Consumers have not given up their long time affair with catalogs.  Just today, a Santa Rosa business owner came by to have me drill holes in a catalog he had just received so that he could put it in his binder.  Sonoma County businesses would be wise to keep their catalogs.

Catalogs and online shopping account for a large percentage of the total consumer sales.  L.L. Bean customers shop more via the web than traditional print catalogs, but print catalogs are a big factor in generating online customers orders.

In a study by the USPS (post office), consumers who receive catalogs in the mail are more than twice as likely to make an online purchase, compared to consumers who don’t receive catalogs, regardless of household income, education or geography.

A Direct Marketing Association survey showed that 59%of catalog shoppers will keep catalogs they from at least three months or until a new copy arrives.  Catalogs are used and do help sales.  They drive business to online shopping.

Ajalon Printing has been printing catalogs for many years.  I remember when most catalogs were in black and white and we had to paste up copy with artwork.  Today most of our catalogs are in color and everything is done digitally.

We recently looked at a catalog that was made up of cards that were laminated and then bound together.  The products were sold to manufacturers and catalogs are hung in harsh production environments, so they needed to be sturdy.

So when you need to get that catalog printed Ajalon is the place to turn.  And we can help you get your products online on your website.  We have onsite photography studios and a team of skilled designers waiting to help you.  Call 707.528.0288 or email us at ajalon@ajalon.com today.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

Program guides are really like catalogs but list services provided rather than items to be sold.  They are a little different from newsletters, which can include events and services provided as well as newsletter items.  Gyms, non-profits and schools are businesses that use program guides.

The Santa Rosa Junior College class schedule and Community Education Bulletin are examples of program guides.  You can find a lot of these bulletins and guides in places like Sawyer’s News in Santa Rosa or Copperfield Books in Sebastopol or Petaluma.

In some ways a catalog, program guide or bulletin is really just grown up brochure or newsletter. Services or programs grow to the point they can’t fit into one of these former printed publications, and become a stand alone catalog.

We have worked with guides for the Occidential Arts and Ecology Center, the Angela Center in Santa Rosa and programs from Life School in Bodega Bay.  We can help with design and layout or just take your files and prepare them for printing.

Some smaller organizations don’t need thousands of program guides and we can economically produce smaller numbers with our digital capabilities.  We are always happy to talk with you and assist you at whatever stage you are in with putting together your program guide or bulletin.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design