Catalog Printing
A printed product catalog is still one of the most effective and economical ways to promote your goods and services. At QinPrinting, we pride ourselves on the success of our client’s catalogs. Let us help you supercharge your catalog marketing campaign!
A comprehensive consumer survey conducted by the United States Postal Service (USPS) showed that your customers still love the pleasurable, intimate experience of browsing products and reading articles and information in a printed catalog. Most keep them and share them with friends, family, and colleagues. People want catalogs. They feel more confident buying from them, even if they make the transaction online.
At QinPrinting, we believe your customers deserve a catalog whose quality lives up to all their expectations of your business; a catalog that will be a powerful ambassador for your brand and products, boosting customer loyalty, spreading the word, and giving a measurable return on investment. With 25 years of success in the industry, an expert team, state-of-the-art technology, and unrivalled customer service, we’re as proud of our first-class reputation as a publisher of catalogs of distinction as you are of your business success.
Custom Catalog Printing Costs
At QinPrinting, we work collaboratively with each client to print fabulous catalogs which do justice to the very best your brand can be whatever your industry, sector, or niche. But we appreciate everyone must work within the constraints of a budget. That’s why we analyze our work protocols and supply chains constantly to make sure we continue to deliver exceptional quality catalogs at the most competitive prices you’ll find anywhere in the world.
So how much does it cost to print a catalog with us? The exact cost will depend on several variables: the size, quantity, paper choices and finishes, binding style, page numbers, and more. But you can get an immediate estimate of how much it will cost to print your product catalog from our helpful at-a-glance pricing charts. Unlike most offset printing services — which have a minimum print order of 500 or even 1,000 catalogs—we offer a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of just 100 copies—known as a “short run”—and still with a competitive price advantage over digital printing. But as you’ll see from the charts, the more catalogs you order at a time, the lower the cost-per-unit.
8.5” x 11” Catalog Printing Price Chart (Saddle Stitch)
| Quantity | 100pcs | 500pcs | 1000pcs | 2000pcs | 5000pcs | 10000pcs |
| 24pp + 4pp | $278 | $431 | $550 | $788 | $1680 | $3088 |
| 32pp + 4pp | $325 | $509 | $646 | $943 | $2035 | $3828 |
| 40pp + 4pp | $387 | $608 | $784 | $1133 | $2443 | $4537 |
- Please note that all prices are EXW our facility and do not include shipping costs.
- Cover: 200 gsm / 74 lb coated cover paper with matte lamination.
- Interior: 128 gsm / 87 lb coated text paper, full color printing.
8.5 x 11” Catalog Printing Price Chart (Paperback)
| Quantity | 100pcs | 500pcs | 1000pcs | 2000pcs | 5000pcs | 10000pcs |
| 64pp + 4pp | $560 | $884 | $1136 | $1675 | $3612 | $6910 |
| 96pp + 4pp | $778 | $1245 | $1606 | $2400 | $5130 | $9855 |
| 200pp + 4pp | $1491 | $2431 | $3182 | $4714 | $10101 | $19380 |
- Please note that all prices are EXW our facility and do not include shipping costs.
- Cover: 250 gsm / 92 lb coated cover paper with matte lamination.
- Interior: 128 gsm / 87 lb coated text paper, full color printing.
For a more precise, project-specific answer, try our convenient online printing cost calculator. Just go to the form, drop in your specifications, and click for an instant quote! If you have questions, get in touch and one of our enthusiastic, knowledgeable, expert team members — not a robot or a bored call center operator! — will be delighted to help. We pride ourselves on personal service and individually tailored solutions for all the businesses we serve.
We’re confident that we can save you over 40% of the cost of using your local print supplier and still deliver the highest quality product. Our combination of super-efficient modern printing processes, the latest technology, and materials choices tailored to your specific needs enable us to deliver the most streamlined and cost-effective catalog printing services you’ll find anywhere.
Specialist Wholesale and Broker Catalog Printing Services
If you’re a wholesaler, print broker, or design company, we can provide you with excellent wholesale catalog printing services. Our competitive wholesale prices, combined with quality, service, and fast turnaround times—as short as 3 to 5 days—make our offer hard to beat. You can also take advantage of free training with us and a range of paper samples to help you improve the services you offer to your clients. Your success is our success, so we work hard to help you.
Popular Printed Catalog Sizes
The size of your catalog is entirely up to you, but typically depends on your graphical and photographic content, the text layout, orientation, paper choices and any specialized finishes you may want—such as embossing, debossing, die-cutting, or soft touch lamination, for example. A comprehensive product catalog published annually, printed in a large format on gloss art paper, with a gold embossed cover design, and running to 500 pages, for example, will cost more than a single-line seasonal catalog designed to promote a time-limited sale.
At QinPrinting, we’re happy to create custom catalogs in any size or format you wish. Just remember that extensive customization incurs higher costs and slower turnaround times because we need to do a lot more pre-press work and setup. But for certain organizations, the added investment could be worthwhile. It’s always your decision, but most of our clients opt for the standard sizes. They have good reasons, too, other than keeping costs down. You need to consider consumer expectations, storage, handling, distribution costs, and several other factors. You can get an idea of the most cost-effective size for your catalog. The standard size for most product catalogs is 8.5” by 11” (approximately 210 mm by 297 mm in Europe, the UK, and Australia). But we also print a lot of seasonal or sale catalogs, for example, in the smaller 5.5” by 8.5” (148 mm by 210 mm) which is almost “pocket-sized”.
Catalog Paper Options
While most catalogs are a mix of images and text, the trend in contemporary catalog design is toward more photography and less text, linking the physical printed catalog to online information using scannable QR codes which take the reader to a website, technical specification, or sales page on the web. But in almost all cases, you’ll need to choose paper which will give good photo reproduction and readable text, too. We recommend printing on gloss or matte text paper to get the best results. Gloss and matte both have ideal surfaces for vibrant printing that will reproduce your photographs with faithful color, perfect contrast, and fine detail. Gloss paper is often best for catalogs with full-color photo spreads and less text, whereas catalogs with more text may benefit from matte paper. Matte paper will still give gorgeous color or black-and-white photo reproduction while making the text easier to read even in bright light. The paper you choose to print your catalog changes how it looks, how durable it is, and the printing and shipping costs. Many catalogs use lighter, uncoated paper for black-and-white interiors and thicker coated paper for color interiors.
At QinPrinting we recommend 80 gsm / 54 lb, 105 gsm / 70 lb, 128 gsm / 86 lb, 157 gsm / 106 lb coated paper or 80 gsm / 54 lb, 100 gsm / 68 lb uncoated paper for catalog interiors as they give a lovely crisp, vibrant finish to your product photographs and make the text easy to read. Choosing catalog interior paper depends on the size and thickness, too. As a general rule, we recommend thinner paper for the interior, especially if you have hundreds or even over a thousand pages.
If your catalog is 8.5” x 11” we recommend thicker paper for the interior. For example, 128 gsm / 86 lb, 157 gsm / 106 lb coated paper or 100 gsm / 68 lb uncoated paper. If the catalog has 32 pages or fewer and you want to use perfect binding, we recommend 200 gsm / 135 lb coated paper to reach the required 3 mm spine width.
You can download a catalog cover template to check the catalog spine thickness according to different paper types and page amounts here.
Paper for the cover of your catalog depends on which binding style you choose. We usually make catalog covers of heavier, gloss cover paper. Sewn perfect bound is a popular option for high-end catalogs as it looks very professional, protects your interior pages well, and you can open and lay the pages flat, which makes browsing easier. But you can choose from many styles including perfect bound, saddle stitch, wire-o, and even hardcover binding.
Whichever binding you choose, you’ll need at least two paper specifications for your catalog: one for the interior pages and one for the cover.
Paper Options for Catalogs
Sewn perfect binding—a style which can lay flat with the pages open without breaking the spine—is a popular choice for high-quality catalog printing. This binding style needs the spine to be at least 3 mm thick. Catalogs with fewer pages might be perfect bound using glue alone or wire-o bound. Hardcover binding is another option, especially for an exclusive, high-end look and feel suitable for luxury goods and when the stock specifications don’t change seasonally or annually. We recommend a paper weight of 157gsm / 106 lb gloss text paper for the interior pages in most cases. It’s beautiful to see and touch, faithfully reproduces your product photography, and holds up well to repeated browsing without damage.
Cover Paper
- 200 gsm / 74 lb gloss cover paper
- 250 gsm / 92 lb gloss cover paper
- 300 gsm / 111 lb gloss cover paper
- 350 gsm / 129 lb gloss cover paper
- 200 gsm / 74 lb matte cover paper
- 250 gsm / 92 lb matte cover paper
- 300 gsm / 111 lb matte cover paper
Interior Paper
- 80 gsm / 54 lb gloss text paper
- 105 gsm / 71 lb coated text paper
- 128 gsm / 86 lb coated text paper
- 157 gsm / 106 lb coated text paper
- 200 gsm / 135 lb coated text paper
- 80 gsm / 54 lb uncoated text paper
- 100 gsm / 68 lb uncoated text paper
- 120 gsm / 81 lb uncoated text paper
Hardcover Paper
- 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper wrapped on 2 mm grey board
- 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper wrapped on 2.5 mm grey board
- 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper wrapped on 3 mm grey board
- Other paper, cloth, vinyl, or imitation leather wrapped on grey board
Bindings for Catalogs
While catalogs may come in a variety of shapes and sizes, the choice of binding is very important for reasons of both appearance and durability. Let’s look at the most common, professional-looking catalog binding options. You can open several of the following bindings flat.
We use this binding style for many catalogs. We collate the interior pages into a block, glued together, and then glued into a wrap-around cover made of heavier art paper or lightweight card stock. For catalogs with a page count ranging from 48 to 200 pages, this is a great option.
We use this binding style for most catalogs we print. We collate the interior pages into sets called “signatures”, which are then sewn together and fixed into a wrap-around cover made of heavier art paper or lightweight card stock. For catalogs with a higher page count, this is one of the best options.
To saddle stitch your catalog, we fold the printed interior sheets and stack them inside the cover sheet before stapling them together down the curved edge. Saddle stitch is only possible with a page count divisible by four, up to a maximum of 64 pages. But to make sure the catalog is neat and lies flat, we recommend a limit of 48 pages or fewer for this style of binding.
This binding is another possibility for catalogs, especially useful to sales representatives for its portability, practicality and flexibility. We punch or drill holes into the pages down one side and then bind them with a double metallic coil which runs through the holes. We crimp the coil at both ends so the pages don’t come loose. You can turn the pages of a wire-o bound book through 360° and also lay the open catalog completely flat. We can laminate the pages to make them extra-resistant to UV light, fingerprints, and spillages.
Another great choice for reps is a loop bound catalog. It’s similar to a saddle stitch solution but includes two or three loops exterior to the spine so it can be hung up or easily inserted into a ring binder.
In this binding, we organize the interior pages into signatures which are then printed, cut, and sewn, before we glue them into a hard casing covered by a printed sheet which forms the cover. This binding is the most durable and luxury-looking, but we make only a few hardcover catalogs for our most exclusive clients.
If you wish, we can drill holes through the bound catalog—usually two, three, or five—to facilitate hanging it in a binder. Whichever binding style you choose for your catalog, we like to make it easy for you to design with one of our ready-made design templates if you wish. And ask us for paper samples. We’ll be happy to drop them to you in the mail. The samples are free, so you only need to pay the mailing charges.
Catalog Design and Artwork Tips
The quality of photographic reproduction is always important in a catalog as you need to show off your products to the best advantage. Whether your catalog has only a few photographs to illustrate a core range or has several detailed images for each product, you want your images and text alike to be impactful and easy on the eye. With that in mind, here are a few useful tips to help you when you’re preparing your files for the printer.
Export your files as vectors in PDF format for the best results. Our recommended software options are Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator. These will also allow you to convert your color space from RGB to CMYK which you will need to do for offset printing.
If you can’t deliver vectors — say, if you’re exporting bitmaps from Photoshop — then make sure the resolution is at least 300 DPI. With vectors, you needn’t worry about resolution, but all other images must have a high definition to tolerate resizing without becoming fuzzy and “pixilated”.
You’ll need to add a “bleed zone” of 3 mm around all your illustrated pages. A bleed is an extended zone at the periphery of your artwork, which falls outside the area that your final page will cover. Once we print your pages, we’ll cut them to the exact size needed for your catalog format. This “bit extra” gets cut off and makes sure that the image fills the page with none of it being lost. You should mark bleed zones as red lines.
Inside your bleed zone, don’t forget to mark the “trim lines”. These will define the final dimensions of the finished page. Make sure that any necessary elements of your images stop at least 10 mm short of the trim line.
For a wire-o bound catalog, leave an added margin of at least 15 mm on the edge that we’ll bind the pages to allow for the holes.
If you’re working with a professional designer to create your files, they should understand what’s needed to make everything “print ready”. But if you’re working with design software yourself for the first time, these are the vital tips to remember before you submit your files. Still, our team of experts will always manually check all your files before we go to press. If we find any issues, we’ll let you know and help you resolve them. We won’t print your catalog until we’re sure we’ll get a perfect result.
To learn more about preparing your photographs, text, and layout for printing, please check out our Pre-press Artwork information page.
- Catalog Sizes
-
Popular Printed Catalog Sizes
The size of your catalog is entirely up to you, but typically depends on your graphical and photographic content, the text layout, orientation, paper choices and any specialized finishes you may want—such as embossing, debossing, die-cutting, or soft touch lamination, for example. A comprehensive product catalog published annually, printed in a large format on gloss art paper, with a gold embossed cover design, and running to 500 pages, for example, will cost more than a single-line seasonal catalog designed to promote a time-limited sale.
At QinPrinting, we’re happy to create custom catalogs in any size or format you wish. Just remember that extensive customization incurs higher costs and slower turnaround times because we need to do a lot more pre-press work and setup. But for certain organizations, the added investment could be worthwhile. It’s always your decision, but most of our clients opt for the standard sizes. They have good reasons, too, other than keeping costs down. You need to consider consumer expectations, storage, handling, distribution costs, and several other factors. You can get an idea of the most cost-effective size for your catalog. The standard size for most product catalogs is 8.5” by 11” (approximately 210 mm by 297 mm in Europe, the UK, and Australia). But we also print a lot of seasonal or sale catalogs, for example, in the smaller 5.5” by 8.5” (148 mm by 210 mm) which is almost “pocket-sized”.
- Paper Options
-
Catalog Paper Options
While most catalogs are a mix of images and text, the trend in contemporary catalog design is toward more photography and less text, linking the physical printed catalog to online information using scannable QR codes which take the reader to a website, technical specification, or sales page on the web. But in almost all cases, you’ll need to choose paper which will give good photo reproduction and readable text, too. We recommend printing on gloss or matte text paper to get the best results. Gloss and matte both have ideal surfaces for vibrant printing that will reproduce your photographs with faithful color, perfect contrast, and fine detail. Gloss paper is often best for catalogs with full-color photo spreads and less text, whereas catalogs with more text may benefit from matte paper. Matte paper will still give gorgeous color or black-and-white photo reproduction while making the text easier to read even in bright light. The paper you choose to print your catalog changes how it looks, how durable it is, and the printing and shipping costs. Many catalogs use lighter, uncoated paper for black-and-white interiors and thicker coated paper for color interiors.
At QinPrinting we recommend 80 gsm / 54 lb, 105 gsm / 70 lb, 128 gsm / 86 lb, 157 gsm / 106 lb coated paper or 80 gsm / 54 lb, 100 gsm / 68 lb uncoated paper for catalog interiors as they give a lovely crisp, vibrant finish to your product photographs and make the text easy to read. Choosing catalog interior paper depends on the size and thickness, too. As a general rule, we recommend thinner paper for the interior, especially if you have hundreds or even over a thousand pages.
If your catalog is 8.5” x 11” we recommend thicker paper for the interior. For example, 128 gsm / 86 lb, 157 gsm / 106 lb coated paper or 100 gsm / 68 lb uncoated paper. If the catalog has 32 pages or fewer and you want to use perfect binding, we recommend 200 gsm / 135 lb coated paper to reach the required 3 mm spine width.
You can download a catalog cover template to check the catalog spine thickness according to different paper types and page amounts here.
Paper for the cover of your catalog depends on which binding style you choose. We usually make catalog covers of heavier, gloss cover paper. Sewn perfect bound is a popular option for high-end catalogs as it looks very professional, protects your interior pages well, and you can open and lay the pages flat, which makes browsing easier. But you can choose from many styles including perfect bound, saddle stitch, wire-o, and even hardcover binding.
Whichever binding you choose, you’ll need at least two paper specifications for your catalog: one for the interior pages and one for the cover.
Paper Options for Catalogs
Sewn perfect binding—a style which can lay flat with the pages open without breaking the spine—is a popular choice for high-quality catalog printing. This binding style needs the spine to be at least 3 mm thick. Catalogs with fewer pages might be perfect bound using glue alone or wire-o bound. Hardcover binding is another option, especially for an exclusive, high-end look and feel suitable for luxury goods and when the stock specifications don’t change seasonally or annually. We recommend a paper weight of 157gsm / 106 lb gloss text paper for the interior pages in most cases. It’s beautiful to see and touch, faithfully reproduces your product photography, and holds up well to repeated browsing without damage.
Cover Paper
- 200 gsm / 74 lb gloss cover paper
- 250 gsm / 92 lb gloss cover paper
- 300 gsm / 111 lb gloss cover paper
- 350 gsm / 129 lb gloss cover paper
- 200 gsm / 74 lb matte cover paper
- 250 gsm / 92 lb matte cover paper
- 300 gsm / 111 lb matte cover paper
Interior Paper
- 80 gsm / 54 lb gloss text paper
- 105 gsm / 71 lb coated text paper
- 128 gsm / 86 lb coated text paper
- 157 gsm / 106 lb coated text paper
- 200 gsm / 135 lb coated text paper
- 80 gsm / 54 lb uncoated text paper
- 100 gsm / 68 lb uncoated text paper
- 120 gsm / 81 lb uncoated text paper
Hardcover Paper
- 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper wrapped on 2 mm grey board
- 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper wrapped on 2.5 mm grey board
- 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper wrapped on 3 mm grey board
- Other paper, cloth, vinyl, or imitation leather wrapped on grey board
- Binding Options
-
Bindings for Catalogs
While catalogs may come in a variety of shapes and sizes, the choice of binding is very important for reasons of both appearance and durability. Let’s look at the most common, professional-looking catalog binding options. You can open several of the following bindings flat.
We use this binding style for many catalogs. We collate the interior pages into a block, glued together, and then glued into a wrap-around cover made of heavier art paper or lightweight card stock. For catalogs with a page count ranging from 48 to 200 pages, this is a great option.
We use this binding style for most catalogs we print. We collate the interior pages into sets called “signatures”, which are then sewn together and fixed into a wrap-around cover made of heavier art paper or lightweight card stock. For catalogs with a higher page count, this is one of the best options.
To saddle stitch your catalog, we fold the printed interior sheets and stack them inside the cover sheet before stapling them together down the curved edge. Saddle stitch is only possible with a page count divisible by four, up to a maximum of 64 pages. But to make sure the catalog is neat and lies flat, we recommend a limit of 48 pages or fewer for this style of binding.
This binding is another possibility for catalogs, especially useful to sales representatives for its portability, practicality and flexibility. We punch or drill holes into the pages down one side and then bind them with a double metallic coil which runs through the holes. We crimp the coil at both ends so the pages don’t come loose. You can turn the pages of a wire-o bound book through 360° and also lay the open catalog completely flat. We can laminate the pages to make them extra-resistant to UV light, fingerprints, and spillages.
Another great choice for reps is a loop bound catalog. It’s similar to a saddle stitch solution but includes two or three loops exterior to the spine so it can be hung up or easily inserted into a ring binder.
In this binding, we organize the interior pages into signatures which are then printed, cut, and sewn, before we glue them into a hard casing covered by a printed sheet which forms the cover. This binding is the most durable and luxury-looking, but we make only a few hardcover catalogs for our most exclusive clients.
If you wish, we can drill holes through the bound catalog—usually two, three, or five—to facilitate hanging it in a binder. Whichever binding style you choose for your catalog, we like to make it easy for you to design with one of our ready-made design templates if you wish. And ask us for paper samples. We’ll be happy to drop them to you in the mail. The samples are free, so you only need to pay the mailing charges.
- Artwork Tips
-
Catalog Design and Artwork Tips
The quality of photographic reproduction is always important in a catalog as you need to show off your products to the best advantage. Whether your catalog has only a few photographs to illustrate a core range or has several detailed images for each product, you want your images and text alike to be impactful and easy on the eye. With that in mind, here are a few useful tips to help you when you’re preparing your files for the printer.
Export your files as vectors in PDF format for the best results. Our recommended software options are Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator. These will also allow you to convert your color space from RGB to CMYK which you will need to do for offset printing.
If you can’t deliver vectors — say, if you’re exporting bitmaps from Photoshop — then make sure the resolution is at least 300 DPI. With vectors, you needn’t worry about resolution, but all other images must have a high definition to tolerate resizing without becoming fuzzy and “pixilated”.
You’ll need to add a “bleed zone” of 3 mm around all your illustrated pages. A bleed is an extended zone at the periphery of your artwork, which falls outside the area that your final page will cover. Once we print your pages, we’ll cut them to the exact size needed for your catalog format. This “bit extra” gets cut off and makes sure that the image fills the page with none of it being lost. You should mark bleed zones as red lines.
Inside your bleed zone, don’t forget to mark the “trim lines”. These will define the final dimensions of the finished page. Make sure that any necessary elements of your images stop at least 10 mm short of the trim line.
For a wire-o bound catalog, leave an added margin of at least 15 mm on the edge that we’ll bind the pages to allow for the holes.
If you’re working with a professional designer to create your files, they should understand what’s needed to make everything “print ready”. But if you’re working with design software yourself for the first time, these are the vital tips to remember before you submit your files. Still, our team of experts will always manually check all your files before we go to press. If we find any issues, we’ll let you know and help you resolve them. We won’t print your catalog until we’re sure we’ll get a perfect result.
To learn more about preparing your photographs, text, and layout for printing, please check out our Pre-press Artwork information page.
Let’s talk!
If you’re shouldering the responsibility for your company’s catalog design and printing—and you’d like to deliver a catalog of unrivaled quality and at a fantastic price—we should talk. Get in touch today—either by telephone, email, Skype, or our simple contact form—to chat through your needs or to ask for a no-obligation quote. We can’t wait to help you make your next catalog one that works extra hard to build your brand, excite new customers, and deliver an excellent return on your investment.
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