Catalogs continue to be an important marketing tactic for ecommerce, retail, and B2B companies. Their strong ROI means there are good opportunities in nearly every industry. The wholesale catalog printing services at Western Trade Printing (WTP) can help print resellers attract new clients and sell more to existing clients.
Print Catalogs Continue to Deliver Strong ROI
Print catalogs have an enduring power. Even pure-online retailers like Amazon, Wayfair, Bonobos, and Birchbox have started printing and mailing catalogs.
It’s due in part to the catalog’s ability to generate good return on investment, even though it requires a larger initial investment. It’s also due in part to the fact that print catalogs resonate with consumers. They also stand out in the physical mailbox far more than promotional emails in the digital inbox.
Statistics from a Xerox catalog study and the US Post Office on print catalogs backs this up.
✅ 57% of consumers prefer printed over digital catalogs.
✅ 69% of consumers consult a printed catalog before making an online purchase.
✅ Recipients view catalogs for an average of 15 to 30 minutes.
✅ 77% of recipients visit a retail store due to a printed catalog promo.
In a test mailing of 300,000 catalogs by European retailer Bonprix, personalized catalog pages based on customer profiles and past purchases resulted in a 500% higher response rate from current customers and a 400% higher response rate from previously "inactive" customers.
Clients Served by Western Trade Printing (WTP)
Our catalog printing services (and all other WTP services) are available to all resellers in the printing trade. This includes print brokers, commercial printing companies, quick copy printers, publishers, and ad agencies.
We work one-to-one with our clients on any job. For example, we often help clients develop “foot in the door” print projects to establish new relationships with highly desirable target customers.
Another example—we’ll demonstrate how much target clients can save with our bulk mail process. These savings often go into the thousands of dollars on a single mailing. Numbers like that will typically guarantee an audience with the most resistant of buyers.
Read these printing business case studies for details about how we collaborate with clients for significant, sustained growth.
Wholesale Catalog Printing Production Equipment
WTP has a range of offset and digital printing equipment to produce short and long run catalogs. This includes Heidelberg and Komori 2, 4, and 5 color presses with in-line aqueous coating and CPC.
Our bindery equipment also handles 40” sheets for maximum, cost-effective production.
For short to medium runs, we use our 19” digital color press and a high-speed digital press for printing black. Our digital production includes an inline saddle-stitch booklet maker with its unique “square bind” technology. This keeps books lying flat so they don’t look like they came off a copier. It also allows us to pass along significant, aggressive cost savings to our clients.
Our bindery also includes a perfect binder to produce short-run perfect bound catalogs and books.
WTP also has die cutting equipment available to help produce creative catalog covers with custom cutouts or windows.
Catalog Print Finishing Options
There are a variety of high-impact print finishing options available for catalogs. These include Aqueous coating, UV coating, and varnishes.
Papers for Wholesale Print Catalogs
We have a large inventory of coated and uncoated text and cover paper available for both offset and digitally printed catalogs. This includes popular 80# and 100# gloss and dull (silk) book and cover stocks.
For companies working on high-end custom catalogs, we have a wide range of premium and premium recycled sheets available.
Eco-Friendly Papers and Substrates
All our paper and synthetic offerings are recyclable, which means you can freely print the recyclable logo on your printed projects.
Western Trade Printing only buys quality paper and synthetics that are responsibly manufactured to exceed USA regulations. Because of this, our house stocks are typically a higher quality sheet than most of the imported sheets in use today.
Catalog Binding Options at WTP
WTP has a range of binding options to suit your client’s printing specs and turnaround times.
Saddle Stitched Catalogs
We do in-house catalog saddle stitching on our Muller Martini Saddle Stitcher with 4th/5th knife attachment.
Shorter runs are delivered fast on our digital press with its inline saddle-stitch booklet maker. This unique “square bind” technology delivers books that are nice and flat, unlike many copier systems that do inline stitching.
Perfect Bound Catalogs
WTP offers in-house perfect binding and printing service for rapid turnaround on short to medium quantities of catalogs. This capacity for rapid turnaround, from a few pieces to a few thousands, also gives clients the option of variable data capability.
Coil Binding for Catalogs
WTP has coil binding available for a wide range of booklets and catalogs.
Wire-O Binding (Double Loop Binding) for Catalogs
We also handle Wire-O (double loop) binding which can be used for catalogs.
Plastic Comb Binding (GBC Binding) for Catalogs
Plastic comb binding, also called GBC binding, is another binding technique that can be used on catalogs.
Print Catalog Sustainability at WTP
WTP demonstrates its commitment to environmental responsibility through FSC® Chain of Custody certification, ensuring their paper products can be traced back to responsibly managed forests.
In addition to our eco-friendly papers, the company's use of lean manufacturing principles further enhances sustainability efforts through an all-digital workflow, chemical-free plate processing, computerized press controls, and energy-efficient digital printing capabilities. Together, these practices minimize waste while maintaining high quality standards according to a strict G7® methodology.
WTP’s eco-friendly print operations extends to their use of soy and vegetable-based inks, which offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based products. These inks, crafted from various plant oils including linseed, tung, castor, canola, and safflower, are carefully blended to optimize their printing properties while reducing environmental impact.
WTP’s commitment to sustainability in materials and processes means that our clients can offer in-depth sustainable printing services as their own.
Catalog Mailing and Fulfillment at WTP
We offer catalog mailing and fulfillment services here at WTP. Our mailing process is known for saving clients thousands of dollars on bulk mail postage costs. We do this by systematically using USPS Destination Entry discounts and list enhancements.
Surprisingly, there are even some mailing companies that fail to fully take advantage of these USPS bulk mail discounts for their clients.
Why would they do this?
Many clients believe that there are only two classes of mail – first class and bulk mail. And mailers are happy to go along because it’s easier for them to simply offer a “bulk mail” discount. The real postage discounts take work. And we do that on behalf of our clients. In fact, you can send us a recent mailing list and we’ll show you what you might have saved.
Questions About Catalog Design, Layout, or Production?
At Western Trade Printing, we have 250+ years of collective printing industry experience. We know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to printing operations, design, layout, paper folding, gluing, scoring, perforating, mailing, and all types of bindery operations.
Our staff experience is an asset that is yours to use to help you grow your business. Simply give us a call with your questions at 559-251-8595 ext. 1.
Reviews of Western Trade Printing | Fresno, CA
Below are two recent reviews. You can read more Western Trade Printing reviews here.
These guys are fantastic! They go above and way beyond to make sure your project is perfect. Their services are on point, they have a true eye for detail, and they are a trade printer, so they care about their business clients and build relationships with them. I can’t rave about their customer service enough. I'm truly impressed!
Juliet Fox
We are treated as a valued customer every time. We have always received prompt replies to estimates, proofs are turned around quickly, product is as we would expect it. Always, great communication throughout the process and their pricing is spot on!
Merrill Kagan-Weston
Get a Trade Printing Quote for a Catalog | California and Western States
If you’re new to Western Trade Printing, you can create an account here to get instant online quotes and to place online orders.
Go here for instant online quotes on standard size catalogs.
For additional sizes, quantities, paper and binding options, please submit your Custom Quote Request here and we’ll get back to you shortly, usually within a few hours.
Or call us at 559-251-8595 ext. 1.
Additional Print Catalog Resource:
Checklist – Essential Elements for an Effective Print Catalog
Areas Served by Western Trade Printing
With its trade printing production facility in Fresno, California, Western Trade Printing offers wholesale printing, bindery, and mailing services to the trade throughout California and the western states.
Our service area includes all the major metropolitan areas in California including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, as well as the surrounding regions. Our reach also extends to all the western states including Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Washington.
