Your corporate brochure is THE crucial marketing tool for your brand. It will likely be the first contact point for your business and a lasting memory in a potential clients’ mind. Creating a great first impression will ensure your brochure finds a prime spot on their desk and everytime they shuffle their papers, that's right, it could be subconsciously winning you a big contract.
With that in mind, welcome to Ex Why Zed, we are specialist brochure printers! We will print you a stunning piece that does justice to your work and products, makes your brand stand out and will make your client reach for it time and time again.
In this video, we delve deep into everything you need to know about creating stunning booklets. Whether you're a designer, photographer, illustrator, or SME owner, this guide is packed with valuable insights and practical tips to help you print the perfect booklet.
• Understand what is the ideal number of pages for staple binding.
• Explore various applications, from marketing brochures to high-end corporate booklets.
• Learn about different binding options, including staple binding (saddle stitching), perfect binding, and their best use cases.
• Discover the best paper types and sizes to use including standard and custom options.
• Get examples of cost-effective booklet specifications that don't compromise on quality.
• Avoid common pitfalls in booklet design and printing with our expert advice.
We have been doing this a while now and have seen a lot of impressive publications come off our presses. To give you a head start with your brochure printing, here are three print specifications which work well (and photos of them, see right). Each has its own characteristics which have proven to be winning combinations from a production perspective, cost per unit and most importantly, have reader appeal.
If any of our showcase options would work for your project, take a note of the spec and jump on our quote form to receive your bespoke quotation. Or ping us an email on hello@exwhyzed.com if that is easier.
Showcase 1 - a versatile landscape stapled brochure:
A4 Landscape Wire Stitched Books
4pp Cover onto 300gsm Silk
Matt Lamination to outer
32pp Text onto 130gsm Silk
Four colour print throughout.
As a guide, you could print 100 copies of this for £.
Showcase 2 - a comprehensive, perfect bound brochure to display your whole range of products and services:
A5 Perfect Bound Books
4pp Cover onto 300gsm Silk
Matt Lamination to outer
96pp Text onto 120gsm Uncoated
Four colour print throughout
As a guide, you could print 1000 copies of this for £.
Showcase 3 - a cost-effective square, stapled brochure ideal for posting and mass distribution:
210x210mm Wire Stitched Books
32pp Self Cover onto 115gsm Uncoated
Four colour print throughout
As a guide, you could print 100 copies of this for £.
Tweaks you could consider...
• Reducing the cover to 250gsm which also makes it easier to open.
• Switching to gloss lamination for a shiny aesthetic.
• Decrease the size to A5 to save you money and make the publication more ergonomic.
• OR increase to A4 or even A3 to create an impressive larger area of content.
• Increase the weight of the inside pages to 170gsm making it more substantial and impressive for the reader.
• Pick a logo or line of text on the cover for Spot UV varnishing or foiling to make it stand out (this is an additional £280).
We are proud that a large percentage of our business comes from repeat orders and happy client referrals without the need for expensive advertising campaigns. In turn this helps us keep our prices down which ultimately helps make your projects more commercially viable. Win win!
Ex Why Zed want to become a reliable cog in YOUR supply mechanism. We enjoy doing what we do and take absolute pride in helping all of our customers from start to finish on their print journey.
Here a selection of companies both large and small who regularly trust us with their print projects.
When you get in touch with us, you will speak to someone who knows about your project and is super knowledgable about the print process. We are friendly, patient and crucially accessible so will regularly get back to you out of office hours - not like the part timers at other print companies 🙂
We at Ex Why Zed produce business printing that conveys quality and personality in equal measure. Our recent projects show the variety and impact possible, from the compact Sabina Savage Collection Lookbooks to the inviting Our Tiny Bees Product Guides and the bold Slick Gorilla A Slick Summer to Remember. We have also crafted publications like Stella McCartney Sport x Adidas, When is Enough, Shelter at 50, Castrads Lookbooks, Vevo dscvr, R U on TikTok, and Jewels of Soho, all of which demonstrate our commitment to premium materials, fresh layouts, and seamless print finishes.
For a polished result, we recommend well-chosen paper stocks, clear layouts, and finishing options like matt lamination or wire-stitching. Each detail helps elevate brochures, booklets, or zines, whether you’re highlighting new products or celebrating milestones. Have a look at the vibrant Forward Thinking Hair Colour and the large-format A Year in Review at Factory Media to see how striking visuals and thoughtful formats can spark excitement. If you want support with a community project, What’s Happening at The Place is proof that print can unite people. Contact us for specialist guidance and start your next business printing journey with Ex Why Zed.
Enjoy looking through our showcase of recent brochure printing.
We at Ex Why Zed teamed up with Paq Works, Nike, and Offspring to produce “Please Read First”—a 240x170mm perfect-bound book packed with bold visuals and a Pantone-infused colour palette. The 66-page text block, printed on recycled 120gsm Revive Offset, is wrapped in a 300gsm uncoated cover with matt lamination plus a translucent dust jacket. This design merges streetwear flair with premium printing, reflecting the vibrant energy of Nike Air Max and showcasing the power of creative collaborations.
For an engaging reader experience, we included a carefully chosen mix of uncoated stock, CMYK+Pantone print, and a playful dust jacket to add visual impact. The key lesson: combine an eye-catching finish (like a removable dust jacket) with a balanced layout that spotlights strong artwork. Click here to explore the full case study and see how this project proves that pushing print boundaries can enhance brand storytelling.
If you were "just wondering" about something, well “just wonder” no more, here are the answers!
We are in England’s oldest town, Colchester.
Ready to place an order? Brilliant, you'll need to upload the files using www.wetransfer.com sending them to hello@exwhyzed.com and in the comments box let us know the number of copies you're going for and the best address for delivery. We'll then give your artwork a free preflight check to highlight any potential issues and will email with any advice or recommendations before going to production.
Once we receive your print ready artwork, we'll aim to deliver in 5/6 working days (we do get busy at degree show time). If you are working to a crucial deadline PLEASE allow more time - there's no harm in getting the artwork to us early so we can deliver a few days before the show starts 🙂
We have a smooth, no fuss ordering system. Use wetransfer.com to send us the print ready PDF and our eagle eyed pre-press team will give it a preflight check. You will then receive a final PDF proof to check on screen and once that is approved we’ll go to print. Easy!
This depends a little on what exactly you would like to print but, in general, we will aim to deliver the finished brochures in 5 working days after receiving your print-ready artwork (bespoke options do add more time). If you are working to a crucial hand in deadline then we strongly advise leaving more time in case there are any artwork issues with your files or courier problems with delivery.
Additionally there can be a day or two of amends required to the artwork before it's print ready which we're more than happy to help with but you'll need to factor that in to timings.
Remember, we’ll need a hi res pdf file with 3mm bleed and crop marks on each edge to go ahead please. Sending it over correctly first time means we can go straight to print. Do have a last check through our file set up guides to make sure all the boxes are ticked.
Once we have checked your artwork we will send over an invoice for you to pay by online bank transfer or credit card through Stripe.
We like to interact with our customers, find out about their projects and have a bit of dialogue rather than hide behind a website. For this reason we don’t list all our prices online but get in touch either in email or through our quote form and we will give you a bespoke quote.
