We are all of course not perfect. In terms of catalog printing some people approach this simple task and turn it into a nightmare of a time. Even some professionals can make mistakes in a print catalog over and over again without actually realizing what they've done. So its important to learn from your mistakes, and maybe even learn from the mistakes of others. If you are just about to start your own catalog printing endeavor, or maybe you are a professional that just needs a little refresher then we have a good guide for you here. Below you will find a few common mistake people make when they print catalogs. Hopefully you can learn from these mistakes and you can improve how your whole catalog printing process works.



Lack of Planning

This is one of the most common mistakes we have seen in catalog printing. Some shop owners think catalog printing is as simple as taking pictures, writing notes and then sending it off to the printers. This is wrong. This will lead them to an extended process of question and answers with the catalog printing company. Questions like the dimensions, paper quality, paper type, color combinations will take time to figure out, and the printer and the shop owner will just waste time in doing so since there was no planning stage.

The design will also suffer from this, since a catalog design should be well thought out with considerations for the catalog printing budget, the target market and of course the products being sold. If the catalog has not been planned well from the beginning you may end up with an increased cost to catalog printing, less than satisfactory sales and products that are misrepresented in the catalog. To put it simply, when you don't plan this thoroughly it will be a mess.

Wrong Concept

Another common error in catalog printing is a failed design concept. Catalogs, like brochures and posters should have a design concept that fits your market and your products. Some people make the mistake in using one design concept for different types of markets. For example, high-end luxury products should usually have a more elegant and sophisticated design. You don't use a ?cartoon? concept or a ?bargain sale? concept in such things. It may turn off your high end customers. On the flip side, if your ?mainstream? color catalogs look too elegant and sophisticated your normal customers might think that your products are too expensive and leave the catalogs alone. Do you see the effect? So always try to match your design concept so that this doesn't happen.

Amateur design

Next, we have the catalogs that seem amateurish. This mistake is usually made by people thinking they can handle publishing or image editing software without training. Of course the new applications these days make it easy to create a design for a color catalog. However, will the end product look professional enough? Amateur looking catalogs will always look off and some people might even say it doesn't look credible. Will you pick up a catalog that seems like it was made by a twelve year old? It is usually best to hire a professional layout designer or graphic artist to do your catalogs. It lends credibility and shows your customers that you are serious about presenting the best of your products.

Sparing Quality

Lastly, some people try to cut corners and cut the quality of their print catalogs. This is a mistake. Catalogs are the extension of your shop or business. If people see that part of your business look substandard then thats how they will judge your company overall. A flimsy catalog with black and white pictures will not garner you any respect, and of course you sales won't be as good as well.

So those are the things you should watch out for when you start you catalog printing. Learn from these mistakes and you should be on the safe side when you churn out your own color catalogs.