Exploring the Different Types of Brochure Printing Folds

You can make almost anything from folding paper - swans, planes, monkeys and flowers. As highlighted in Japanese origami, paper folding is an art. In the same manner, you should also use paper folding to your advantage.

Most people focus on making a perfect brochure printing design and using the best paper. However, most of these designers forget to integrate how the brochures are folded. In order for a brochure to be truly effective, you must carefully plan how they unfold.

So whenever you are embarking on your next advertising or marketing campaign, here are some basic folding methods that you can use to make your brochure design more effective:

- The Four panel Fold
This is the simplest of all brochure printing folds and the most basic as well. You can choose whether to fold along the long dimension of the brochure or the short dimension of the brochure. This type of fold is also very easy to make.

The four panel fold is widely used in advertising or promotional campaigns that are done through mail. Why? It is because you no longer need envelopes to send these postcards to your target and potential customers. Just put a stamp on the postcard and you are good to go.

- The Six panel Fold - Tri Fold
A tri fold is when the left and right edges are folded inward with parallel folds and overlapping in the middle of the page. You can use this type of fold to company letterheads and literature materials.

- The Six panel Fold - Gate Fold
A gate fold is when the left and right edges are folded inward with parallel folds. They meet in the middle of the page without overlapping with each other. You can fold the paper again down the middle so that the folded edges meet and a fold is created in center panel of the paper - also known as a double gatefold. This type of fold is also best for direct mail brochures specially invitations or for correspondence purposes.

- The Six panel Accordion Fold
Normally, an accordion fold is a simple zigzag fold with six panels and two parallel folds that go in opposite directions. Each panel should have the same size as each other. However, there are variations that you can do. You can make a half accordion fold where one of the panels is half the size of the other two.

- The Eight panel Parallel Fold
This is very popular among sales people as it promotes readability of more detailed information. It is perfect for direct sales mailers, directional invitations and brochures that contain maps because this type of folding technique is borrowed from map folding. Plus, it can also be mailed even without an envelope.

- The Eight Page French, Eight-Page Map, Eight-Page Gate, Eight-Page Accordion, and the Eight-Page Roll Folds
As the name implies, these folding specifications are also borrowed from map folding techniques. They are mainly used for detailed sales and marketing information, as well as those brochures that use diagrams, graphs and the like.

There are other types of custom folds that you can discover. Just use your imagination and explore the different possibilities and advantages that it will give your brochure printing design.