LDM: automated catalog production for consumables with Pagination

LDM is an Italian distributor that has specialized in original consumables from leading office and printing brands for over 25 years. Over time, the company expanded its portfolio to include remanufactured and compatible consumables, accessories, hardware, stationery, IT media, furniture, and other workplace essentials.

Focused on serving resellers and distributors, LDM relies on product catalogs (both printed and online) to support its sales operations. To streamline this process and handle a large volume of SKUs, LDM turned to Pagination for automated catalog production. 

The challenge: a large assortment for distributors and resellers 

LDM needed a professional catalog that could keep up with a constantly expanding product range, with tens of thousands of SKUs across many families and brands. 

Paginating such a catalog in InDesign was time-consuming: product, technical, and commercial information for each item (descriptions, features, available colors, and more) along with images had to be placed manually.

LDM required a solution that could generate up-to-date catalogs directly from its product data, eliminating the need to rebuild layouts from scratch with every update.

Pagination’s solution: a flexible InDesign catalog driven by PIM data

Pagination implemented an automated publishing workflow that connects LDM’s structured data with a custom InDesign catalog template.

Key elements of the solution include:

Custom InDesign template

Pagination designed the catalog template from scratch, based on LDM’s requirements and visual identity. The layout ensures a clear structure while remaining flexible enough to support many product families and future additions.

Direct data export from the PIM

Product information is exported from LDM’s PIM and serves as the single source of truth. This data file feeds the Pagination cloud app, which automatically populates the InDesign template. In this way, LDM can create a catalog from PIM data.

Centralized asset management in the cloud

Product images and other assets are uploaded to the Pagination cloud application alongside the data. The data file specifies the image filename for each SKU, ensuring every product is linked to the correct visuals.

Four product layouts

Pagination configured four product layouts, each combining a descriptive table with product description, technical features, available colors and one or more product images.
The table background can be colored to highlight specific items, such as key lines, promotions, or new arrivals.

Clickable SKUs linked to e-commerce

Each SKU in the catalog includes a hyperlink to the corresponding product page on LDM’s e-commerce portal. Since LDM publishes the catalog as a PDF on its website, this feature allows resellers to move seamlessly from browsing to purchasing.

 

Integration of static pages and covers

Static elements (such as covers, introductory pages, and marketing content) are prepared by LDM and uploaded to the Pagination app. The system automatically combines these static elements with product sections into a single, cohesive InDesign file and PDF.

 

Color-Coded Index 

The catalog index uses color-coding to distinguish product categories, making navigation faster and more intuitive for resellers.

 

Christmas Edition 

LDM can also generate a themed Christmas version of the catalog using a seasonal color palette, while reusing the same data and layout structure.

Results and benefits

By adopting Pagination database publisher, LDM transformed the way it produces and maintains its product catalog.

• Faster catalog updates: Catalogs can be regenerated directly from the latest PIM export, without rebuilding pages manually. This makes it easier to reflect assortment changes, new products, or pricing updates.

• Consistent design: Every edition is produced from the same InDesign template and product layouts, ensuring a consistent look and feel that supports LDM’s trade-only positioning and helps resellers quickly find what they need.

• Reduced risk of errors: Using PIM data as the single source of truth minimizes manual retyping and copy-paste mistakes, improving the accuracy of technical information and product references across thousands of SKUs.

• Better navigation and engagement: Color-coded categories, mirrored page structures, and clear tables make the catalog easier to browse. Clickable SKUs in the PDF version connect directly to LDM’s e-commerce portal, streamlining the ordering process for resellers.

Key takeaway

LDM’s project with Pagination shows how distributors with large assortments can maintain professional, data-driven catalogs easily with an automated workflow. 

Ready to automate your catalog production?
Contact Pagination catalog maker to discover how InDesign automation can help you create faster and fully branded catalogs.