Fold options explained

The fold decides the reading order. Each type reveals your content in a different sequence, so it is worth picking the fold before the design is laid out.

Half fold

One crease down the centre, giving four panels. The simplest option and the easiest to design for. It suits event programmes, price lists and short menus, where the reader only needs to open the leaflet once.

Roll fold

Two creases, with the panels rolling in on top of each other to give six panels. The reader opens it in stages, which works well for a service overview that builds up section by section. This is the fold most people mean when they say tri-fold.

Concertina fold

Two creases folded in alternating directions, forming a zigzag. It also gives six panels, but the whole leaflet opens out flat in one movement. Useful for timelines, step-by-step processes, or anything where the reader benefits from seeing every panel at once.

Cross fold

Folded in half, then in half again at a right angle. This produces four sections and eight printed panels from a single sheet. It suits content that needs more space than a roll fold allows but does not justify a bound brochure, such as event guides, timetables and product ranges. One side can also carry a single large image that reveals itself when the leaflet opens out.

Map fold

A map fold folds the sheet in two directions at once, combining concertina folds with a cross fold. This collapses a much larger sheet into a small rectangle that still opens smoothly in one movement. It is the format used for tourist maps, walking guides and detailed site plans, where the flat sheet is bigger than any other fold can sensibly handle.

Planning your content across the panels

A folded leaflet is not a flat sheet with creases added. Each panel is seen on its own, in a fixed order, so content needs to be planned to match.

• Front panel: this is the only part visible when the leaflet is closed. It needs to give a reason to open the rest.
• One idea per panel: a panel that carries two unrelated points is harder to follow than two panels carrying one each.
• Mind the reading order: on a roll fold, the panels are not revealed left to right in the order they sit on the flat sheet. Mock one up in paper before signing off the layout.
• Back panel: often the last thing seen, so it is a natural home for contact details or a call to action.
• Watch content that crosses a crease: faces, logos and small text sitting directly on a fold line rarely look right in the finished piece.

Sizes and paper stock

Folded leaflet sizes

A4 folded to A5 is the most common specification, giving a generous panel size for images and text. A5 folded to A6 produces a compact leaflet that suits handouts and inserts.

DL (210 x 99mm) is worth singling out. It fits a standard DL envelope without a further fold, which makes it the usual choice for direct mail campaigns and for leaflet racks and dispensers. Square sizes in 210mm and 148mm are also available, along with custom sizes.

Paper stock and weight

Folded leaflets are printed on our standard 170gsm silk. However we do suggest a 200gsm Matt/Silk or a 300gsm Matt/silk for a more premium, robust feel. Lighter stocks fold cleanly and cost less across a large run. Heavier stocks feel more substantial in the hand and hold their shape better on a display stand, but they need creasing before folding.

Creasing and lamination

Creasing means pressing a channel into the sheet before it is folded. On anything heavier than about 170gsm, this is what stops the fold cracking and showing white along the edge. Anything below 170gsm will simply be folded with no crease added. This is called ‘crash folding’.

Lamination makes creasing more important because a laminated surface is more prone to cracking at the fold, and a solid dark colour running across a crease will show any break in the coating clearly. If your design has heavy ink coverage over a fold line, tell us at quote stage.

Folded leaflet, flyer or brochure?

These three formats overlap, and the right one usually comes down to how much content you have and whether it needs dividing up.

• A flyer is a flat sheet carrying a single message. Choose it when your content fits comfortably on one side and does not need dividing up.
• A folded leaflet divides content across panels without becoming a bound document. Choose it when you have three or four distinct sections, such as a menu, a programme or a set of services.
• A brochure is bound and runs to multiple pages. Choose it when the content needs a contents page or will not fit on six panels.

If you are unsure between a folded leaflet and a brochure, count your sections. Beyond six, panels start working against you and a bound format is easier to read.

Common uses for folded leaflets

• Menus: takeaway and event menus, often alongside table menus for the same venue.
• Event programmes: running orders and speaker details, handed out on arrival.
• Service and price guides: one service or package per panel.
• Exhibition literature: more detail than a handout, but light enough to carry around a venue. Often produced with pop-up exhibition displays in matching artwork.
• Mailed campaigns: DL leaflets sent in standard printed envelopes or as part of a mailing.
• Instructions and information sheets: step-by-step content suits a concertina fold.

Setting up folded leaflet artwork

Folded work needs a little more preparation than flat printing, because the panels have to line up once the sheet is creased.

• Artwork should be a print-ready PDF, set in CMYK, with 3mm bleed and a clear margin around the trim edge.
• Set the document to the flat size, not the folded size. An A4 leaflet folding to A5 is supplied as A4. This is also described as supplying artwork as ‘spreads’ rather than as single pages.
• Mark the fold positions, or tell us where they fall. Fold marks should sit outside the trim area in the ‘slug’ area’.
• On a roll fold, the panel that tucks inside needs to be a few millimetres narrower than the others. Without that allowance the inner panel buckles when the leaflet is closed.
• Supply outer and inner sides as separate PDF pages within the PDF document (spreads), labelled so the fold sequence is clear.

Send the file over and we will check it before printing. If the layout still needs building, our graphic design service can lay the panels out correctly from the start.

Turnaround and delivery

Folding and creasing add a finishing stage after printing, so folded leaflets take slightly longer than flat work. Tell us your fold type and quantity along with the date you need them, and we will confirm what is achievable.

We deliver folded leaflets across the UK.

Why choose Firstpointprint for folded leaflet printing

Panel layout is the part of a folded leaflet that most often catches people out, and it is difficult to judge from a screen. We have been printing folded work for small and large businesses since 1996, a lot of it for events, so we can tell you whether your leaflet will fold the way you are expecting before anything goes to press.

We’ll talk through your specification with you properly, not just take an order. If your date is tight, we can often move quickly to help. And because we’re still a small, family-run team, the same people you speak to at quote stage are often the ones checking your artwork later on.