Brochure printing: folds, page counts and what to put where
A brochure is a flyer that has been asked to hold more. Once you fold a sheet, you stop designing a page and start designing a sequence, and that is where most of the mistakes live.
Pages come in fours
Fold one sheet in half and you have four printed pages: front, inside left, inside right, back. That is why brochure page counts go 4, 8, 12, 16 and never 6 or 10. If your content runs to five pages, you are printing eight and deciding what to do with the rest, so plan the count before you write.
Which fold to use
- Half fold. One fold, four pages. The simplest and the best for a short story told in order, and the easiest to read on a table.
- Roll fold. Two folds, six panels, each tucking inside the last. Good for a sequence, such as a process explained step by step.
- Gate fold. Two panels meeting in the middle and opening outwards. Theatrical, and it suits one big reveal, a menu or a plan.
- Saddle stitched. Folded sheets stapled through the spine. Once you are past twelve pages, this is the format.
What goes on each panel
The cover has one job: to get opened. One image, a headline that says what is inside, and your name. Not a list of services.
The inside spread is the argument. Break it with subheadings so someone skimming can find the bit they care about. Keep paragraphs short and leave margins; a crowded spread does not get read no matter how good the words are.
The back panel is the one people forget, and it is the panel most likely to be facing up on a table. Put the practical things there: address, phone, email, opening hours, and a map if you have premises.
The practical checks
- Allow for creep. On thicker paper, the panels that fold inside need to be a couple of millimetres narrower, or the fold will not close flat. A printer handles this if you tell them the fold.
- Keep text off the folds. Nothing important should sit within 5mm of a crease.
- Score anything over 170gsm before folding, or the ink will crack along the fold.
- Fold a proof by hand. Print it, fold it, and read it in order. Panels that looked right flat often turn out to be in the wrong sequence.
Getting them printed
We print folded brochures in A3, A4 and DL, in four and eight page counts, with the fold done for you. Prices for every size and quantity are on the page; A4 folded brochures are the most common starting point. Send us the content and our designers can lay it out for you, quoted with the job.
