Printing Union Pamphlets: A Guide
One of the most powerful productivity tools a union has available is the effective use of union pamphlets. Pamphlets are typically folded, single-sheet-printed items that do a great job of helping people learn important information.
So how do you even get started printing your own union pamphlets? Fortunately, the process is not that difficult.
Read on to our quick guide below to get familiar with some of the most important tips relevant to the printing process:
There are many other types of items you can use to promote or augment your union, like booklets, reports, forms, and much more.
To learn about all the options available or to begin setting up and order now, contact JH French today.
Located in central Hamilton, we service businesses and unions across Canada.
Pamphlets are a quick and easy way to inform people about your union.
Printing Union Pamphlets
1. Planning It Out
The very first thing to do when thinking about ordering union pamphlets, or any other print item for that matter, is to do some planning.
You don’t need to finalize every single detail at this stage, but you want to get a better idea of what you need before you take your request to a print shop.
Define Your Goal
What are you hoping to accomplish with your pamphlets? Are they meant to be a first introduction to how unions operate? Are they meant to advertise for an event, or get workers to come to a meeting? Are they meant to communicate important information about support services and union rights?
Try to make a simple single-sentence goal that encapsulates the purpose of your pamphlets. Then you can refer back to this goal at every step of the planning process so your product stays focused.
Brainstorm the Content
Next, you need to decide what content you want to fill the pamphlets with. We recommend doing this with a small group of 3-5 people. Brainstorming as a group will allow you to hear multiple perspectives of what people think is important.
After coming up with a list of possible things to put in the pamphlets, eliminate anything that is not completely necessary, or doesn’t line up with the goal you already established. You can make further edits later, but this is a helpful early step.
Establish a Budget
Pamphlets may only cost $1 per unit, but that price can increase if you use specialty paper or features (such as foiling or embossing), but that price can also decrease significantly if you order a large number of pamphlets at one time.
The most important factor when it comes to the price of your union pamphlets is volume. The larger the order, the cheaper the price per unit will be.
2. Finalizing Your Design
Graphic design can be intimidating, fortunately, there are many free resources you can find online that provide guidance on how to structure a union pamphlet and sites where you can download templates you can use instead of creating your own.
Union Pamphlet Templates
The design of your pamphlet can change based on your goal from before. For example, if you wanted your design to be very people-focused, you may want to use a pamphlet with lots of faces, like this one:
Pictures of smiling people send a friendly message | Source
Or perhaps your union is in a tech or finance industry, so you may want a design that’s cleaner and simpler, like this one:
Flat colours and simple lines look clean and corporate | Source
Whatever your need, you can find hundreds of free pamphlet templates online you can choose from.
Alternatively, you can ask your local print shop if they offer graphic design services as well.
3. Preparing to Print
Once you have a goal, a budget, and a design, you can start planning the printing process.
The Importance of Editing
Before you submit your final design, just remember to edit your pamphlet front to back. If you know someone trained in copyediting or graphic design, ask them to look it over for spelling and grammar mistakes.
Remember, your pamphlet will represent your union, so if it looks unprofessional, then that will reflect poorly on your union, so take your time and edit, even if multiple revisions are needed.
Different Printing Options
There are a few different print methods that work best for printing large numbers of union pamphlets:
Offset Printing - Slow to set up, but very cost-effective for larger print runs.
Digital Printing - Faster and more precise than offset printing, but often more expensive. However, digital printing can allow you to print each item with different details (for example, unique addresses), through the use of variable data printing (VDP).
Your pamphlets will not need any special features, as they are meant to be simple and disposable.
Your local print shop can advise you on the methods that are right for your project.
4. Using the Right Print Shop
The last thing you have to do is find the right printing company to print your pamphlets.
When researching potential print companies, we recommend looking for these three key features:
Experience - The longer a company has been open, the more likely it is that they know what they’re doing and have built up a consistent customer base. For example, JH French has been open for over 100 years and is still going strong.
Flexibility - If you get in touch with a print shop you’ll be able to learn all the different services they offer. Pamphlets are not that difficult to print, but if you want to print a different product, it’s helpful to already be working with a print shop that can accommodate you.
Union Specialists - And of course, find a shop that supports unions. Many independent print shops are happy to work with unions and have a lot of experience doing so.
You can always change which print shop you’re working with in between projects, but if you put in a bit of work at the start, you may find a print shop that you can come back to over and over again.
Many unions also need things like calendars, binders, and forms.
5. Future Projects
After you’ve completed the process of placing a print order once, it becomes much less intimidating to do it again in the future.
When looking forward, it’s helpful to consider the following when planning future print projects:
Mailing & Shipping
If your union is in a small town, your printing options may be more limited. Therefore it’s worth finding a shop that also offers mailing and shipping services because your orders can be shipped to wherever you need them to go.
Building a Relationship
One amazing benefit of working with a local, independent print shop is the possibility of developing a professional rapport.
Having a favourite shop that knows your union can expedite future orders and make it easier to ask questions and gain insight into the process.
Print Union Pamphlets With JH French
Experienced, passionate, honest.
We’ve been serving Hamilton, Ontario, and organizations across Canada for over a century.
We offer cutting-edge modern printing techniques, as well as dozens of different print products and services.
For printing union pamphlets or any other union print item, trust JH French, the union printing specialists.
“I was recently connected with Glen and everyone at JH French and I couldn’t be happier with the reference. Personal, friendly and professional. When I received my prints I couldn’t have been happier with the results. Real pros who know how to get it done.”