Many people don’t know where to start when it comes to catalog design. This daunting task is made simple when you follow these helpful tips. Don't get overwhelmed with all of the pages and information you want to include; instead start by outlining the goal of the catalog. Figure out what you need to accomplish there are different types such as a sales catalog, and informative piece, educational, a guide or a display catalog. Next, put yourself in the shoes of your audience. What would attract them, what information do they need, and what will keep them turning the pages. After gathering this information then start designing.

Do you have the look you want?

Don’t forget the design and  of your catalog is just as important as the information. It doesn’t matter how great your information is, if you have poor images and poor print quality, your audience may be disinterested and less likely to read.

1. Use engaging colors, images, and design elements that represent you or your company. 2. Stick to a simple font that is easy to read. Consider size, style, and color. 3. Use white space, and use your space wisely. Keep a good balance, don’t use too much or too little text or images. 4. Eliminate unnecessary elements or distractions. 5. Select the appropriate finished size and know how you will distribute: mailing, handing out, or hanging in a display…

6. Full color images with 300dpi or more resolution are perfect for catalogs.

7. Keep a consistent style and look throughout the entire document.

*Depending on the type of , you will need a reference to your website, an order form, table of contents, glossary, and an index.

PrintingCenterUSA can easily help you order a Catalog and have it shipped to your doorstep fast! We give you fast and free quotes, and have a knowledgeable staff and helpful customer service representatives who can help you get started. If you already have design software and just need help getting started, we also offer to help you start designing a beautiful catalog that people will always remember. We also have a  where you can drag and drop your images and make a stunning catalog without needing any of your own design software!

Now that you've seen the best way to showcase your products, !
Not sure if a catalog is right for your needs? Click here to see all of our printing options.

Perfect binding is a popular type of book binding you see on soft cover books such as paperback books and magazines. The internal pages are printed on both sides of text weight paper, then gathered together (collated) into a book, one on top of the other, in numbered page order. The cardstock cover of the perfect bound book is placed over and around the inside pages, attached along the binding edge by the application of a strong yet flexible PUR glue.

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Is Perfect Binding Right for Your Project?

Perfect Bound Booklets aren’t limited to authors who are printing books of 500+ pages. The minimum page requirement is 28 pages and plenty of businesses and organizations use this method on a variety of printing projects because of its highly professional appearance and relatively low cost, in both short runs and larger order quantities. Perfect bound binding is commonly used for a variety of publications, such as manuals, reports, catalogs, magazines, photo books and more.

We know that perfect bound books are a no-brainer when it comes to high page counts. With any booklet that contains more than 92 pages, perfect binding is definitely superior and highly recommended and is affordable. Instant Perfect Bound Pricing:

The primary benefits of perfect binding books are that they look professional and offer great visual appeal. Also, there is the option of placing content on the spine, such as an author, book title or any type of design. This is something that neither  or  binding offer. Perfect binding definitely produces a high quality and professional look that can’t be matched.

How to Set Up a Perfect Bound Book

Understanding the difference between the term “sheet” and “page” is key to correctly assessing your booklet’s final page count, which can in turn affect your quote, production time and more. For perfect bound booklet printing, you must have at least 28 pages, and up to 2” thick.

First, let’s start with a single sheet of paper. It has 2 sides – a front side and a back side. With perfect binding, one sheet of paper equals two pages (unlike ). If you are holding up a sheet of paper in front of you, you are looking at page 1. Flip the page over and you are now looking at page 2. 

For example, pick up a book and as you turn its pages, notice that each “page” has two sides (the front and back of one sheet of paper). Your printer will refer to each side as its own page. So each sheet within your book will be counted as two pages.

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The Perfect Binding Process

Now that you understand the difference between sheets and pages, you can easily give your print shop the correct page count when submitting your .

As shown below, if you take a closed book so that you are looking at its cover – that’s page 1. Open the cover and you will be looking at page 2 (left) and page 3 (right). Keep going until you close the book and are looking at the back cover. The back cover will count as your last page. All-in-all, make sure to count every page, including the cover, the back cover and the inside pages (counting any blank pages) for your total page count. 

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Perfect Bound Book Design Tips

If you have decided that your printed project is going to be perfect bound, there are a few important design tips to keep in mind when it comes to your inside pages and cover design:

1. Don't Lose Yourself in the Gutter

Unlike a whose open pages lay flat, perfect bound books are glued at the spine and cannot lay completely open without breaking. During the binding process, an area of each page will disappear into the spine, also known as the gutter. Depending on how many pages are in the booklet, the gutter can take up between 1/4” – 3/8” of each page. It’s good practice to leave at least a quarter inch of safety margin space on the insides of each page. Be careful to keep note of which pages will be on the left or right side of your perfect bound book so you can place your safety margins on the correct side. Keep all text and any images that need to remain visible inside the safety margin so they don't get lost in the gutter.

2. Be Careful with Two-Page Spreads

If you decide that you want one image to be featured across two pages, keep in mind that the alignment of the photo where the pages meet together might not perfectly match up. When an image covers two pages, the gutter area will still obscure at least a quarter inch off of each side. It might seem like a small amount of space to worry about, but it can drastically affect the photo’s appearance. It helps to choose photos that won't be so obvious that there's a gap missing (for example, a person's face across 2 pages might be a lot more noticeable than a photo with less detail).

3. Determining the Width of the Spine

A unique feature of  is the ability to design the spine. You can keep it a solid color, add text or have one continuous image covering the front cover across to the back cover. Setting up your cover correctly is very important for perfect binding because the width of the spine needs to match exactly with the thickness of your book (which depends on the paper weight and number of pages you choose).

As soon as you have a final page count, give us a call at  and we can help you choose your paper weight and calculate the width of your book's spine.

PrintingCenterUSA is happy to answer any questions you have about perfect book binding or any of our full color digital printing services. Call us at  or send us an e-mail.

The meaning of the word collate is to collect, arrange and assemble in a specific order of sequence. In printing terminology, it is to assemble multiple sheets or parts together to create a set. Collating is most commonly used in the preparation of booklets, catalogs, manuals & collated color copies.

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What is the Difference Between Collated and Uncollated Copies?

Alternately, uncollated would mean the opposite. To print uncollated would be to print copies of multiple sheets separately and not assembled in any order. So, if you have a document with 3 sheets of paper, each sheet would not be combined or assembled together with the others to make a set.

In the printing world, the terms collate and uncollated are often used when discussing the specifications of a print job. If you have a document that includes multiple pages, it is important to understand the difference between these two terms before submitting your project for print. 

You can order your collated or uncollated printing online at  for fast, easy & affordable printing services. You can also sign up for a  that will be delivered to your door that includes samples of products, papers and finishes.

Collate Printing

Collate printing is the action of taking multiple different printed pages and putting them together into a complete set. Collating is most common with color copies, as the copies can be collated without being bound together. On the other hand, collating is also common in the process of making booklets, catalogs, magazines and any other type of multi-page product. 

The most common types of binding for collated copies are , , .

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Not All Bound Printing is Collated

There are some instances in which you may want to have a product bound together but not collated. An example in which you have product bound together but not collated would be Notepads. Notepads are usually in sets of 25, 50 or 100 sheets but each sheet consists of the same printing. The sheets of paper are bound together with a padding compound at the top of the product. The sheets can then be easily ripped away from the pad when needed. 

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Printing Uncollated Has Its Uses, Too.

If your print document is a flyer, poster, fact sheet, brochure or some other type of single print out, it may be more useful to print uncollated. Your print file might contain 5 pages that explain 5 different types of products that you will be promoting at a booth, conference, convention or trade show. Having your flyers arranged by product would make it easier to target your customer's interests. This same idea also makes sense for handling print documents for business presentations, classroom lectures and more.

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There are many reasons why you might want to print something either collated or uncollated, bound or unbound. It’s your project and any online printing shop will help you achieve your end goal. The good news is that choosing to print collated or uncollated usually does not have an effect on the overall price of your print job. It's a decision of convenience - not money!

PrintingCenterUSA is happy to answer any questions you have about collating your next printing project. Give us a call at  or .

Saddle stitch is when single sheets of paper are printed on both sides, collated in page number order, folded in half and then stapled through the fold by a saddle stitch stapler. Saddle stitch binding is one of the most common binding methods for booklet manufacturing.

Saddle stitch binding is an ideal and economical choice for booklets with smaller page counts. We also recommend saddle stitch for publications with less than 92 pages. For page counts over 92 pages, we recommend perfect bound booklet printing. Saddle stitch booklets are great because they will lay flat and stay open when you are flipping through the pages, making it easier to read. Saddle stitch is our most popular binding type and offers the quickest turnaround time with the most affordable and cost-effective pricing.

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How Many Pages Do You Need for Saddle Stitch?

Saddle stitch binding requires that any publication has a minimum of eight pages, four pages per spread and up to 92 total pages. Saddle stitch documents need to be built in page multiples of 4 pages (8, 12, 16, etc.) because they are printed on sheets that are folded in half.

See below for a more in-depth explanation on how sheets become pages.

How you number your pages depends on the final page count. For example, in an 8-page booklet, the front cover is considered page 1 and the back of that page will be page 2 (inside front cover). The inside pages will continue in order like the diagram below as 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. The last 2 pages will be your inside back cover (page 7) and the back cover (page 8). You can get pricing on your saddle stitch booklet by visiting our website.

Related Article: Saddle-Stitch Printing for Books, Calendars, Catalogs & Magazines 

Paper Count in a Saddle Stitch Booklet

As mentioned above, the saddle stitch method requires that a booklet be printed out on large sheets of paper and then folded in half. Each sheet of paper will contain 4 of the booklet’s pages.

If you are printing an 8.5” x 11” saddle stitch book, its' pages and cover would be made from 17” x 11” sheets that are folded in half to the size of 8.5” x 11”.

First, let’s start with a single sheet of paper. It has 2 sides – a front side and a back side. Once the sheet gets folded in half, it will have 4 sides (or 4 pages). The number of sheets will depend on the final page count of the booklet.

Usually, any page count of 48 or less is considered a booklet and any job over 48 pages (with a maximum size of 92) would be considered a book. If your publication is larger than 92 pages, consider our other affordable binding options! Our most popular binding type for larger page counts is perfect binding (28 pages – 2” thick). 

During this holiday season, PrintingCenterUSA is looking to make a difference by starting a donation campaign to help the Special Olympics of Montana (SOMT) right in time for the nonprofit's annual Polar Plunge event, scheduled for December 7th in Great Falls, MT. We have 6 of our most daring employees "taking the plunge" and along with that, they are helping out a wonderful cause. We feel honored to be able to help the Special Olympics of Montana execute its mission of empowering those with intellectual disabilities through the power of sports.

By partnering with the Great Falls Polar Plunge, we are changing the lives of thousands of Special Olympics Montana athletes. With the money raised, athletes in the Great Falls area and around the state will have the opportunity to share their gifts and talents with the world through their participation in sports.

Now you don't have to "take the plunge" to help out this great cause and it's easy to participate. By using the promo codes below when ordering online, we will donate up to $100 per order to Special Olympics Montana.

Not planning on placing an order by December 6th but interested in donating to SOMT? No problem! Click here to donate to our Polar Plunge team!

The Great Falls Polar Plunge is one of twelve Polar Plunges across Montana. Participation provides individuals and organizations with a unique opportunity to support SOMT athletes by taking an icy dip into freezing waters. Plungers must raise the minimum amount to earn the privilege of taking the plunge. They can also raise additional funds and earn extra incentives along the way. Events like the Polar Plunges help support over 3,000 SOMT athletes.