How Best to Approach Your New Menus: Size, Materials & Design

Selecting the proper material, thickness and size

On this website, we talk a lot about the advantages of using waterproof menus over its laminated counterpart, and we’ve explained the different uses of waterproof materials for direct marketing mailers and posted information. We’ve also given a bit of advice on better business practices.

But we’ve never touched upon how best to approach Waterproofmenu.com as it relates to purchasing for your needs and budget, as well as which of our products will best suit your needs. 

Let’s examine each material so you can better understand the perks and differences of each type.

Card Stock (Good)

"While not waterproof, is a cost-effective way to print menus."  

Card stock comes in many different thicknesses, finishes and feels.  Much like traditional business cards, the weight of the card often dictates the rigidity and firmness of the card.

However, remember that card stock is not a waterproof material, which makes it susceptible to being damaged by bends, watermarks and tears.

We recommend card stock if you are not in need of a waterproof menu or if you need an inexpensive batch of menus as you test out a new menu design or item pricing.

Economy Waterproof Material (Better)

"Get in the game without breaking the bank."

Now that we have added our economy-priced waterproof materials to offer a cost-effective price point for those businesses ready to upgrade from traditional card stock but have a tighter budget to work within.  Our economy waterproof material comes in a variety of thicknesses and offers the same stain, tear and waterproof resistance as the premium materials.

What makes this option attractive is the ability to mix and match the Economy and Premium products together for a more cost-effective price point instead of doing the entire menu with one brand.

Not only does this switch up the texture of the menus, it still allows you the ability to have a waterproof menu without busting the budget.

Premium Waterproof Material (Best)

"Hands down --- is the toughest waterproof paper we offer."

Our best-selling product, hands down, is the premium weighted waterproof material. These are the same materials we use in our waterproofmenu.com sample packs. They provide a more rigid feel and have been proven effective for high volume restaurants where the menus will be routinely handled by a number of customers.

This synthetic material offers the exact same rip, stain and tear resistance as the economy, but it’s a thicker, more robust material for the best performance in the market. Priced effectively, it should be the only menu you need for your busy season.

And, using waterproof menus made from our premium waterproof material will reduce the amount spent replacing damaged laminated menus. It just makes cents… (see what I did there?)

So, with the information above, what have we learned about our waterproof and non-waterproof materials?

It’s safe to say, if you’re looking at the above with a Good / Better / Best perspective, all of our products fill a role for our various clients in the restaurant industry – depending on their needs and budget.

There are plenty of decisions to be made when it comes to rolling out a new menu, so at waterproofmenu.com we want to make sure you understand your options. 

Contact one of our print specialists if you have any questions!