Catalogue Design UK

Catalogues built for finding things

A catalogue is a working tool. Buyers, trade customers and sales staff use it to find a product, check a code, compare options and place an order. dijitul designs catalogues around that job: a clear contents page, colour-coded or tabbed sections, consistent product blocks with photo, name, code, key specs and price in the same place every time, and an index at the back for longer catalogues.

We build master pages and paragraph styles so every page follows the same grid. That makes the catalogue easier to read and much faster to update next year, because new products drop into an existing template rather than being designed from scratch.

Small details make a big difference on a page of thirty products: photos shot at the same angle and scale, icons for repeated features such as 'stainless steel' or 'next-day stock' instead of the same words over and over, and a key to those icons on the opening spread. We also add page references between related products, so a customer looking at one fitting is pointed to its matching parts.

Working from your product data

Retyping hundreds of product codes and prices by hand is where mistakes creep in. Where your data is in a spreadsheet or exported from your stock system, we can use data merge in InDesign to place names, codes, descriptions, sizes and prices directly into the layout. Images are matched by file name, so a consistent naming system (for example the product code) saves a lot of time.

Before we start, we check the spreadsheet for consistency: one product per row, the same units in each column, and no notes typed into price cells. A tidy data file is the single biggest factor in how quickly and accurately a large catalogue comes together. If your product photos are inconsistent, our product photography on white or plain backgrounds starts from £25 + VAT per image.

Page counts, binding and paper

Catalogues up to roughly 48 to 64 pages are usually saddle-stitched (stapled), which means the page count must be a multiple of 4. Thicker catalogues are perfect bound with a glued spine, which can carry the title and year so it is easy to find on a shelf. Spine width depends on page count and paper thickness, so we get it from your printer before finishing the cover.

A typical setup is a 250 to 300 gsm silk cover with matt lamination and 115 to 150 gsm silk inner pages. Lighter inner paper keeps postage down when you send catalogues to customers, but very thin stock lets images show through from the other side, so we check samples with your printer.

Keeping prices out of the catalogue

Prices change more often than products. Many businesses print the catalogue without prices and issue a separate price list, either as a printed insert or a PDF. That way the expensive catalogue lasts two or three seasons and only the cheap price list is reprinted. We design both to match and can produce the price list from the same spreadsheet. For trade customers who order online, the same product data can feed your website; our sister agency at dijitul.uk builds ecommerce sites.

Digital catalogues

Most catalogues are now read on screen as often as in print. We export a separate RGB PDF with a clickable contents page, links from each section to your website, and images compressed so the file is small enough to email. Page sizes and layouts are the same as print, so customers can still find 'page 34'. Short brochures may suit you better if you sell a handful of products or services.

Price

Catalogue design is quoted as a fixed price based on page count, the number of products and how clean your data is. Updates, new products and price changes are charged at £45 an hour + VAT. Printing is separate, or we can arrange it through print management. Send your current catalogue or product list for a quote.

What you get

• Print-ready PDF/X-1a catalogue with 3 mm bleed
• Compressed, linked PDF with clickable contents and index
• Editable InDesign files with paragraph styles and master pages
• Product page templates for adding new lines
• Separate price list file if you want prices kept out of the main catalogue

How it works and what it costs

Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.

1. Tell us the brief

   What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.

2. Fixed price

   We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.

3. First designs

   We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.

4. Refine

   We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.

5. Final files

   You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.

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