Catalog
Design
A product catalog is a working tool your sales team and distributors open every day. From the page plan and product page template to photo retouching and print preparation, we build your printed and digital catalog together with you.
A product catalogue, page by page
Cover, contents, product grid, detail page and spec table: the flow of a product catalogue. Turn the pages to see how information is ordered.
↳ Click or swipe a page, or use the ← → keys
Example catalogue; products, codes and sizes are placeholders.
From spreadsheet to printed page
- 01
Page plan
The order of categories, pages allocated to each category, introduction and company pages, table of contents and back cover. The page count is settled before design begins.
- 02
Product page template
Product code, dimensions, color and material options and packaging details sit in the same place on every page. Sales reps and distributors find what they're looking for in seconds.
- 03
Photo retouching
Backgrounds of photos taken at different times are removed (cut-outs), and differences in color and lighting are balanced. Missing or inadequate images are listed separately.
- 04
Print file
A high-resolution CMYK PDF with bleed, to the printer's specifications. Inner margins and spine thickness are calculated according to the binding type.
- 05
Digital PDF and flipbook
A screen PDF with a clickable table of contents and web/WhatsApp links, small enough to send by email. On request, an online flipbook version with a page-turn effect.
- 06
Multilingual versions
Separate files from the same template for Turkish, English and the languages of your export markets. Since text length changes from language to language, the layout is built to be flexible.
Which catalog
fits your needs?
The same spread re-lays itself for each catalog type: a product grid for distributors, full-bleed photos for a lookbook, drawings and tables for a technical sheet, side-by-side languages for export.
Distributor and sales
catalog
The main catalog listing your entire product range with codes, dimensions and options. For furniture, metal and food manufacturers in Kayseri, it's the everyday tool of distributors and the sales team.
What determines
price and timeline?
Switch the factors on and watch the page plan grow. Each one adds a different kind of work — the meter shows the direction, not a price.
Besides the total page count, the number of products per page and the amount of information shown for each product determine the workload.
There is a big difference between working with cut-out photos shot in the same lighting and cleaning up every image one by one.
Will product descriptions and introductory texts come from you, or do they need to be written?
Each additional language means layout checks, fixing overflowing lines and a separate output. Translation is planned separately.
Just the print PDF, or a screen PDF and flipbook too? Do you want printer coordination and proof follow-up?
Technical details
and print preparation
Catalog files are prepared to the printer's specifications. The values below are common standards; the exact paper, weight and binding are settled along with the printer's quote.
3 mm on each edge. Photos and color areas that run to the edge extend into this bleed, and important text is kept inside the trim line.
Print file in CMYK; photos at 300 dpi at their printed size. Pantone equivalents are checked for brand colors.
A4 (210 × 297 mm) and A5 are the most common sizes; square or landscape formats are also used for image-led catalogs.
Saddle stitching (page count must be a multiple of 4), perfect binding, spiral or hardcover. The binding type determines the inner margin and spine thickness.
Matte or gloss coated paper for inner pages, a heavier coated stock with matte/gloss lamination for the cover; optional spot varnish.
A digital proof before printing, and a printed proof for color-critical work. Printing follows the approved proof.
RGB for screen, compressed images, clickable table of contents and links; at a file size that can be sent by email.
InDesign package with linked images, font list and style definitions.
How is the content gathered?
In catalog projects, most time is lost not on design but on pulling together missing and scattered content. Before we start, we collect the content in this order.
Let's talk about your project
Book a call ↗Product information is collected in a single Excel sheet: code, name, dimensions, color, material, short description
Photo file names are matched to product codes, so it's clear from the start which products are missing images
Frequently changing prices are moved from the catalog to a separate price list, so the catalog doesn't go out of date when prices change
A single responsible person is appointed to approve the accuracy of the technical information
How we build
a catalog that lasts
A catalog is reopened every season. We set it up with templates, styles and a clean content table so the next edition is an update, not a redesign.
About us →From content table to press
Content and page plan
The product table, photos and texts are gathered; category order and page count are decided.
Cover and template
The cover, section openers and product page templates are presented for approval with a few sample pages.
Layout
All products are placed into the template, photos are retouched and the table of contents is built.
Review round
You check product codes, dimensions and spelling; corrections are applied.
Print and digital output
The print PDF goes to the printer; the screen PDF and source files are delivered to you.
Frequently Asked
Questions
That depends on the number of products and how much space each one gets. The technical point to watch is the binding: for saddle-stitched catalogs, the total page count (including the cover) must be a multiple of 4. We work out the page plan together with this rule in mind.
Existing photos can be improved to a degree with background removal and color correction, but low-resolution images or shots taken in different lighting will show in print. For missing products, we recommend adding a studio product photo shoot to the catalog schedule.
Most companies need both. The printed catalog is for trade fairs, distributor visits and showrooms; the digital PDF is for email, WhatsApp and your website. Since both outputs are prepared from the same design, the extra design cost stays limited.
A flipbook is a version of the PDF catalog viewed in a web browser with a page-turn effect; it's shared with a link and needs no download. It isn't essential; for many companies, a well-prepared, lightweight PDF is enough. Flipbook services usually require a subscription or hosting.
If prices change often, we recommend using product codes in the catalog instead of prices and preparing a separate price list. That way, when prices change, only a few pages of the list are updated and the catalog doesn't need reprinting.
Saddle stitching is common for thin catalogs and perfect binding for thicker ones; for technical catalogs that are opened often and kept on the desk, spiral binding is also popular. Inner pages are usually coated paper, with a heavier coated stock and lamination for the cover. The exact paper weight and quantity are settled along with the printer's quote.
Because the catalog is built with master page templates and style definitions, adding or removing products or swapping photos doesn't require designing from scratch. The InDesign source package is handed over to you; you can make updates with us or with your own designer.
A product catalog lists the products you sell with their codes, dimensions and options. A publication in which architecture, construction or contracting firms present their completed work is a portfolio or reference catalog, and it requires a different page structure.