Brochures are effective tools in business and marketing. There are many tools you can use to create your own brochures if you do not want to hire a printing expert. Software that makes creating brochures easy includes Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher, and Quark Xpress among many others.
When creating your own brochures how can you make them look as if they were created by a professional?
One common mistake that people make when designing a brochure is not designing to the layout size of the finished product. This will not happen if you employ the services of professional printers such as Print Smarter. If you are going to be printing on paper that is eight by ten inches you do not want to work with a page size of eight and one-half by eleven when you design the brochure. When you go to print you will have to stretch or shrink the image with will result in a poorer resolution print.
Print bleed is another consideration. Print bleed occurs when the blade cuts the stack of brochures as the position can fluctuate over the course of the run. To accommodate print bleed your design should be a bit beyond the page border using a solid color. Only one eighth of one-inch overage is recommended.
Use high-resolution pictures to create a more professional look to a brochure design. If low quality images are used they will appear blurry, soft or pixilated. Images should be a minimum of three hundred dpi, dots per inch. You can find quality, high-resolution images online at stock image sites.
The right paper is another feature of quality brochures. Brochures should be printed on either eight or one hundred pound stock paper. The higher quality paper the more substantial product but there is a significant price difference. A thicker paper appears more professional. You can choose from matte or gloss finish.
Varnish added to a brochure adds an appealing gloss effect. However, if your brochure uses a lot of ink it will appear glossy on its own. It is recommended to use varnish if you use many dark colors in your brochure design to avoid smudges from fingerprints.
While design is important content is just as important. Be creative and original. Convey the information you wish your audience to know. Look at brochures to see what others are doing and take the ideas that you like best and incorporate them in your brochure.
Fonts are another way to set your brochure apart. Do not rely on the fonts included with your software package. Those are commonly used. If you really want to be different look for a font that is unique that you like and is easy to read. Fonts can really make a difference in how professional your brochure looks.
A brochure should present the identity you want to create for your business or other venture. Well-designed brochures when printed from professionals are worth a good deal more than they cost. When you design a brochure to work well with professional printers like Print Smarter you can save money, reduce any stress involved in the printing process and produce a brochure you will be proud of.
