Getting your leaflets print ready

Flyer Printing Company Belfast | Kaizen Print

For the uninitiated print marketing can seem like a daunting task. In contrast to digital formats, when it comes to print, there is no turning back. Once your design has been sent to print and the final proof approved, then you are pretty much stuck with whatever you have published.

With the right planning, however, there is no reason to feel nervous about venturing into print. When done right print marketing can be incredibly effective.

Whether you are printing brochures, booklets, flyers or posters, print marketing remains as powerful an advertising tool as ever.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a brief guide to help you feel confident when sending your design to print. Follow our steps to getting your leaflets ready for print and you’ll maximise the effectiveness of your print campaign.

Understand your objectives

Before starting any print advertising project it is important to set out your objectives. What is it that you want to achieve from your print marketing campaign and how do you intend to achieve this objective? What print format is going to work best for your particular message and why? 

Know your audience

As well as having a clear idea of your objectives, you should also have a good understanding of your audience. There’s no point in having objectives if they are not at heart guided by the wants and needs of your audience. 

Know your materials

A good worker understands their tools. Each form of print advertising, be it brochures, flyers, banners or posters, have unique properties that make them suitable for advertising in a certain way. Leaflets are highly flexible in this respect as they allow you to both drive a powerful message home – you may have a sale on for example. Or they can also be used to engage your audience with the intention of getting them to read a little further. If you’re looking for quick impact then a double-sided A5 or A6 leaflet may be right for you. Alternatively, if you want your audience to read on then maybe a folder flyer is the best choice. 

Designing your leaflets

Once you’ve thoroughly planned out your leaflets and you have written some knockout copy, it’s time to get designing! To ensure that your leaflets are print-ready you’ll need to consider the following;

• Design Software

Which design software is best for your purposes? Industry-standard software includes Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Indesign. All of which are perfectly acceptable options. If you do not have access to these Adobe platforms then there are free alternatives such as Canva that can also be used in the creation of your design. 

• Size and dimensions

Before you design anything you’ll want to make sure that you are working to the exact dimensions required when it comes to print. Understanding how to create your design within the limitations of your size of print is also essential. Print designs do not always appear on screen as they might in reality. Make sure that every element of your design will be clearly readable when it comes to printing. 

• Crops & Bleed

Bleed is the technical term for the space that printers require to give them leeway against any design discrepancies in the printing process. You’ll want to ensure that you leave a 3mm space around the edge of your design to allow for this. You’ll want to ensure that you display the area that you want cropped in your print proof by using crops and bleed. This can be set up before you start any design when using the Adobe suite. 

• Resolution

Print requires a higher resolution than digital and works on a format called DPI (pixels per inch). We recommend a dpi of at least 300 to ensure a high-quality print. 

At Kaizen Print we are consummate professionals when it comes to all things print. To find out how we can help you create the highest quality leaflets that stand out from the crowd you can complete our contact form, or get in touch by calling 028 9002 2474.