How To Fold A Leaflet, Types of Leaflets, Folds & Layout Ideas

Folded leaflets are a fantastic way to show customers why they should buy goods or services from your company because they provide plenty of space to communicate your unique selling points. 

To make sure that you’re getting the most out of your folded leaflets – and that you’re easily the best option for customers when choosing who to go with – we’ve created this complete guide to tell you everything you need to know. Discover how to fold a leaflet and compare different types of leaflet folds below!

What Are the Different Types of Leaflet Folds?

One of the first things you’ll need to choose when printing folded leaflets is what kind of fold you want. Depending on which size you choose there are a number of different kinds to choose from. Here’s a quick rundown of each type to help you decide how to fold your leaflet. 

Half-Fold

Just like it says on the tin, a half-fold is a leaflet folded in half down the middle! This gives you four panels to design (or printed pages, as they’re known in the printing biz) – a front cover, two inside pages, and a back cover.

Best Uses:

Bi-fold leaflets like this work really well for marketing as well as menus – in restaurants, cafés, or service-based businesses like beauty salons and gyms where you’d want to list options and prices.

Half Fold Leaflet Layout Examples

Here are a few ideas on how you could lay out your bi-fold leaflet design.

C-Fold

C-fold leaflets are a tri-fold option, meaning they fold twice to create six panels (or printed pages) on each side, like this diagram shows below. When you fold the panels in on each other, they make the shape of a C.

Best Uses:

C-fold leaflets are classic marketing leaflets, but they’re also commonly used for guides and maps. These are the kinds of leaflets you might pick up at a tourist information spot giving information about different places of interest.

C-Fold Leaflet Layout Examples

Here are a few ideas on how you could lay out your C-fold flyer designs.

Z-Fold

A Z-fold leaflet is another tri-fold option and works in a similar way to a C-fold, except the sides fold in the shape of a Z, so the panel designs normally work separately, with different information on each section. 

Best Uses:

This type of leaflet is popular for marketing material, such as sales pamphlets, as there’s plenty of room to show off your business’ products and service offering as well as location and contact details.

Z-Fold Leaflet Layout Examples

We’ve created these Z-fold leaflet examples to help inspire your own designs.

Cross Fold

A cross fold leaflet is folded in half then half again to create a cross shape in the middle. This leaves you with eight sections (or pages) to design – with four sections on each side. The finished folded flyer looks like the image above.

Best Uses:

This leaflet fold type is most commonly used for maps and guides, as it can be folded away neatly and used again and again.

Cross Fold Leaflet Layout Examples

Here are a few ways you could set your cross-fold leaflet designs up.

Roll Fold

With eight printed pages like a cross fold, but the same shape and folding style as a C-fold, the roll fold is a real powerhouse of a folded leaflet!

Best Uses:

This fold is made for large leaflets, so there’s plenty of room to advertise your products and services as a pamphlet. The roll fold is also incredibly popular for takeaway menu printing.

Roll Fold Leaflet Layout Examples

Here are some roll fold leaflet design examples to show you a few ways you could set up your layout.

Top 5 Tips for Designing a Folded Leaflet

Now you know how to fold your leaflet, use these design tips to bring your template to life!

1. Use the Folds

   If designing with folds seems daunting, this bit of information could change your mind on them: you can actually use the folds to your advantage! For thin, narrow folded leaflets, use the folds to create sections for your topics or columns for text. Cross folds allow you to design one section that the reader opens up, or separate little chunks of content.

   The best thing to do is to grab a piece of paper and fold it to match the style you want. Sketch out where your different sections will go, then have a play around with it – do the folds work with your design? That should help you visualise which part of your design should go where. 
   
   Remember that you can use the folds to tell a story or a process! Does the order your design follows make sense? 
    

2. Make the Cover Enticing
   The key to an effective folded leaflet design is making people want to unfold them. The design on the front of your leaflet is going to be the main section that does this. A really bright front cover that tells the reader what to expect should do the trick! 
   
   Remember to include your logo for extra brand recognition points. If your flyer is going on display in a tourist board, we also recommend making sure the cover is bright and stands out – that way all eyes will be on you!
    
3. Include a Strong Call to Action
   A call-to-action (CTA) tells your reader what you want them to do once they’ve finished with your leaflet. This could be to visit your website, use the leaflet to get a deal in store, or even to follow you on social media for exclusive updates on your business. 
   
   Whatever it is, make sure it’s in a big, obvious font that stands out on your background. You could even include an offer that involves the recipient bringing it with them to the event – that way, they’re holding onto your leaflet for a longer period of time. They could even share it with friends and family!
    
4. Use High-Quality Images & Graphics

   If someone hands you a leaflet, it doesn’t matter how amazing the message is or how impressive the design is if you’ve used low-resolution images or compressed your file to make it smaller. 

   Here at instantprint, we recommend keeping resolution at 300dpi or higher and only using the highest quality images you can find for your designs. Our online proofing tool will flag any low-resolution elements of your design before you approve it for print, so you can always test it using our tool before you commit to printing. 
    

5. Pick Your Paper
   To match the quality of your design, you should aim for the best quality paper your budget will allow. As leaflets are touchable marketing, how they feel is really important. 
   
   Thicker stocks with special finishes are the best way to make them memorable and invite readers to delve into their contents. Need people to be able to write on your folded leaflets? Go for an uncoated stock. If not, a glossy stock adds a professional finish to your images.
    

We hope this guide on how to fold a leaflet and the different types of folds has inspired you to create something that makes your UK business look amazing. Why not start designing your own folded leaflets with our free online tool? It’s quick and easy and we’ve already set up all the folds for you!