| In a busy marketplace, businesses both large and small | | | | printing, for example, which was once restricted to |
| are finding that effective use of media can give them | | | | prestigious magazine titles, and works by quickly and |
| an important edge over competitors. | | | | flawlessly transferring images from printing plate to |
| Whilst virtually all businesses now have an active and | | | | paper via a special rubber 'blanket', is now frequently |
| professional-looking website, many are still continuing to | | | | used to produce multiple copies of business catalogues |
| go down the route of physical media production such | | | | and brochures that are highly consistent and uniform in |
| as brochure and catalogue printing. There are very | | | | quality. |
| good reasons for this. | | | | These impressive results can be enhanced even |
| Firstly, it is much easier to reach prospective | | | | further through the use of high-grade, richly fibred |
| customers using physical media; a door drop or even a | | | | papers that not only feel luxurious, but also permit a |
| leaflet inserted into a newspaper will contain much | | | | richer ink density on the page. |
| more information and have a longer-lasting impact than, | | | | Finally, there are key production techniques that can be |
| say, a pop-up advertisement on a web page. | | | | used to prolong the life of a brochure or catalogue in |
| Secondly, catalogue and brochure printers are able to | | | | order to maintain its attractiveness after being handled |
| produce a dazzling array of physical media that will | | | | on multiple occasions. |
| inspire public faith in the financial standing and reliability | | | | Coating the cover in a UV varnish, for example, will not |
| of a business, and encourage more customers to | | | | only make for a highly glossy product but also increase |
| come forward. | | | | its resilience. |
| Thirdly, for those in the mail order business, a catalogue | | | | Collating the pages together using various forms of |
| provides a welcome opportunity for the buyer to | | | | secure binding will also greatly help in this respect. |
| browse in comfort away from the glare of a | | | | Popular binding techniques include: saddle stitching |
| computer screen. | | | | (professional magazine stapling), perfect binding |
| Fortunately, technologies enabling quality brochure and | | | | (spine-gluing of multiple pages, a technique common to |
| catalogue printing are now so much easier to access. | | | | many booklets and coffee table titles) and the more |
| Advances in desktop publishing, for example, mean | | | | work-like but equally effective comb binding (whereby |
| that any business can now easily generate quality | | | | the spine is gripped by a wire spiral). |
| print-ready artwork in the form of high resolution digital | | | | An interesting point is that there are now many more |
| PDFs: secure files containing perfectly aligned colour | | | | print centres available locally to any business, thereby |
| and text information that greatly minimise the risk of | | | | greatly widening the opportunities for quality print |
| printing and reproduction errors. | | | | production, as well as conferring additional practical |
| At the print end, greater availability of production | | | | benefits such as being able to inspect and collect the |
| techniques has resulted in even relatively small print | | | | finished product in person rather than relying on a |
| centres now being able to offer top quality printing | | | | delivery company. |
| facilities in addition to laser reproduction. Litho off-set | | | | |