Your menu plays a key role in attracting customers to your venue. Whilst the location, décor and ambience are critical, nothing is more important than your menu. However, it isn’t just what’s on your menu that matters.

How your menus look and feel is vital, too. When customers pick up your menu or peruse the wine list, it might be the first time they’ve truly engaged with your brand. With the opportunity to excite, inspire and encourage your patrons, your menu gives you a unique opportunity to increase brand engagement and awareness.

Before you can decide on the perfect type of menu printing, you’ll need to ensure you have the best substrate for your restaurant, pub, café or bistro. The substrate is what we use to print on, so think paper, card, linens, hemp and a multitude of other printing options.

The substrate you choose will have a major impact on the look and feel of your menus, and it can affect your menu printing options too. If you want to use sustainable, recycled card, for example, litho printing can complement this beautifully.

The right menu material will, of course, depend on the type of menus you’re printing and the brand you’re representing. When you’re printing thousands of takeaway menus, for example, you may want to opt for a relatively thin and lightweight paper, with added glossiness for presentation.

For in-house menus, however, you have more freedom to choose a substrate which enhances the customers brand experience. Match your menu base to your brand and facilitate tactile brand engagement.

With so many menu printing options available, it can be tricky to decide on the perfect type of print for your restaurant or takeaway menus. Digital printing offers bold, vibrancy and crystal-clear detail, as well as minimum print time, whilst litho menu printing can create stunning wet ink finishes.

Alternatively, you may want to use thermographic menu printing methods to enhance the feel of your menus. This method delivers a raised ink finish, so your final product is wonderfully tactile and engaging. Often used to emphasise brand names and logos, you can combine thermographic printing with other print methods to create your own custom menu printing specifications.

When you want your menus to be eye-catching and deliver maximum impact, hot foiling and embossing is a fantastic choice. Using carefully selected thin sheets of metal, these are punched on to a pre-prepared menu base to bring your designs to life. With hundreds of colours to choose from, you can add metallic foiling to your menus in almost any shade you can think of.

Embossing also enhances the look and feel of your menus and can be combined with various print methods. When a substrate is embossed, a block is used to raise or lower certain parts of it. When applied to your brand name, for example, the result is a visual and tactile effect which literally makes your typography stand out.

The right finishing touches can set your menus apart from competitors’ and will create a striking and memorable piece of artwork. Bevelled edges, coloured foils and gilding are a subtle yet effective way of enhancing the image of your eatery and are often used in high-profile settings and well-known restaurants.

Similarly, you’ll want to use print finishes to increase the durability of your menus. When they’re being used on a daily basis by numerous customers, menus need to be hardwearing and long-lasting. With lamination or varnishes, you can ensure that your menus remain in great condition, no matter how often they’re used.

With gloss, matt and velvet finishes, lamination needn’t be bulky or noticeable. Instead, it can be used to simply add to the feel of your menus, whilst also enhancing their functionality. Laminating your menus also has a waterproofing effect, which makes it easy to keep your menus looking clean and fresh.

As well as using your menus to increase brand awareness and engagement, unique print methods can be used to enhance the entire customer experience. With large format printing, mounting and encapsulation and window displays, you can bring your brand to life and create innovative designs to attract patrons to your establishment.

If you have a limited-time menu or special dishes, for example, wall-mounted displays are the perfect way to convey what’s available. Alternatively, why not turn your walls into your menu?

Precision mounting can take menu printing to a whole new level and really create a unique in-house atmosphere. When you mount your designs on to acrylic or PVC, for example, you create a robust print which is strong enough to withstand use in-store.

Similarly, encapsulation can be used to add a gloss effect to the imagery and content, as well as improving its longevity and durability. Often used to produce display graphics, combining your menu printing and restaurant branding with large format prints and encapsulation can take your eatery to the next level.

Whether you’re managing a Michelin starred restaurant, a family-run bistro or a local café, the look, feel and quality of your menus is crucially important. As well as being used to convey key information to your customers, your menu showcases everything your brand has to offer.

With the right menu printing methods, you can successfully bring your bespoke designs to life, increase brand awareness and attract new customers. To find out more about custom menu printing, contact IPW1 now on 020 7437 3200 or email us at hello@ipw1.co.uk