Top 5 Print Publication Formats for Corporate Use

Some print publication formats are just more useful for corporations than others. They’re more versatile, more impactful, or more integral to day-to-day operations than the rest.

So, if you’re trying to decide where to focus your organization’s printing budget, or if you just aren’t sure what the most effective print solutions are for your team, we’ve got you covered. Based on nearly a century in the business of printing, here is our top 5 list for the most useful print publication formats for corporations.

1. Product Catalogs 

There’s a reason that millions of paper product catalogs continue to be mailed out every year, despite the surge in online shopping. This format fosters a uniquely compelling, physical connection between your brand and your customers, one that can’t be replicated digitally. It makes products feel more real and, consequently, more desirable. 

Catalogs also give corporations total control over the impression their products make, with no risk of broken assets or distractions from competing search results. Confidence that ‘what you see is what you’ll get’ appeals to corporations and customers alike. Afterall, buyers are tired of wading through knockoffs on ecommerce websites. A print catalog provides a level of trustworthiness you just can’t buy online.

2. Corporate Brochures

Unlike a catalog, a corporate brochure isn’t usually focused on selling products. It’s a tool for selling the corporation itself, to prospective employees, clients, investors, and so on. Using a print format for this purpose offers several big advantages.

First, printed brochures can be handed to someone. They can be opened-up, specific details can be pointed to, circled, or highlighted. In other words, you can ensure the recipient sees what you want them to see. On the other hand, when you tell someone to click a link or visit your website, your basically letting luck decide what they come across first.

Second, printed brochures stay with the person they’re given to. Even when they’re closed and slipped away, into a folder or a pocket, it’s different from closing a browser window. They remain physically present with that person, ready to be referenced or even stumbled across accidentally at a later date. They basically guarantee ongoing touch points, ideal for gradually building up your brand in their mind.

3. Company Profiles

Similar to corporate brochures, company profiles promote your corporation, often to investors. The advantages of a print company profiles are similar to the advantages of brochures, just magnified. This is because a first impression is often the only chance corporations get with investors. Everything has to be put together in a single, beautiful, compelling, succinct presentation. Print provides the best opportunity to control all the variables and ensure that presentation is exactly how you want it to be.

4. Annual Reports

Annual reports can be dense literature, filled with information and numbers. Even seasoned professionals can struggle to digest and follow such reports when they’re only available digitally. Providing print copies makes it much easier for recipients to make notes, highlight important details, and a flip back and forth between sections.

But printed annual reports are more than just practical. Done right, they can also help your corporation mold the impression the information makes with stakeholders. With the right paper, design, and finishes, you can take control of even tricky or disappointing narratives and help spin them in a more favorable direction.

5. Training Manuals 

Finally, training manuals. Unlike the marketing and client-facing formats we’ve already highlighted, this last format is a purely internal piece of collateral. That may lead some to believe that print quality isn’t a big deal. Just staple some loose-leaf paper together, who cares if it falls apart in a few weeks. We can just keep making replacements, right?

Not only does that approach result in material and resource waste, it also misses several opportunities that a well-made training manual can provide.  When a training manual is professionally printed and bound, using durable materials with impeccable branding, it can do more than just help with training. It can be a source of corporate identity building. It can help employees feel more appreciated-by and connected-to yur organization. And of course, it’s going to last a heck of a lot longer, becoming a truly useful tool to the employee who receives it.

Find the Right Format for Your Corporation with Wallace Carlson

Whether you choose one of the print publication formats listed here, or have something else in mind for your company, Wallace Carlson Printing can help. We’ve got the experience, the technology, and a passion for print innovation. Get in touch with us today to get started!