How to print a brochure: from file setup to finished folds

Step 1: choose the fold before you design

The fold decides everything that follows: the flat size of your file, the width of each panel and the order people read them in. Designing first and choosing the fold later is the most common reason brochures come back with text split across a crease.

A bifold suits a simple menu or a service overview with a strong cover. A trifold is the classic for racks and counters, with six panels for a cover, an intro, three content panels and a back. A Z fold opens like an accordion, so every panel has the same width and the whole inside can hold one wide image or a timeline. A tabloid bifold feels like a mini catalog and works for trade shows and product lines.

Step 2: make a paper dummy

Take a sheet of the flat size, fold it the way the brochure will fold, and number each panel in pencil. Then write a word or two on each panel describing what goes there. This two minute exercise prevents the most expensive mistake in brochure printing, which is a panel that ends up upside down or in the wrong place.

Unfold the dummy and you will see that the panel order on the flat sheet is not the reading order. On a trifold, the front cover is on the right of the outside spread and the back cover sits in the middle. Keep the dummy next to you while you design.

Step 3: set up the file correctly

Build the document at the flat size plus 0.125 in bleed on each side. For a letter trifold, that is 11.25 × 8.75 in, landscape. Add guides at each fold line, and keep text and important graphics at least 0.125 in, ideally 0.1875 in, from every fold and trim edge.

On a trifold, the panels are not equal: the panel that folds inside is slightly narrower so it does not buckle against the crease, while a Z fold uses equal panels. Exact guide positions for letter and legal sheets are in our trifold brochure template guide.

Create two pages or artboards, one for the outside and one for the inside. Place photos at 300 PPI at their final size, use CMYK color, and set body text at 9 pt or larger. If you prefer not to build guides by hand, the Voqado Studio opens brochure canvases with fold, bleed and safe lines already in place.

Step 4: choose paper that folds cleanly

Brochure paper has to fold without cracking and still feel substantial. The usual choices are text weights in gloss, matte or silk.

• 100 lb gloss text: the most common brochure stock. Vivid photos, folds cleanly without scoring.
• 100 lb matte or silk text: easier to read under bright light, feels calm and upscale.
• 80 lb text: lighter and more economical for large handouts or mailing inserts.
• 80 lb or 100 lb cover: rigid and premium, but must be scored before folding.

Without scoring, heavy paper cracks along the fold, leaving a jagged white line through dark ink. If your brochure has solid color or photos across a fold, choose a coated text stock or confirm that scoring is included. The paper stock guide explains weights and finishes in more detail.

Step 5: export and check the PDF

A clean PDF is the single best thing you can give a printer. Export at high quality with bleed included, fonts embedded, images at full resolution and color in CMYK. Many printers prefer the PDF/X standard, which bundles these settings together.

Before uploading, run the file through a preflight check. The free PDF health check reports on bleed, image resolution, color mode and page size, the four errors that cause most reprints. If it flags RGB images, convert them to CMYK and look again, because bright blues and greens often dull slightly in ink. For a full export walkthrough, see how to prepare artwork for print.

Also check the page order in the PDF. Most printers expect page 1 to be the outside spread and page 2 the inside. Upside down pages are rare on a trifold, but on some custom folds one side must be rotated, so follow the printer's template.

Step 6: order and approve the proof

On the brochure product page, select the flat size, fold type, paper and quantity, then upload the PDF. Read the digital proof slowly. Fold a printout of the proof along the fold lines to confirm the reading order. Check phone numbers, dates, prices and web addresses aloud, and scan any QR code.

For quantity, count your distribution points and multiply by how many you expect each to use before you update the content. A clinic brochure with stable services might last a year; an event brochure is out of date on the day after the event. Printing slightly more than you need usually costs little extra per piece, but printing brochures that go out of date wastes the whole run.

Printing brochures at home

For a handful of brochures, a home printer can do the job. Set the printer to duplex, flip on the short edge for a landscape trifold, and print a test sheet to check alignment, since front and back often shift slightly. Home printers cannot print to the edge, so design with a white margin of at least 0.25 in, and fold with a bone folder or the edge of a ruler for crisp creases.

Beyond a few dozen, a professional run is usually cheaper and looks far better, with full bleed color, machine folding and consistent alignment.

Get the free PDF health check

The free PDF health check lets you upload your brochure file and get a readiness report on bleed, resolution, color mode and page size in a few moments, before you commit to a print run.

Brochure printing checklist

• Choose the fold and flat size first.
• Make a numbered paper dummy.
• Set up the file with 0.125 in bleed and fold guides.
• Make the inside fold panel 1/16 in narrower on a trifold.
• Keep text at least 0.125 in from folds and trims.
• Pick text weight paper, or cover stock with scoring.
• Export a CMYK PDF and run a preflight check.
• Fold a proof printout and read it in order.