Flyers That Bring Customers: Size, Paper, Offer and Quantity

A flyer is still one of the lowest-cost ways for a local shop, clinic or tuition centre to bring people through the door. When flyers fail, the reasons are plain: the wrong size, flimsy paper, too many messages, or ten thousand copies with no plan to hand them out. Here is how we would plan flyer printing in Vellore.

Pick the size for where it will be used

• A4 (210 x 297 mm) is the everyday handbill, with room for a photo, an offer and a short price list.
• 8.5 x 11 in (216 x 279 mm) is a little wider and shorter than A4. Good for notices and newspaper inserts.
• 17 x 22 or 20 x 30 in are poster sizes for walls and shop windows.

A5 and A6 suit billing counters but are not on our flyer pages, so call first.

Whatever the size, carry background colour and photos 3 mm past the trim (the bleed) and keep text at least 6 mm inside it.

Choose the paper weight (GSM)

GSM is the weight of one square metre of paper. Higher feels thicker.

• 80 GSM maplitho is plain, uncoated and light, easy to write or stamp on. Right for single colour notices.
• 100 GSM art paper is coated, keeps photos sharp and stays light for mass handouts.
• 130 to 170 GSM feels firmer, for menus and rate cards people keep.
• 300 GSM is card thickness, for posters that get handled. Glossy or matt lamination protects the surface.

Single colour or full colour

Single colour flyers print in one ink, blue, red or green, on 80 GSM maplitho or 100 GSM paper; a second ink adds a coloured heading. They suit text-led notices such as admissions or clinic timings. Use bold type and solid shapes, as photos in one ink lose detail.

Full colour flyers are printed in CMYK, the four process inks, on A4 100 GSM art paper. Choose them when the picture sells: food, sarees, jewellery. Send photos at 300 dpi in a CMYK file. Bright screen colours like neon green print a little duller in ink.

One flyer, one clear offer

People give a flyer two or three seconds, so give them one reason to act:

• One headline offer in big type, such as "Free eye test this week".
• A deadline, so it does not go into a drawer.
• How to claim it: "bring this flyer" or "show this on WhatsApp".
• Address with a landmark, phone and WhatsApp number, and a QR code to your map location, at least 2 cm square.

If the offer is in Tamil, check it carefully in the proof and embed fonts in your PDF, as Tamil text can break on export.

Where to hand them out

• Shop counters: a small stack at your own counter and at friendly shops nearby.
• Newspaper inserts: ask your newspaper agent which areas they cover and what size they accept.
• Events: school annual days, exhibitions, temple festivals. Hand them over in person.
• Festivals: Pongal and Deepavali are when families spend. Festival flyers go up to 20 x 30 in and 300 GSM, with glossy or matt lamination. Get them to homes a week or two before the day.

How many to print

Work backwards from your distribution plan, not the price list. Count the households your newspaper agent covers, what each counter gives out in a month and the crowd at each event, then add a few hundred for your own shop. For a first flyer, start modest, see what comes back, then reprint.

Quantity also decides the press. Long runs go on offset, where plate and setup costs spread across every copy, so the cost per piece falls. Short runs go on digital.

Flyer printing in Vellore: from file to counter

Design from a template in our online editor, upload your own file, or ask our team to design it. Prices show live before GST; GST is added at checkout and the GST invoice is emailed; business buyers can add their GSTIN. You get a free digital proof and nothing prints until you approve it, so read the phone number digit by digit. Collect from our press at 14, Chunnambukara Street, take local delivery, or courier anywhere in India, with charges and dates shown at checkout. For an urgent job in Vellore, call +91 88384 35916 to check same-day options.

When you are ready, the full colour flyers page shows the options and live prices.