Brochures are a great way to market your business - and it's easy to design and print them yourself on a small budget. There are several software programs that make brochure design simple and easy, such as Adobe, Illustrator, Quark, and Microsoft Publisher. These programs create professional-looking brochures without the professional budget.



From the very beginning, make sure you have the right size setup for your brochure design - setting the wrong print size is a common mistake, and very difficult to correct after the fact. Brochure printing is exact - for example, if you submit brochures for printing on 8x10 paper, don't use an 8.5x11 layout. If you have to shrink or stretch the brochure content, the final resolution may be negatively affected.

Leave extra room for bleeding. With brochure printing on a large scale, it's possible for some bleeding to occur due to slight fluctuations in the printing, so make sure you leave some added space on the edges - this results in a clean cut every time.

Select the proper resolution. A higher resolution looks much more professional - the last thing you want is for your brochure to come out pixilated. Set the resolution to 300 dpi when you do the brochure design for the sharpest results. If you need a good source for stock, high-resolution images, just search online for royalty-free pictures for decent prices. Some sites even offer these images for free so you can put together a brochure design on a budget.

Next, you have to select the right kind of paper. Most brochure printing is done on 80lb or 100lb paper, with the choice of several gloss or matte finishes. It's all a matter of personal preference, although 100lb paper offers a lot more substance than 80lb stock paper, and the price difference is not large. If you go with a heavier paper, it's more likely to create a good impression on the customer.

Varnish creates a beautiful glossy finish, but if you use a lot of ink on your brochure design, it will appear very shiny without a finish, so the brochure printing options you end up selecting depend on more than one factor. A brochure design with a lot of darker colors is better with a varnish because this will prevent fingerprints.

When putting a brochure together, it's easier to use a brochure template. A brochure template gives you the basic outline for your design, and all you have to do is fill everything in with your information and graphics. Or, buy a brochure maker program to streamline the process. Brochure maker software allows even the least artistic of us to design a brochure that's appealing and will stay in the memories of your customers.

Also, make sure the brochure you create is original - don't copy another design or rehash the same old ideas you've seen a million times before. Come up with something new and exciting, so that your business sticks out from the crowd. It's important to attract customers so they can find out more about your company.