The Growing Folder

I still remember the comments from some of our customers when we abandoned the folder-type catalog to move to a book format. Many of them told us that the folder was more practical because you could add pages following new product launches or substantial modifications of existing ones.

This customization could reach extreme situations, however, such as a colleague’s folder which had more added pages than the original! The book format did not allow such customization, but it was more compact and manageable, and users quickly got used to it.

Regarding the latest printed editions of our catalogs, I am convinced that the "virtual" circulation, i.e. the number of downloaded catalogs in PDF, far exceeded the printed circulation. Our eCatalog is just another step along the path of “going digital,” with an undeniable advantage that no printed document or PDF has ever had.

If a customer from Uzbekistan, for instance, requires product information, Google Translate, which is available on eCatalog, can meet that need. Google only guarantees 80 percent accuracy in translation, but if I needed to consult documentation published in the Uzbek language, that 80 percent would be more than welcome.

To see what languages are supported on eCatalog, click the “Select Language” box at the top to open a drop-down menu. I count 64 languages in addition to English. Have you used Google Translate on this or other sites? If so, what is your experience?