You would never buy a book with no cover — not only would the book be unattractive, you’d have no idea what the title was, who wrote it or what it was about. A report cover is a lot like a book cover — it answers the vital questions a reader might have about your documents and keeps them looking professional and enticing.
A report cover goes around your important documents to present them in a professional and attractive way (SKU: 75-24).
Report Covers 101
A report cover is a piece of printed stock that goes over your business reports, creating an effect similar to a booklet or pamphlet. Unlike folders or binders, which are meant for storing and organizing multiple documents, these covers focus attention on one set of documents at a time, such as an annual business report or a certificate of appreciation. Report covers allow these special documents to take the spotlight and make a larger impact. They also provide a modicum of protection for your documents so that they are not lost, damaged or misplaced.
When to Use Report Covers
There’s a fine line between report covers and other presentation materials like folders and binders, but that doesn’t mean they are interchangeable. Binders and folders are best when you want to organize several different categories and subjects, but report covers are better when you’re trying to focus on one topic or goal. Binders and folders are designed with multiple aspects of your business in mind, while report covers are more situational and their design may regularly change to reflect that. For example, it’s common for a company to have a new bold cover design for every annual financial report, but the same company would likely use the same folder design for several years.
A one-piece report cover is similar to a folder and can be bound together with your documents like a book (SKU: 09-01).
Types of Report Covers
There are a number of different report covers to choose from. While they all have the ability to make your documents look attractive and neat, they each have different strengths and weaknesses that need to be taken into consideration.
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One-Piece
A report cover made from a single piece of stock, folded in half to protect documents. One-piece covers can be stapled together or left loose like a folder. These report covers are best for small packets of information, as they cannot hold a large capacity.
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Tabbed Report Covers
Many one-piece cover designs feature tabs as an easy way to organize your information. Tabbed report covers have info labels attached to the side, allowing you to organize them in a filing cabinet or portfolio and quickly find the files you need.
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Two-Piece
A report cover made from two unattached pieces of stock that must be bound together. Two pieces allow you to have larger booklets, with the pages of the report cover acting like the cover of a book. Two-piece covers can also be outfitted with horizontal or vertical pockets and business card sleeves.
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Three-Panel
This cover is also made from one piece of stock, but folded into three panels. A three-panel report cover gives you more design space to work with as both the internal and external panels are visible when in use.
Custom cover designs let you better express your brand identity through logos and company colors (SKU: 08-09).
Why Custom Report Covers Are Better
You could go to an office supply store and pick up any old report cover, but if your documents are truly important to the success of your business then you’ll want something with a little more oomph to show them off in style; a generic report cover doesn’t say a thing about your business.
Custom report covers can feature your logo, your brand coloring, even a mission statement or slogan. They give you the opportunity to put your company’s personality on display, establishing and strengthening your brand identity.
This post is a part of our Report Covers 101 product guide.
