Everyone needs a notebook, and a personalized notebook is a great idea for any business. You can create notebooks that enhance your professional image with your unique style. Here’s a guide to creating great-looking personalized business notebooks.
Reasons to Print Personalized Business Notebooks
Personalized business notebooks with your company name and logo can improve your professional image. At meetings and special events, keep them on hand to give away as corporate gifts and promotional items.
Personalized business notebooks always come in handy, and you can customize them many ways. Do you want small notepads suitable for jotting quick notes, or do you want to create large notebooks that will work for students and individuals in training? You can choose the covers, layout, and size that work for you.
They’re not just for businesses. Personalized business notebooks make wonderful gifts for many occasions. Here are some ideas for using them.
- Hand them out at family reunions.
- Create notebooks for new graduates.
- Use them as bridesmaid or groomsmen gifts.
- Give them out as party favors.
- Offer them to members of a book club.
1. Make a Standout Cover
Your notebook cover is the first thing people see. In other posts, we’ve talked about the importance of an eye-catching, professionally designed book cover. A notebook cover is just as important. After all, most notebooks look about the same on the inside. The cover is the part that stands out, so choose yours with care.
What should you put on the cover? You have many options, including nature scenes, abstract scenes, cute animals, or corporate images. Choose one that reflects the mood of the event. Consider hiring a professional graphic designer to help you create an unforgettable cover.
2. Get the Design Details Right for Your Personalized Business Notebooks
Although personalized business notebooks seem like a straightforward item, you do need to consider the details. Ask yourself:
- Do you want your notebook to contain plain or ruled pages?
- What shape should it be?
- How many pages should it have?
- Will it have photos or other images on the inside pages?
Later, we’ll talk about binding and paper selection, which also come into play when you’re designing your notebook.
3. Get Help with Formatting Personalized Business Notebooks
You have various options for formatting personalized business notebooks and getting it ready to print.
Microsoft Word: Word has premade page settings for booklets that will work well for a notebook layout.
Adobe: This is another popular option for formatting anything, including personalized business notebooks. Choose from one of the many templates. You’ll also find images you can use to illustrate your cover.
4. Pick Your Paper
Your paper should be easy to write on. What are your options?
- Standard white uncoated: This is the default paper for most notebooks. It is smooth, easy to write on, and suitable for any design. Writing also does not smear, no matter what type of pen or marker is used.
- Gloss: A shiny paper gives a luxurious feeling to your notebooks. This is a good choice if you’re going for a high-end look. It’s also a good choice if you’re including photographs in your notebook. Be aware, however, that when people write in it with markers or roller point pens, their writing can smear.
- Matte: Matte has a smoother finish than uncoated paper, but is not as slick as gloss. It is typically a better option for notebooks.
Paper thickness is another important element of personalized business notebooks. In most cases, you should use thicker paper for the covers and thinner pages for the inside pages. Notebooks are supposed to be lightweight and easy to carry.
5. Choose the Right Binding When You Print Personalized Business Notebooks
Saddle stitching
Also known as staple binding, this is when a notebook is held together by staples through its middle section. This can be a good choice for smaller personalized business notebooks.
A saddle stitched binding uses single sheets of paper, printed on both sides and presented in page number order. The pages are folded in half and then stitched with the staples.
Because of this, every notebook that uses saddle stitching must have page counts in increments of four. There is an 8-page minimum and a 80-page maximum.
Should you use saddle stitching for personalized business notebooks? This style is lightweight and flexible, and it’s ideal for smaller, thinner notebooks. With a beautiful cover, this is an affordable option that can work for personalized business notebooks.
Perfect binding
This is the binding you see in paperback books and some commercially available notebooks. In this binding, pages are presented in order and glued to a spine. Perfect binding creates the most elegant, professional look for a notebook.
In perfect binding, single sheets of paper are printed on both sides and in page number order. The sheets are placed on top of each other, cut to trim size, and then ground down at the edges to fit the spine. The cover wraps around the inside pages to the edge. This creates a spine that is wide enough to print a title on.
Page counts for perfect binding must be in increments of two. There is a 28-page minimum.
Should you use perfect binding to print personalized business notebooks? Perfect bound books look great. They can be used for many purposes, including journaling and sketching. They are easy to stack and store. However, it is hard to flip them to a single page, and it’s hard to get them to lay flat.
Wire-o or plastic coil binding
These options use loop wire rings or plastic coil that bind holes punched in the margins of the papers.
In wire-o and plastic binding, single sheets of paper are printed on both sides, cut to trim size, and then collated. A hole puncher places holes along the edges of the pages. The printer then inserts a spiral coil through the holes. You cannot print on the spine of a spiral-bound notebook.
To use wire-o or plastic coil binding, your pages must be in increments of two. There is an 8-page minimum.
Should you use wire-o or plastic coil binding? These are the most popular choices for personalized business notebooks, because it makes it easy to turn pages while keeping the notebook flat on a desk.
6. Get the Page Order Right
When you are ready to print personalized business notebooks, it’s important to number them correctly. Many designers forget about the inside covers when they number their pages. If you don’t want any printing on the inside covers, leave them blank and include them as part of your page count.
Here’s a sample page order count for a six-page notebook with a cover:
1 Front Cover
2 Inside front cover
3 Inside page
4 Inside page
5 Inside page
6 Inside page
7 Inside back cover
8 Back cover
As you see, this comes to a total of eight pages, so this sample notebook is ready for any binding style. If your notebook has more than eight pages, the same rules apply. Remember to work with the increments and page counts of your chosen binding style.
7. Select Your Size
Size is another important element when you design and print personalized business notebooks. The most popular notebook and notepad sizes are:
- 5 x 7
- 5.5 x 8.5
- 6 x 9
- 7 x 10
- 8.5 x 11
All these notebook sizes have their uses. If you are giving away promotional items, choose the smaller sizes. If you want to make a special gift for an occasion, a larger, more dramatic size may be a better choice.
Consider how your recipients will use them. A pocket-sized notebook is great for notes and reminders, while a medium-sized notebook is good for appointment books, meeting notes, or sketches. A large notebook is a good choice for classroom notes, journaling, or drawing.
We Can Print Personalized Business Notebooks That Make an Impression
If you need help designing or printing personalized notebooks, talk to Dazzle Printing. We can help you create great-looking notebooks for everyone on your list. And when you’re ready to get your notebook printed, check out our pricing.
