Standard Folding Styles
Folding Your Job
Typical Folding Styles
Here are some examples of typical folding styles. Simply pick the folding style that matches your job. Four of the most popular styles are shown below:
Common Folding Styles
Planning Ahead for Folding Your Job
Each folding style has slightly different characteristics which will dictate specific differences in the horizontal dimension of each panel. Typically the front and back panels are the same width. Depending upon the stock chosen, the remaining panels may then be reduced to accommodate the folds, usually by at least either .0625" (1/16") or .125" (1/8"). In cases multiple folds this reduction can be cumulative.
In other words, each panel may be smaller than the adjacent by that increment. To make things even more complex, certain standard paper sizes may require back-trimming when combined with specific fold styles such as Gate-fold designs. Back-trimming is simply cutting off a small amount of the final trim paper width to accommodate the particular fold style.
How Does This Actually Affect My Design?
TWhat this means is that you need to work out the folding style and the folds in advance, allowing for any back-trim which might be required.
A good example of this is a typical 12" x 9" (landscape) brochure which folds down for a 4" x 9" rack brochure. Depending upon the intent of the designer there are two ways to fold this piece. A Z-fold brochure is made up of three equal 4" wide panels while a Barrel fold design is made up of two 4" panels and the third panels is back-trimmed either .0625" (1/16") or .125" (1/8").
The final flat trim size for this piece could end up being either 12" x 9", 11.9375" x 9" or even 11.875" x 9" depending upon folding style and the stock chosen. If this extra material were not removed, folds on the piece would either not match critical panel widths or it would simply not lie flat. Maybe both.
What's more, not every paper size requires back-trimming. This is because a particular might size lend itself to a reasonable regular measurement. We'll always try to keep things simple in the sense that our measurements will match a typical ruler increment (std. inches) in almost all cases. You will find that our template panel dimensions will usually include some reasonable fraction of an inch in increments of 1/16" ths or 1/8" ths.
As you can see then, it is a good idea to plan out your job by placing the folds first, before you start designing the art. That way, you will place important items exactly where they need to be to have the correct relationship to the actual folds. Take it from me, it is easier to start this way than to redesign a complex piece after the fact to fit the folds.
Use Our PDF Templates
Please use our templates, or at least call us before you get too far along. We have created PDF templates for most common document types and fold styles to help you with the design process. We will continue to add to and refine these templates to ensure their accuracy and usefulness. Please don't hesitate to call us if you need a custom template for your project. We'll be happy to help you at any point in the design process.
Remember, the more complex your project is, the sooner you should consult us. We can help you with folding dimensions and with any other technical issues that may come up. This will increase the quality of your final piece and may even lower the final cost.
