Restaurant owners and managers have many important items on their plates (no pun intended). All restaurants, bars, cafes, cafeterias, and other food-service businesses have one thing in common: they all have menus. You would think that would make it easy to choose the best menu for your particular needs, but it can be daunting with so many different choices. Below we will look at some tips on best practices for restaurant menu printing.
Consider Your Menu Options
Laminate or not? Pamphlet or single page? Thin paper or matted? Do we have images? How many menu items? What about pricing? Who designed your menu? How many menus do we need?
There are even more options and choices when restaurant menu printing. Don’t let printing them be an afterthought. A menu is one of the most important aspects in the operation of a restaurant. Printing menus on a back office printer will not have a professional look. It may seem easy and even cost-effective, but unless your menu changes every day or you include daily specials on single-printed paper, don’t print your menus in the back office.
Your menu is a selling tool. If done right and professionally laid out, it can attract patrons to certain high-profit or popular dishes. Menus tell a story about your restaurant. If they look bad, seem cheap, or are poorly laid out, the menu may look unprofessional and the diner may feel the same about all the aspects of your operation.
By using our professional digital services for restaurant menu printing, you can ensure bright colors, good quality waterproof paper, high resolution, and a professional look and feel your diners can be confident in. If your diners are impressed by your menu beyond the food options, it can lead to an overall positive experience.
Consider Your Paper Options
Using sturdy paper that feels good to pick up and handle is also part of a winning menu. If it is a folding menu, can it stand up on its own, or is the paper too flimsy? We have five senses–one is touch. Nothing is worse than a cheap-feeling lightweight paper that is stained or frayed. Dining out should be an experience; part of that is the right feel of the menu in your hands. Your restaurant’s menu is the first impression of a customer’s food experience.
Consider the difference between Lamination and Waterproofed Paper When Printing Restaurant Menus
Lamination sometimes is conceived as cheap as it often separates and splits at the seams. Our waterproof menu paper will resist almost all stains and is completely wipeable with most restaurant present cleaners, such as 409, Windex, or degreasers and our product is eco-friendly. It does not separate and split at the seams.
Other Considerations for Printing Restaurant Menus
Use of Fonts
For many restaurants, food images are not used so the menu text must be readable. That would mean using a 12-point font minimum for the food item and description and an 18-point font minimum for a category such as appetizers, etc. The item should be in capital letters or bold to distinguish it from the description. Do not use italics for descriptions. A person’s eyes are trained from reading newspapers and books which all use a Roman-style font. Only use italics to emphasize certain items. Before sending your file for print, be sure to proofread it very carefully.
Have a few people also look it over. You can send us your menu files for a free analysis.
Want more restaurant menu printing tips?
—
For the best restaurant menu printing options, look no further than THE MENU STORE. We have produced menus for thousands of restaurants over the past twenty-two (22) years and have all five-star reviews on Google. We specialize in creating restaurant menus from start to finish and are here to work with you every step of the way. Have questions? Please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email for a free menu analysis. Our contact information is:
THE MENU STORE, INC.
Phone: 800-815-5342
Email: tom@menustore.com