For this article we visited a professional printer. He answered a few questions about printing a catalog. Here are his answers :
The file must be sent as a PDF.
Crop marks are no longer essential.
The paper types are as follows : coated paper and offset. For the choice of paper it depends on the result you are looking for : for example, the more the paper weight increases the less there is transparency and the more the result of the document is qualitative. An offset paper will give a more environmentally friendly appearance for the end customer.
For covers, it is preferable to establish separate files (which are also sent to the printer in PDF format).
There is no "best" technique, this is to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis (quantity, format, number of pages and impressions, finishing, etc.)
Yes, very important. High resolution images must have 300 dpi (dots per inch).
As a reminder : the more points per inch, the better the resolution of an image. The details will be finer. The resolution is therefore to be distinguished from the definition, which gives the number of pixels displayed on a screen (for example 1,280 x 1,024).
The formats most used are the A4 french style (but also italian style = landscape) and the format A5. All other formats are used, there is no better.
See you next time !
Some examples of catalogs realized with Catbuilder :