Takeout Menu Printing – Why it Matters More Now than Ever Before

With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the world as we knew it, restaurants have had to face multiple challenges. One of the biggest and most significant challenges restaurants faced during the pandemic was the closure of dining rooms. Due to this reason, most restaurants weren’t able to rely on dine-in service to keep their revenue streams flowing. Instead, they relied on takeout orders, online orders, and deliveries. In response to this change, many restaurants have had to redesign or modify their menus to cater to the new format of service. That’s why takeout menu printing has become more essential now than ever before.

Food Promotion & Picture Branding

When it comes to a restaurant’s takeout menu, printing can play a vital role in promoting your business and brand. Well-designed and printed takeout menus create a strong first impression with your customers and give an idea of what they can expect when they order food from your restaurant. Takeout menu printing can help make customers remember your restaurant, even after they’ve already received their food. Make sure that your takeout menus include all the information they need to order, including the restaurant’s phone number, website, address, and social media handles.

Restaurant Food Presentation Matters

The way you present your menu can make all the difference when it comes to encouraging customers to order from your restaurant. Updating your takeout menu with fresh designs, images, and updated pricing is an excellent way to appeal to your customers’ taste buds. They need to see what your restaurant has to offer, and an excellent, professionally printed menu can help draw their attention. Customers are more likely to continue ordering food from your restaurant if they can see what your restaurant has to offer visually.

To Go Menus Are An Cost-Effective Marketing Tool

Marketing tools that are cost-effective are crucial for small businesses, and takeout menus can serve as just that. By including your restaurant’s branding, promotions, and specials on your takeout menus, you can encourage repeat ordering from your regular customers and attract new ones. While other marketing mediums may be expensive, a well-designed and printed takeout menu can help accomplish a lot for your business at a relatively small cost.

Easy to Read and Use

Many customers may not visit your restaurant website or download your online menu. Instead, they may rely entirely on your takeout menus. That is why making them legible, easy to read, and use is key. It ensures that your customers know exactly what they are ordering, and there won’t be any confusion upon receiving their order.

Professional Look and Feel

Finally, one of the most significant benefits of takeout menu printing is the ability to present your restaurant in a professional way. Many customers equate the quality of a restaurant’s printed materials, such as takeout menus, with the quality of their food. In other words, a professional-looking takeout menu can communicate to customers that your restaurant is serious about providing high-quality cuisine. This will help ensure that customers continue to order from you time and time again.

Conclusion:

The pandemic seems to be an ongoing issue for most restaurants. While the future remains uncertain, one thing is for sure – takeout menu printing is more critical now than ever. It’s not only a vital marketing tool for your restaurant, but it’s also a chance to present your business in a professional and visually appealing way to your customers. By designing a well-crafted takeout menu, you can put your best foot forward, provide valuable information, and attract customers local and beyond. So go ahead and design/pick a layout, add your color scheme, logos and your restaurant specials, subsequent pricing and enjoy the profits. Contact BlockbusterPrint.com to help you make it work seamlessly.

Christmas Takeout Menu Design Tips

Right after Thanksgiving, everyone feels the holiday rush – from people scrambling to buy gifts for their loved ones to businesses rushing to meet high customer demand. If you’re a business owner, you can get a head start on the holiday rush by working on your takeout menu printing. Why should you print takeout menus in the first place? Any business owner running a food establishment knows that the key to success is having a well-designed menu, second to the dishes served and the ambiance of the place. If you already have a dine-in menu, you should think about adding a takeout menu for marketing purposes. Those who do not have the time for a full sit-down dinner, or those who would like to enjoy restaurant quality meals minus all the fuss of dressing up would opt for delivery or ordering takeout. Takeout menus also help boost sales, enhance your business’ brand, and encourage repeat orders.

How Do I Design Holiday Takeout Menus?

The last month of the year is the best time to distribute holiday takeout menus. Look for a print shop that offers to go menu printing. Compare the printing packages, printing method, materials, and the turnaround time when ordering – narrow down your choices to two or three print shops then make an informed decision from there.

Next, how can you design takeout menus with a holiday theme? Here are a few quick tips:

  • Choose a suitable size for the takeout menu. Some options include: 4.25” x 11”, 8.5” x 11”, 8.5” x 14”, 9” x 12”, 11” x 17”, and 11” x 25.5”. For the folding styles, you can have anywhere from four to twelve panels or pages.
  • The holiday design can be based on whether you have an upscale or casual restaurant logo. If you have a fine dining establishment, go for design elements like a delicate snowflake or the silhouette of a snow globe. If casual dining is more your style, incorporate illustrations of Santa Clause, reindeers, or colorful Christmas trees. Use the same colors as your business logo to have a more cohesive look.
  • Since it’s the holiday season, offer something new in your menu. It can be a holiday-themed drink, or meal packages that can feed the whole family. Place the menu items in such a way that the highly-profitable, yet easy-to-prepare dishes are highlighted.

Once the online printing shop is done with your takeout menu order, you can have the menus mailed out to your customers. Also display them by the restaurant cashier, place some right outside the restaurant, and distribute them personally in areas where there is high foot traffic. Follow these tips to maximize your restaurant’s profits using takeout menus this holiday season.

Make Your Takeout Menu Stand Out by Choosing the Right Folding Style

Your number one marketing arsenal in the food business is takeout menus. Along with your dine-in menus, these printed advertising materials are the first thing that customers will look for once they walk into your restaurant, or line up by your food cart, coffee shop, or any other food establishment. This is exactly why you should spend time thinking about the design and overall look of your takeout menu.

Different Styles for Takeout Menus

There are many online printing services that you can get in touch with to print those takeout menus for you. Unlike dine-in menus which are used inside the food establishment, the purpose of takeout menus leans more towards marketing. Takeout menus are meant to be distributed so that people will have your menu on hand, and they can easily give you a call if you want to order takeout or delivery. 

If you want your takeout menus to stand out, you can use different folding styles. Here are a few to choose from: 

  • Brochure Folding Style

These menus look like brochures, with the paper folded vertically resulting to several panels or pages. If you have a lot of items on your menu, this is the ideal style to choose because you will have lots of pages to write content in. For example, a legal size 8.5” x 14” brochure can have a trifold folding style so there is a total of six panels or pages. 

  • Postcard Folding Style

If you want the front of the takeout menu to look like a postcard, go for the half fold style. This can be designed with a landscape orientation, and you will have four pages to work with. 

  • Rack Cards Folding Style

The cover of your takeout menu can look like a rack card if you will choose any of these folding styles: trifold, Z-fold, double parallel, roll fold, or accordion. These styles give you anywhere from six to eight panels or pages. 

No matter which of these styles you end up choosing, what’s important is to maximize the use of takeout menu printing to promote your food business.

Why Offices are Your Number One Clients for Takeout Menu Printing

A well-designed menu is a powerful advertising tool for those in the food business. Whether you’re operating a food truck, a small bakery, or a full-service restaurant, menus are a primary selling tool and is the first thing that hungry diners get a hold of. For full-service restaurants, the dine-in menu should be complemented withtakeout menus. The purpose of the latter is more on increasing sales, and filling the gap of customers who prefer the convenience of ordering takeout or delivery instead of eating at your food establishment. 

Why are Offices Your Number One Client for Takeout Menus?

Now, if you would like to increase the number of customers that you have, you must invest in takeout menu printing. For this, simply look for an online printing provider that can create to-go menus for you at affordable prices without compromising on quality. The good news is that there are many print shops from where you can order menus with excellent print and materials. 

Once the menus are printed out, your next focus is to deliver them strategically so that they can reach the right audience. Everyone is a possible customer so you can distribute the menus out on the streets where there is high foot traffic. You can also include the takeout menus on delivery or takeout receipts, supplier invoices, and other paper transactions. Another option is to ask other local, non-competing businesses to display your menus for their own customers to get a hold of. 

Yet another type of clientele that you should not miss out on when it comes to distributing takeout menus is offices. Here are the reasons why offices are your number one client for takeout menus:

  • Employees spend most of their day at work. For a nine-to-five shift, a typical employee will most likely eat two meals and the convenience of ordering food for delivery or takeout is something that they will take advantage of. Those who are working from home are also prospective customers, so make sure that your takeout menu reaches them as well.
  • There are usually employee-focused celebrations at offices where ordering food for delivery is always an option. 
  • Human resource managers and other employees can refer you to other small businesses or large companies. 

With every employee busy going about their day, offering them the convenience of eating restaurant quality food at affordable prices is a marketing opportunity. By distributing takeout menus at offices, you can give your sales a boost, enhance your brand, and increase the likelihood of getting repeat orders from this type of client.

Ways to Make Your Takeout Menu Printing More Enticing

One of the best ways to promote a business in the food industry is through takeout menu printing. Aside from your dine-in menu, having a takeout menu allows those who haven’t tried your restaurant yet to taste what you have to offer. For those who don’t have time for a sit-down dinner, or those who want to have restaurant quality food without washing the dirty dishes, takeout or delivery orders offer them utmost convenience. More importantly, takeout menus are used for promotional purposes. When you distribute the menus out on the streets where there is high foot traffic, you can make people aware of your dishes and the corresponding prices. You can also include takeout menus in takeout packages, food receipts, supplier invoices, and other transactions with printed documents.

Ways to Make Takeout Menus More Enticing

Next, how can you make your takeout menus more enticing? It al boils down to design. Be creative so that you can have a unique menu that stands out. Here are a few ways to make your takeout menu print look more enticing to hungry diners:

  • Apply a vintage design if it fits your theme.

If you have a bar that offers wine tasting events, use a vintage design that fits your theme. Instead of pictures, use vintage-looking illustrations and a similar vintage font. Make sure that the cover has an eye-catching graphic and an easy-to-read headline. There are different sizes and folding styles of menus available – choose one that will best suit the number of dishes that you plan to include on the menu.

  • Use bright, modern colors if you have a younger clientele.

If you have a pub instead of a wine bar and your clientele is a bit on the younger side, choose bright, modern colors. Make the design of the menu match the aesthetics of your restaurant’s interiors.

  • Use muted colors and elegant font styles if your restaurant is more formal.

If you have a restaurant that offers a five-course menu, for example, use muted colors and a more elegant style. This look is appealing to a more mature clientele.

After deciding on the design, look for an online printing services provider that will print the takeout menus for you. Choose between offset and digital printing. When deciding which print shop to go with, always ask about the turnaround time, the price of the printing package, and the quality of customer support offered. By doing your research, you can have a printing partner that will efficiently create those takeout menus for you.

Using Takeout Menu as a Primary Selling Tool

If you think that menu printing simply involves listing down the dishes offered in your restaurant, think again. Since menus are your primary selling tool, you need to carefully plan every aspect of it – starting from the material used to the quality of print, the readability of font to the color palette, the number of items included on the menu to the layout of the names of the dishes. Your dine-in menu will be used by walk-in customers or those with reservations, while takeout menu printing is more for marketing purposes. 

Important Aspects of Takeout Menu Printing

Takeout menus are a must-have because they are a great way to increase sales. A lot of people like the convenience of having restaurant-quality food without having to prepare the dishes themselves and clean up afterwards. Some simply don’t have time to cook, and are willing to pay extra for good food. Others don’t have time for a sit-down lunch or dinner, so takeout is the next best thing. Fortunately, you can always rely on online printing services to print such menus for you. 

Here are some of the most important aspects to consider for takeout menu printing:

  • The overall theme of the menu

This can be based on the look and feel of your restaurant. Is the vibe formal because you serve several course meals? Or is it more family-friendly since you’re popular for brunches? Based on the look of your restaurant and your business logo, you can create a similarly themed takeout menu. Make sure that it appeals to your target market so that your advertisement hits all the right spots. 

  • The size and folding style of the menu

Choose the size and folding tyle based on the number of items that you have. An 11” x 17” tabloid sized menu with an accordion folding style, for example, gives you eight panels or pages to write your content in. This is perfect if you have a lot of items available for takeout or delivery. 

  • The grouping of the menu items

This is important because your goal is to increase sales. As such, the menu items should be grouped in such a way that the most profitable but easy-to-prepare dishes are highlighted. You can also group the items based on food type or specialties while still making sure that the menu is easy-to-read. 

By knowing which aspects of menu design and printing you should pay attention to, you can use it as a primary selling tool for your food business.

Takeout Menu Printing? Organizing Tips to Remember

If you haven’t already done so, takeout menu printing is a must if you are in the restaurant business. Whether you’re selling pizza, fusion food, snacks, drinks, desserts, or any other food item, a takeout menu will boost your sales. People are willing to pay for convenience. With takeout food, they don’t have to prepare meals at home or wash the dishes. Even if they don’t have time for a sit-down dinner at your food establishment, they can still enjoy restaurant-quality food with takeout or delivery. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on to go menu printing. There are digital or offset print shops where you can order takeout menus from. These can be mailed out or distributed personally in areas where there is high foot traffic, with the aim of primarily boosting your sales. 

Tips for Organizing the Items in Your Takeout Menu

Let’s say that you have already chosen which online printing services provider to go with. The next thing to do is choose the folding style and menu size. Then, design the menu itself. There is actually a science behind how people read and interact with menus, so you need to be aware of how to organize it properly. This way, you can attract the eyes to the high-profit items; make the menu look well-balanced and not complicated; and satiate the appetite of hungry diners.

Here are a few tips on how to organize the items in your takeout menu:

  • Categorize the menu items. 

The classic way to categorize menu items is listing the appetizers, main dishes, desserts, and drinks. This still works but if you want to maximize profit, you can group the items on the menu like this: 
– Popular and profitable
– Popular but not so profitable
– Very profitable but not popular 
– Not popular nor profitable

Highlight the popular and profitable dishes, keep the popular but not profitable, and also keep the very profitable but not popular. Ditch the last category for your takeout menu, and attract the reader’s eyes to items which are profitable yet quick and easy to prepare. 

  • Limit your takeout menu items. 

You may have a lot of items available for dine-in but for takeout, you can limit the choices to seven per category. This is a magic number so customers won’t get confused or overwhelmed with the variety of choices. 

  • Know which parts of the menu a customer reads first. 

The eyes typically go to the middle of the page when reading a menu. Then the pattern travels to the top right corner, then to the top left corner. Group complementary items and don’t miss the chance to upsell. Make sure that the font is easy to read, the colors should be contrasting for more readability, and the overall design should be cohesive and pleasant to the eyes. 

By taking the time to design your takeout menu carefully, you can maximize profits and use this printer material to attract more customers to order your food. 

Takeout Menu Printing for Your Restaurant’s Soft Opening

For the soft launch of your restaurant, you might have planned the menu, the interiors, staff training, where to get supplies, and all the other aspects of running the business. But what about advertising? There’s no need for you to spend a lot of money on marketing even if you’re just starting out on any business. By combining digital with traditional, you can let people know about your restaurant. Part of your printed marketing arsenal should be takeout menu printing. Partnered with your primary dine-in menu, these serve as the heart and soul of your restaurant business so that hungry customers would know what to order for dine in or takeout.

Working on Your To Go Menu Design

First, look for an online printing that offers good quality prints. They can have either a digital or offset printing process, or both. The method that they will use is based on the volume of your order. While you’re at it, also check on the quality of customer service offered, the cost of each piece of takeout menu, and the paper stock and finish.

Next, what factors should you consider when it comes to the to go menu design?

  • The size and folding style of menu

Takeout menu sizes range from 4.25” x 11”, 8.5” x 11”, to 11” x 25.5” which is the tabloid size. For the folding styles, you can have anywhere from four to twelve panels if you will opt for half then trifold.

  • The number of items that you have for takeout orders

You don’t necessarily have to include all the items available for dine-in in your takeout menu. Instead, choose the high-profit items which are quick and easy to prepare. People want convenience, speed, and satisfaction when ordering takeout, so carefully think about your takeout menu items.

  • The overall design of the menu

Pay close attention to detail so that the overall design of your takeout menu suits your restaurant’s image. For the font and colors, use the same theme as your business logo. Include high-definition illustrations or photos. Invest in professional photography – the images should look as mouth-watering in the pictures as they do in real life. Lastly, distribute the takeout menus a month or so before the actual date of your restaurant’s soft launch. This gives people plenty of time to familiarize themselves with your brand, and look forward to dining in or ordering takeout from your food establishment.

Print To-Go Menus: Which Folding Option Works Best?

If you’re in the food business, why should you print to go menus? Before counting down the reasons, it pays to know that you can easily pair digital advertising with print marketing materials. Whether it’s a food truck, a pizzeria, an ice cream parlor, or a full-fledged restaurant that you are operating, you should establish a presence online because that’s where most of your audience is. For the print advertising part, you should think about printing business cards, banners, postcards, rack cards, takeout menus, notepads, and similar materials. The fact that these printed materials are tangible instead of clickable on screen is what makes them such a novelty – and this form of advertising still works. 

One of the many reasons to go with takeout menu printing is that it is really cheap to produce. There are many online printing companies where you can order takeout menus for less than a dollar each – cheaper if you will order more. These menus can be distributed personally to people in areas where there is high foot traffic. You can also turn them into mailers for mailbox distribution. Or, include them in every delivery or takeout package, supplier receipts, and any other transactions. Takeout menus can also be displayed right outside your restaurant or food truck, so that people passing by would have an idea about your menu and prices. 

Takeout Menu Folding Options

When having to go menus printed out, you need to pay attention to the details in order to impress your would-be clients. Do you want the paper to have a medium gloss or extreme gloss finish? The size ranges from 4.25” x 11” to 11” x 25.5”. For the folding options, here are some to choose from:

  • Half fold menus are exactly that: folded in half. As such, you have four large panels to place content in. 
  • Trifold menus are suitable for those who have quite a lot of items on their menu. This folds into three panels, giving you six pages in total. 
  • Z-fold menus form a letter Z, and also gives you six panels. 
  • Roll fold menus are folded thrice starting from the right, so there are about eight panels to write your menu items in. 
  • Accordion menus are folded in a zigzag pattern, the panels also add up to eight pages. 
  • Half then trifold gives you the most number of panels: 12. This is perfect for restaurants with full course menus starting from appetizers to desserts. 

By designing your takeout menus properly, you have an effective marketing material that you can distribute to hungry diners. 

Takeout Menu Printing: Knowing Your Restaurant’s Target Market

When you’re in the restaurant business, there is a certain crowd that you will attract based on your dishes, the interiors, and the vibe of the place. You might have a crowd that is mostly young professionals, couples, workers, or families. But if you want to broaden the diners that your food establishment attracts, you may want to consider takeout menu printing. For this, you will print a takeout version of your restaurant menu. Instead of it being made of thick cardboard, it can be printed on thinner paper stock because the idea is for people to be able to take these home. 

Takeout menus can be distributed personally; included in delivery receipts and other paper transactions; included in takeaway orders; included in mailers; or you can simply display a stack of them right outside your restaurant. When people get one, they will have an idea about your menu items and the prices. When you include takeout menus in mailers, that is another form of print advertisement to make more people aware that your business exists. 

Determining Your Target Market

Next, how can you determine your target market if you would like to include takeout menu printing as part of your advertising materials? As mentioned earlier, the interiors and dishes that you offer are factors of the type of crowd that you will attract. But here are a few more details about your target market:

  • Those who will be tempted to take home one of your takeout menus are people who are looking for utmost convenience. Instead of slaving away for hours in the kitchen, they’d rather order takeout and still enjoy restaurant quality dishes.
  • Those who are always in a rush always look for convenience buys – starting from pre-assembled items for the home to takeout lunch or dinner. 

Convenience is the keyword here, so the items in your takeout menu should be high-profit items which are easy and quick to prepare. Once you have ordered takeout menus from the online printing services provider of your choice, distribute it accordingly and wait for your sales to be given a boost.