Menu Printing

Benefits of Having a Printed Menu

The digital age has taken the country by storm, and the current pandemic has further increased the use of technology in the forms of meetings and touchless everything. Menus are no exception and touchless, digital menus serve customers well. QR code meets mobile device and voila! Instant menu.

Printed menus have not gone out of fashion, however, and still serve a very real purpose in the restaurant world. Most people are more familiar with a printed menu and expect one when visiting. They are easier to use and can be better outfitted to incorporate images and colors for marketing purposes. They also take the brand you have created and place it straight into the hands of the customer.

Characteristics of a High-Quality Menu

A simple, easy-to-read menu should be a priority during the design process. Images can increase sales of highlighted items, but too many can clutter the menu and make it cumbersome to use. It’s also important to check that any images used are high quality. Customers tend to equate the quality of images with that of the food. Ideally, highlight the items the sell most readily with one or two photos or other visual elements.

Having too many items listed per section can also overwhelm customers. Twelve items per section should be the goal, with the most popular sections placed in the upper right hand corner of the menu. Customers typically look at this section first, and placing your post popular items there can help ensure a positive experience.

How to Organize a Printed Menu

Interestingly, there is an entire field of study in the area of organizing a printed menu. There are a variety of ways to do it well. Think about the way a person would logically look for items on a menu and arrange it in that manner. Organizing a menu left to right usually makes the most sense, beginning with Appetizers, moving onto Soups/Salads and then to Desserts. Insert the sides where they fit best and, if the restaurant serves a full breakfast, it is typically recommended that the restaurant have a separate insert or page for those items.

Menu Branding and Color Schemes

There is a wide array of templates to consider when designing a menu. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the brand of your restaurant ought to be reflected in the printed menu. Choose colors that complement one another well and be sure there is a stark contrast between the font and the background color, while also ensuring the colors and the template are consistent with the brand of the restaurant.

The Printing Process

Menus are printed on a digital printer or a high-speed offset printer. The former option is used for orders of less than 1000 menus and the latter options used for larger quantities. The takeout menus are then scored and folded.

The customer sees a menu before they ever taste the food, and it is important to take all of these things into consideration when designing your printed menu. As the saying goes, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”