics down, catalog software makes arranging and printing super simple.
Leverage Templates in Word or Publisher
If you don’t have advanced design skills, don’t worry! Programs like Microsoft Word and Publisher have pre-made catalog templates you can use.
Simply plug in your own text, products, images, and brand assets to quickly create a catalog. Although you’ll have less control than true design software, the templates still look modern and polished.
Build From Scratch in Any Program
You can create catalogs in virtually any program like Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, or even Excel. The key is setting up guides measurements so elements align properly across pages.
For example, you can make each page 8.5 x 11 inches. Then add horizontal guides at intervals you want product images to start and end at.
It’s more manual work, but doable if you don’t have specific catalog software.
Optimizing Images
One of the biggest mistakes people make when printing their own catalogs is using low quality images.
Pixilated, small images look extremely unprofessional in print. They also fail to showcase your awesome products!
Follow these tips for including images that look amazing:
Use High-Res Photos
Any photos or illustrations must be high resolution, which means 300 DPI (dots per inch) or higher. Low-resolution images will look blurry or pixelated in print.
Many stock photo sites like Shutterstock allow you to search specifically for high-res images.
Set Large Image Boxes
Catalogs need large product images to showcase details… small thumbnails just won’t cut it.
I recommend setting image boxes at least 3 inches wide or larger if possible. This allows customers to really see what you’re offering.
Enhance & Touch Up Photos
Use photo editing software like Photoshop to color correct images and adjust brightness and contrast. This makes details pop and products stand out.
You can also remove imperfections, enhance edges, or make other improvements with editing tools.
Compress Final Images
After editing and enhancing, make sure to compress photos one last time before placing in your catalog layout.
Compressed images are much smaller file sizes yet retain print resolution quality when setup properly.
This helps keep the overall catalog file size down for easier printing. JPG compression works best for photographs.
Printing Your Catalog at Home
Once your catalog layout is complete and all images are prepped, it’s time to actually print!
Follow these tips for the highest print quality:
Choose the Right Paper
For the best printed results, opt for thicker 28-80 lb paper with a smooth matte or gloss text weight finish. Basic 20 lb copy paper is too thin and textured for catalogs.
If printing double sided, make sure to use thicker paper rated for duplex printing.
Dial In Printer Settings
Open the print settings or properties box and make sure you have the appropriate paper size, print material, and page orientation dialed in.
You’ll also want to select the highest print quality or DPI setting possible for clear, crisp images.
Print Test Pages
Before printing the entire catalog run, print a few test sheets first. Make sure images and colors are aligned properly and text is clear.
Check both interior pages and covers. Tweak any settings necessary then confirm everything looks good before continuing.
Allow Plenty of Drying Time
When printing high page counts with lots of ink coverage, built up moisture can damage pages as new sheets stack up.
To prevent smearing or sticking, allow printed sheets to fully dry for a few hours before assembling catalogs. Leaving catalogs spread open overnight is best.
Assemble Your Pages
Use an extended stapler, stitch binding machine, or professional print binding options like perfect binding, wire-o binding, saddle stitching, or spiral coils to assemble catalogs.
Hand trimming edges with a guillotine paper cutter ensures covers and inside pages lineup perfectly.
And that’s it! Properly setting up your file combined with some key printer tricks allows you to create beautiful, print-ready catalogs right from home.
Top Catalog Printing Tips
Keep these additional professional secrets in mind when designing and printing your own catalogs:
- Use pre-designed templates to simplify layouts
- Include a 1/8th inch bleed area around trim edges
- Add page numbers and bleed marks to guide binding
- Print guidelines and symbols in a non-printing ink layer
- Leverage both portrait and landscape page orientations
- Additional catalog design best practices worth reviewing
FAQs About Printing Catalogs at Home
Here are answers to some common questions people have around printing catalogs themselves:
Are inkjet or laser printers better for catalogs?
Inkjet printers provide higher overall print quality and handle images better, making them ideal for catalogs. Lasers work fine for simpler catalogs too though.
Can you use a standard home printer and paper?
You absolutely can. But opt for thicker 28-80 lb smooth inkjet paper rated for high resolution duplex printing for best professional results.
What software is best for designing catalogs at home?
Page layout programs like PagePlus, InDesign, or Publisher work great. But you can leverage any software with templates or guides like Word, PowerPoint, or even Excel.
How much does it cost to print catalogs at home?
If you already own a decent home printer and computer, incremental costs for paper and ink could be as low as $1-5 per catalog. Certainly much cheaper than going through professional printers.
What binding options work for self printed catalogs?
Desktop staplers, stitch binders, spiral coil, and wire binding kits all work great for sub 100 page count catalogs printed at home and allow for lay flat viewing.
Start Printing Your Own Catalogs Now
If you sell products directly to customers, an eye-catching catalog is a must for business success. But there’s no need to spend big budgets getting them printed professionally.
Equipped with the right software, images, and printer tricks you can produce beautiful, print-ready catalogs right from your home office.
So what are you waiting for? Get started designing your own catalogs today!
The initial layout and photography might take some time upfront. But once your templates and assets come together, updating and reprinting refreshed versions is a breeze.
Need additional guidance as you venture into the world of DIY catalog printing? Let me know in the comments below!