How Much Do Catalogs Cost?

Before we get into what the cost of a catalog is, we have to speak on the fact that catalogs are good & effective for a number of industries at driving brand awareness, recall, generating direct response and delivering sales. So whatever the cost you can expect to get a big return from this asset.

With that being said, the biggest questions our customers ask are “How much do catalogs cost?” and “What price range am I looking at for buying catalogs?”

The answer is that it depends, and can be arrived at by looking at all of the factors that go into designing and producing the catalog. 

For example you could order a single (1) catalog with a dimension of 5.5” x 8.5”, with only 8 pages, use a satin finish, have 70 lb stock paper and pay $26 or you could order some other combination of finishing, sizes and options or embellishments with as high of a volume as you want which can drop the per unit cost, but will drastically increase your overall cost. To make things simple we’ll focus on the per unit cost in answering this question.

So “How much do Catalogs cost?” in General you can expect to pay a per unit catalog cost between $26 and $0.50 cents using an average order quantity and average catalog option selection.

Factors Affecting Catalog Prices

Although we’ve given an answer to the question on how much catalogs actually cost we also wanted to share the factors that go into how catalog prices are affected and calculated.

Below we’ve broken out each of the main variables that determine cost with details on each.

Catalog Price Factor 1: Quantity of Catalogs

While it might seem obvious to say this, the total number of catalogs you want to print plays a large part in the overall cost of catalog printing. The more printed catalogs you want to produce, the higher the total cost of the project but the lower the cost of the per unit price.

Catalog Price Factor 2: Page Count of the Catalog

This one is pretty simple, the higher the number of pages the higher the cost of the catalog. More pages equals more printed material. You have a higher paper cost, potential additional binding costs, higher ink usage and a longer project run time which all adds up to more cost. On the other hand if you have fewer pages the catalog will cost less.

Catalog Price Factor 3: Size of the Catalog

There are a number of popular catalog dimensions and one way to keep costs low is to use those standard popular sizes, because there is more stock supply out there which is bought in bulk and can keep costs down. Alternatively if you use custom dimensions you’ll have higher costs due to the exceptions that may be necessary during the printing and manufacturing process. Plus you lose the economies of scale savings from the bulk standard buys.

It’s also simple to point out that the larger a catalog is the more it will cost due to there being more material and ink used. Indirect costs such as shipping or direct mail will also increase due to size and weight.

Catalog Price Factor 4: Weight of the Paper

It should come as no surprise that the type of paper, or the weight of the paper, has a great impact on the cost of your catalog. Heavier weighted paper costs more than the lighter paper stock available for your project. The use of a heavy paper for the cover is critical for its durability while the inside pages can have a lighter weight.

Catalog Price Factor 5: Finishing Options

You will also want to consider what type of finishing options to use as it affects the final look and feel of your project. The first thing to do is decide if you want to use a glossy finish or a matte finish on your paper.  Then, you need to decide how to bind your pages together.  The most cost-effective type of binding is saddle stitching which uses two or three staples at the seam to bind/stitch the pages together. Another very popular binding option is perfect binding which uses glue to hold the pages together. 

Regardless of your choices, some options are more expensive and having more finishes overall can increase the cost of your catalogs.

Catalog Price Factor 6: Postage & Handling

Do you plan to mail your catalogs? If so, you will need to include the cost of postage and mailing into your budget. Some businesses mail their catalogs on their own while others have their printer mail them because it is cost-effective and efficient. Many printers, like Fotorecord, handle direct mail services on a daily basis. The postage and handling price varies based on the size of the catalog and if you already have a mailing list you are ready to use.

Catalog Price Factor 7: Turnaround Time

Lastly we wanted to mention that if you need your project done quickly or at least quicker than the standard turnaround time, you can in many cases expect to pay an extra fee to “skip the line” and move your project ahead of other scheduled work.

Other Costs When Creating a Catalog

Of course there are the manufacturing costs of producing the catalogs in a print shop, but there are also costs associated with the development of what the catalog will look like as well as the content inside. Here we break down the 3 areas of catalog development before they get printed.

The cost to design a catalog

Every catalog requires design. Things like the front cover, back cover, and internal page layouts. In most cases a graphic designer or agency will create this and is what the print company will actually replicate on their presses or digital printing equipment.

The cost to write catalog copy

Your catalog will also contain copy. Headlines, titles, body copy, descriptions and more. All of this will need to be concepted, outlined, written, proofread, refined and finalized before sending to print.

The cost of catalog photography or illustrations

In most cases catalogs have pictures of some type. This could be actual photography or it could be illustrated artwork. Either way you’ll need to have a designer or photographer take or create these images.

For each of these indirect costs you’ll need to decide if you have someone internally create the design, write the copy and create the imagery or have someone from the outside do it such as an agency or freelancer / contractor.

Typically external help will cost more directly, but you’ll also want to consider the opportunity cost of using your internal people.

Now you have it! Everything you need to know about determining the cost of a catalog and you can choose to decide how you want to address cost, whether that is just the cost of the printing or the total cost of producing the creative as well as the printing, but again, regardless of how you think about it, you can expect to pay between $26 and $0.50 per catalog depending on the factors we’ve shared in this article.
When you are ready to plan your next catalog printing project, our team can help you determine the total cost of your project, do an amazing job and get you the results you’ve been looking for.

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Phone: 724-837-0530