How to write and lay out a tri-fold brochure

A tri-fold is a letter or A4 sheet folded twice into three panels, giving you six faces. It is the standard trade-show handout and the format most printers price cheapest. It is also the format people get wrong most often, because the panels do not read in the order they sit on the page.

Panel order (this is the part everyone gets wrong)

Lay the sheet flat. Each side has three panels.

Outside (what the reader sees first):

• Left panel: the inside flap that folds in. Use it for the "about" or a secondary message.
• Middle panel: the back cover. Contact details, address, QR code, logo.
• Right panel: the front cover. Headline, one image, your logo.

Inside (opens like a book):

• Panels 1, 2 and 3 read left to right as one spread. This is where the product story goes.

If you design "panel 1, 2, 3" left to right on the outside, your front cover ends up in the middle. Mark the panels on a folded piece of paper before you lay anything out.

Panel sizes

The flap that folds inside is about 1.5 mm (1/16 in) narrower so it clears the fold. Printers will tell you this after you have sent the file, so get it right first.

What goes on each panel

• Front cover: one headline that names the outcome, one strong image, your logo. No paragraphs.
• Inside flap: who you are, one sentence; or a short "how it works" in three steps.
• Inside spread (3 panels): the product. Benefits on the left, specs or a photo in the middle, proof (a quote, a named customer, a certification) on the right.
• Back cover: contact name, phone, email, website, QR code to a booking or product page. Leave white space; this is the panel that gets written on.

Writing rules

• One headline per panel, under eight words.
• Body text at 10 to 11 point; 120 to 150 words per panel at most.
• Three benefits, each with a number or fact behind it.
• Put the price or price range on the inside spread if buyers expect one.

Print settings

• 300 dpi, CMYK, 0.125 in (3 mm) bleed on all sides.
• Keep text 0.25 in (6 mm) inside the fold and trim lines.
• 100 lb gloss text or 80 lb cover stock for handouts; uncoated if people will write on it.
• Order a printed proof before the full run. Screen colors lie.

Tri-fold or sell sheet?

If you sell one product and the buyer already knows what it is, use a sell sheet. Use a tri-fold when there is a story to tell, a small line to cover, or a trade-show rack to fill.

Make one in minutes

PromptSpoke's brochure generator asks you a few questions, pulls the facts from your website, writes the copy for all six panels and lays it out in your logo and colors, with fold and bleed handled. Your first brochure is free. Make a tri-fold →