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Booklets Posted by Ann O'Brien on 09/03/2025

Smaller than most bound books, high quality booklets can be the workhorse of your organization. Not only do they allow you to distribute smaller bites of content at a time, but they also give you a platform to create focused content you can tailor for just about any use. Developing content and printing high quality booklets for a specific purpose often takes less time and costs less to produce than creating longer projects, such as books or catalogs.

However, knowing where to spend your time during the process and how to choose the best materials for your high quality booklet can make the difference between producing a good booklet and one that looks so fantastic that your readers will love and remember it long after they turn the final page.

Creating Gorgeous High Quality Booklets

Although this specialized printing project may only include a few pages and might even be pocket-sized, you will want to begin with a solid concept of what you want to include in it. Picking your concept along with the targeted reader will help you make the best developmental decisions so you can create high quality booklets that will appeal to your reader on every level. Once you have narrowed down what types of information you want to include, you can craft a beautiful high quality booklet by following these guidelines.

 1. Pick the right size for your content.

Standard high quality booklet printing sizes are 5.5 x 8.5 inches, 6 x 9 inches, 8.5 x 11 inches and 9 x 12 inches, but custom sizing is also available for unique needs. Smaller booklets are ideal for slipping into folders or combining them with other printed materials, while larger booklets stand alone more easily and shine with gorgeous cover designs. Think about how and when you will distribute your high quality booklet to make sure you choose a size that works best with how you plan to utilize it.

2. Don’t try to do too much in one booklet.

The power of a booklet lies in its ability to present focused material to the reader. Use this small-format publication to present content that is sufficiently narrowed down so you can present everything you want and need to in the high quality booklet without crowding the pages with too much content.

3. Embrace the (white) space.

While you want to be sure that you use your limited space wisely, don’t feel like you need to cram words, graphics, and pictures on every square inch of the booklet. Instead, consider the overall reader experience when developing page layouts. Well-placed white space focuses the reader’s attention on beautiful photos or meaningful graphics, allowing you to strategically designate importance to content buffered by white space throughout the high quality booklet.

4. Keep branding consistent.

Remember that everything you print or distribute with your organization’s information should always follow your branding plan. From logo design to color palette choices, your booklet should reflect your brand’s look and feel from cover to cover.

5. Use professional typography.

High quality booklets should look professionally created, and this includes using a standard font. Good options are Times New Roman and Helvetica because they are easy to read and print cleanly on both small and large print sizes. For creative projects, you can choose a less formal font but test it out for readability and make sure that the font chosen aligns with your booklet’s purpose and your brand design.

Your typography should also include intentional font hierarchy so readers can easily read and ingest content. Use the largest size for headings, a medium size for titles, and the smallest size for body text. Small changes make a big impact on how text is presented to the reader, so be sure to prioritize legibility when finalizing typography.

6. Inject some fun into your booklet pages.

Producing a high quality booklet that appears professionally produced also gives you the chance to play around with graphics and attention-getting designs to engage with your reader. Call-out boxes are a good way to inject a thought, humor, or an aside about the content in your booklet, and they are right at home in this type of informal publication. Other inclusions like highlights or the use of contrasting colors can draw your readers toward key information as well as add visual variety to the pages to keep your readers interested.

7. Create content that flows and engages your reader.

The purpose of your high quality booklet is to convey information to your reader, so developing a booklet that keeps your reader turning pages from the first to the last is important. The structure of your content should be logical, and a reader should be able to see the organization of your content at a glance.

Make sure that your booklet’s content has continuity and a compelling story to tell so your reader will want to discover each page’s information. Reading your booklet’s text out loud from beginning to end during the creation process can help you see where your content doesn’t flow smoothly from one topic to the next.

8. Focus on high-quality images.

A gorgeous booklet should look great in every way, including the imagery you include in it. High-resolution images of at least 300 dpi will guarantee that your photographs and graphic elements look sharp and crisp when duplicated, so you can present your readers with high quality booklets that look professionally crafted. Placing those images strategically throughout your booklet’s text to show off products, highlight your organization, or clarify something for the reader will add to the intrinsic value of your booklet for the reader, too.

Paper Options for Printing High Quality Booklets

The paper you choose for the inside of the booklet is coated with a special treatment that gives it a glossy or satin finish, or you can choose untreated paper.

• Gloss: Paper treated with a gloss finish presents with a high shine, making this treatment perfect for booklets with full-color photography. If visuals are the focus of your high quality booklet, like product catalogs or photography booklets, gloss paper is a great way to make those photos pop.
• Matte: Less shiny than gloss paper, paper with a matte finish is smooth to the touch with a less reflective surface than gloss. Projects that benefit from satin finish paper may have more graphic or text elements than photographs, as text-heavy content is easier to read on satin finish paper.
• Uncoated Paper that is not treated is called uncoated paper, and this type of paper is the most budget-friendly option for booklets that are mostly or all text.

 Paper Weight

Thicker papers are described as having a higher weight, and choosing a higher weight increases durability. Lower-weight papers are thinner, and while they are less durable than their thicker counterparts, thinner paper is less expensive to use for a printing project. Consider who will be using your booklet and how durability will impact it when selecting your booklet’s paper weight.

Cover Options

The first look readers will get at your high quality booklet is at the cover, so choosing the right materials to present your publication is critical to printing booklets that look great. Using a finish on your booklet’s cover will add durability to the publication, ensuring readers will be able to continue to use it longer than booklets with an unfinished paper cover.

• Gloss Finish: Using paper with this finish on your cover is ideal for beautiful photography or crisp graphic elements since the shiny surface highlights bright colors and brings them to life.
• Matte Finish: This type of cover paper finish is less shiny than a gloss application, but a matte finish looks professional and adds a beautiful coating and texture to text-heavy covers. This subtle finish doesn’t reflect light, making it ideal for elegant and sophisticated covers. Matte finish also minimizes fingerprints, unlike gloss finish, so matte finish is perfect for high-use booklets.

Why Printing High Quality Booklets Matters in the Digital Age

Choosing to present content to your readers in a beautiful high quality booklet can set your brand apart from others because there is no substitute for holding an intentionally designed and printed publication in your hand. Developing high quality booklets sets your brand apart from so many other organizations that only live in the digital world. They also project a feeling of authenticity and meaningfulness, both enviable traits in an organization. And printed content in a high quality booklet provides readers with a sensory experience that is not available with online content, helping your organization to stand out with the creation of a thoughtful, targeted booklet.

Printing High Quality Booklets For Your Organization

Designing and printing a high quality booklet to highlight information concisely and engagingly is a great way to connect with your customers, audience or community. Partnering with Dazzle Printing can help you turn your concept into a beautiful high quality booklet that will represent your brand perfectly and help you present important content quickly and effectively.