A well-made brochure keeps working for you long after the meeting: it stays on a desk, gets passed to a colleague, reminds people of your offer. A poor one ends up in the recycling bin. Here are the five mistakes we see most often, and how to avoid them.
1. Trying to say everything
It’s tempting to include every service, your whole story and all your photos. The result: dense blocks of text nobody reads. A brochure isn’t a full catalogue. Pick one clear goal (present a service, announce an event, convince a type of client) and keep only what serves it. Your website can cover the rest.
2. Forgetting the call to action
What should the reader do next? Call, visit your website, book, drop by the store? Say it clearly, with a phone number, a short web address or a QR code. Plenty of brochures look great but never ask the reader for anything.
3. Ignoring the fold
A tri-fold isn’t laid out like three sheets side by side. The panels aren’t all the same width (the one that folds inside is slightly narrower), and the reading order changes once folded. The cover panel and the first one seen when opening should carry the main message. Print a mock-up at home and fold it before sending the file.
4. Low-quality images
One blurry or pixelated photo is enough to make the whole brochure look amateur. Images copied from a website are rarely large enough for print: aim for about 300 dpi at the final size. If you don’t have good photos, a stock image or a simple graphic beats a mediocre picture.
5. Skipping proofreading and the proof
A typo in a phone number, an outdated price, a misspelled name: once 1,000 copies are printed, it’s too late. Have a second person proofread, check every contact detail, and approve a proof before printing. Remember too that on-screen colours will never be exactly the colours on paper: that’s precisely what the proof is for.
Bonus: choosing the right format and paper
- Tri-fold (folded letter size): economical, perfect for a display rack or a mailing.
- Saddle-stitched booklet (8 pages or more): for a catalogue or a fuller company presentation.
- Matte paper: easier to read, more understated. Gloss paper: makes photos pop.
We can handle it
We design your tri-fold for $450, or your booklet at $95 per page (8 pages minimum), with a print-ready file. You then order on Onewayprint. All pricing is on the Graphic design page, and our file tips are in the article which file to send to the printer.