Brochure Floor Stands & Magazine Racks

What these are called

Brochure stand, literature rack, leaflet stand, pamphlet holder, magazine rack, catalogue stand, display rack, information stand, menu lectern. Three different objects hide behind those names, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake in this category.

A pocketed rack holds many copies of several different leaflets, for people to take away. A lectern holds one document, open, for people to read standing up and leave behind. A portable stand does the first job but folds down to go in a car. Decide which of those three you are actually doing before looking at anything else.

Pockets are about variety, not volume

The number of pockets on a rack is the number of different things you can offer, not how many leaflets you can hold. Each pocket holds a stack. Six pockets means six different leaflets, each with a stack behind it.

That matters because the most common buying error is sizing the rack to the busiest moment. A rack bought for a trade show, where twelve brochures are on offer, sits in a reception for the rest of the year with eight empty pockets. A rack with empty pockets reads as neglect. Four full pockets look better and get used more than twelve half-empty ones.

Count the leaflets you will genuinely keep stocked all year, add one for seasonal, and buy that size. You can always stand a second rack beside it when the show comes round.

Depth decides how often somebody refills it

A deeper pocket holds a taller stack, which sounds like a detail until you work out who walks over to refill it. In a staffed reception it does not matter much. In an unattended foyer, a lift lobby or an after-hours entrance, a shallow pocket empties on the first busy day and then advertises nothing for a week.

The product pages give the pocket sizes. Match the pocket to the leaflet you actually print, because a DL flyer standing in an A4 pocket leans, falls forward and looks untidy within an hour.

The ring-binder lectern is a different idea

Several of the floor stands here take a ring binder rather than a single printed sheet. That changes what the stand is for.

A printed sign is replaced when it changes. A binder is edited: you open the rings, swap one page, close them. A restaurant that changes two dishes a week, a venue with a price list that moves, a gallery with a works list that changes each exhibition — all of them are editing a document rather than reprinting a poster. Over a year that is the difference between reprinting fifty signs and reprinting fifty pages.

The other advantage is length. A lectern holds a document you turn pages in, so a menu that runs to six pages does not have to be shrunk onto one.

Portable, fixed, or on wheels

If the stand lives in one place, buy for looks and capacity and stop there.

If it travels — trade shows, open homes, markets, conferences — the thing that matters is how it packs. A stand that folds flat and goes in a car boot is worth more to you than one with two extra pockets that needs a van. Ask how long it takes one person to set up, because at a show you will be doing it alone and under time pressure.

Wheels are for a third case: a stand that stays in the building but moves within it. A rack wheeled out to the foyer in the morning and back to the store room at night is a different object from one bolted in place, and much easier on whoever is moving it.

What goes wrong

• Top-heavy loading. Fill the bottom pockets first and keep the heaviest material low. A rack loaded from the top down is easy to pull over, especially one on wheels.
• Over-wide leaflets. A brochure wider than the pocket bows outwards and pushes the stack out over time.
• Nobody owns it. The racks that fail are the ones with no named person responsible for refilling them. Put it on somebody's opening checklist or accept that it will be empty.

Brochure stand and magazine rack FAQ

How many leaflets does a pocket hold?

It depends on the depth of the pocket and the thickness of your print — a single folded flyer and a stapled twelve-page booklet are very different. The product page gives the pocket size; as a rule, assume you will be refilling more often than you expect.

Can I use it for A4 and DL at the same time?

Some racks have mixed pocket sizes and some do not. A DL flyer will stand in an A4 pocket but it will lean; if you are running both sizes permanently, check the product page for a rack that takes both properly.

Does it need assembling?

Most arrive flat and go together without tools or with what is in the box. Where more is involved, the product page says so.

Can these go outside?

They are indoor stands. Paper is the problem before the stand is — leaflets in an outdoor rack are damp by the afternoon.

Can I have our logo on the header?

Some racks have a header board designed to take a printed panel. Tell us what you want on it and we will tell you what is possible.

What if I want it on a wall or a counter instead?

For a wall, the wall mounted brochure holders. For a counter, the counter sign and menu holders. For a full menu on a pedestal rather than leaflets, the menu stands and lecterns, and everything floor-standing sits under floor standing menu and catalogue stands.