What Does it Mean to "Collate" in Printing?

When it comes to printing large quantities of pages, there’s no shortage of ways to go about it.

While many prefer to print in a traditional format, many elect to print with “collated” pages. But what exactly is a collated page?

We’ve seen many misconceptions about the meaning of “collate” on the Internet. That’s why Green Office Partner is here to clarify the matter!

We specialize in providing clients with various printing equipment and supporting solutions and services. Over our many years of experience, we've learned that clients' printing needs vary greatly between companies in different industries.

In this article, we’ll go over what “collate” means, how to do it, and what benefits you can gain from collating.

What Does “Collate” Mean?

The concept of collating is actually very simple. When printing documents, “collating” means printing multi-page documents in their sequential order rather than printing them in stacks of identical documents.

If you print ten copies of a 3-page document uncollated, the pages will print ten copies of page one, then ten copies of page two, and then ten copies of page three. But, if you print on collated pages, they will print in the following order: page one, page two, page three, page one, page two, page three… and so on.

When printing a multi-page document, you will print the entire first copy of the document before printing any pages of the next copy. See the featured image for reference.

When Should You Collate?

Collated printing can enhance the production of certain collateral materials like booklets, reports, manuals, and any other multi-page documents that need to be printed together in a specific way.

Collated printing enables you to print documents in a way that doesn’t require hours of sorting into new piles - the printing equipment does that busy work for you.

For that reason, collated printing is used across a wide array of industries. Teachers and administrators often need to print and distribute handouts, tests, or reports. Offices frequently require collated documents for meetings, presentations, and client information packs. 

Essentially, any situation where multiple copies of a document need to be printed and distributed in a specific order benefits from collating.

Benefits of Collated Printing

Why collate your printed pages? Does the order your document print really make that much of a difference?

The truth is, yes, collated printing can make or break a business’ printing workflow. We’ll review the main benefits of collated printing, and why you should care about collated printing if you don’t already!

1. Efficiency

One of the primary advantages of collating is the significant increase in efficiency. It would not be an exaggeration to say that collated vs. uncollated prints can mean a difference of hundreds to thousands of hours saved annually.

Collating saves time that would otherwise be spent manually sorting and organizing printed materials. In organizations with robust printing operations, manual sorting can easily require a full-time administrator or even multiple admins to tackle.

2. Accuracy

When constructing multi-page pamphlets, books, or other types of marketing or sales collateral, accuracy is key. Creating content with incorrect or misordered pages can lead to damage to your brand, loss of sales, and frustration for all parties involved.

Unfortunately, manual sorting is prone to errors, especially with large documents. When one of your staff members’ role is to reorder booklet pages for hours on end, they are bound to drift off and make mistakes from time to time. It’s only natural!

Thankfully, collated printing can save your company from embarrassing printing errors. Automated collating does the busy work for you effortlessly, ensuring that each set is complete and accurately ordered.

3. Convenience

Perhaps more importantly than efficiency and accuracy, the convenience of collated printing can completely transform the printing user experience company-wide.

For end-users, receiving collated documents means they don’t have to spend their precious time sorting through endless stacks of paper. While this helps your company’s efficiency, it also helps your employees’ sanity, unburdening them from time-wasting, repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on higher-priority initiatives.

Collated Printing in the Modern Workplace

Bottom line: If your company prints multi-page documents at a high volume, collated printing is a necessity. The efficiency, accuracy, and convenience provided by collating can transform printing workflows regardless of your company’s industry, from educational institutions to corporate environments to healthcare institutions. Essentially, any industry with robust documentation requirements. 

Ensure that your devices offer collated options and that your staff knows how to take advantage of them!

By understanding the importance of collating and utilizing modern tools and techniques, staff members can enhance the quality and efficiency of their printed materials.

If you need help choosing the correct device for your collated printing needs, consider working with Green Office Partner!

We specialize in providing top-shelf printing equipment with a nationwide, white-glove managed print services package. Whether your company operates across the US, Canada, or both, we can meet even your business’ most demanding and specific needs.

To get started today, click here.