If you have photography skills and feel comfortable taking the pictures yourself and own a digital camera, set the camera on the highest resolution and follow product picture protocol: use individual, not group pictures of products on a light background, add a drop shadow to make the products leap off of the page, and upload them at no lower than 300 dpi. Try to get high-quality pictures from multiple angles and perspectives. [2] X Expert Source Travis PetersAdvertising Expert Expert Interview. 2 June 2021.
Make sure that your pagination is consistent. You can make it easy for customers to find your website address and number by putting them on each of your two-page spreads. You can list your phone number on the bottom right of each page and your website URL on the bottom left, or do the reverse. You can also place one on the top or one on the bottom. Be sure to keep the page count in 4 page increments since printing companies print 4 pages on an entire sheet of paper (2 on the front and 2 on the back).
If you’d like additional writing help, you may consider hiring a copywriter. Usually, no detail is too small when you’re describing your products. [5] X Expert Source Travis PetersAdvertising Expert Expert Interview. 2 June 2021.
You should also create the order form if you will accept faxed or mailed orders.
To organize your content effectively, you’ll need to not only have product sections, but an introductory section at the front of the book, an educational section if you want to include articles, as well as a section for return and warranty information. You can intersperse articles throughout the catalog so that buying your products is never far from the customer’s mind. Make sure to use consistent typography and designs so your customers aren’t distracted. However, you should make it convenient to find a specific section by color-coding the tops, bottoms, or sides of the pages of each section.
You will discuss your budget, the printer you will use, any tear-out order forms, and the images you want to use. Once you or your graphic design expert will have a sense of these components, you can find a way to lay out the information, and a way to place as many products as you can on one page without crowding them. You can use shapes or other placeholders to represent the images you will eventually use. Once you have everything ready, you can even use the real images, proof the catalog, and have potential buyers take a look at it to get some suggestions before you take it to your printer.
