220x180mm Booklets
4pp Cover onto 170gsm Uncoated FSC Certified
28pp Inside pages onto 115gsm Uncoated FSC Certified
Four colour print throughout
Staple Bound
David Powell wanted a neat, simple photo booklet he could take into meetings as a portfolio piece — something that feels confident in the hand, opens easily, and lets the images do the talking. We kept the production deliberately no-fuss: uncoated FSC stocks, four-colour throughout, and staple binding for a clean, practical finish.
Two things make this booklet work as a self-promo tool: the custom 220×180mm size (small enough to handle like a zine, different enough to stand out), and a cover that’s pure branding — a strong navy block that pops against a soft grey background.
If you’re planning something similar, our zine printing service is a great starting point, and the Ex Why Zed print journey lays out exactly what happens from file handover to delivery.
This is a photography portfolio booklet aimed at potential clients — media agencies and photo commissioners — plus anyone who follows David’s work. The pacing is confident: plenty of breathing room, clear margins, and image groupings that feel curated rather than crammed. Each spread gives the photographs first place, so the viewer stays with the work, not the layout.
We printed the booklet at 220×180mm with a 4pp cover on 170gsm uncoated FSC stock, and 28pp inside pages on 115gsm uncoated FSC stock. Uncoated paper is a brilliant choice for a portfolio like this — it feels honest and tactile, and it suits a mix of black-and-white and colour photography without adding shine or glare.
Staple binding keeps everything simple and functional: it opens easily, sits comfortably in the hands, and stays cost-effective for small runs — exactly what you want when you’re printing a handful of copies for meetings.
The cover is a masterclass in restraint. That navy branding block “jumps” off the grey, and the whole thing reads instantly — perfect for handing across a table in a meeting. Inside, the layouts keep returning to one clear idea: the photography is the hero on every spread.
There’s also a smart range in the edit. You get energetic sports moments, tighter portrait work, and calmer sequences with plenty of white space — which makes the booklet feel like a considered showcase of capability, not just a dump of favourite shots.
David didn’t have access to InDesign and planned to build the booklet in Photoshop, exporting a print-ready PDF. We confirmed that was absolutely fine — the key is supplying a high-res PDF and allowing for bleed, even if you’re not running full-bleed images.
We advised David to mimic bleed by building the document 3mm larger on each edge, and we reassured him we’d preflight and flag anything that didn’t look right before anything went to press. Once the files arrived, we checked the reading order together and sent a final proof for sign-off. David requested a quick page swap, we turned that around immediately, and then it was ready for print.
If you’re building files without layout software, these two guides are worth bookmarking: setting 3mm bleed for print and our step-by-step booklet PDF guide.
This project is a great example of what we do best: friendly, account-managed support, practical file guidance, and a proper preflight before printing. For a portfolio booklet on a deadline, that reassurance matters — especially when the artwork is being built in Photoshop rather than a publishing app.
We also helped refine the spec as the project evolved, moving to the final custom size and page count that suited David’s meeting needs, while keeping the production straightforward and dependable.
For more inspiration, browse our print portfolio of real projects or start your own build via the Printed Project Builder.
