Brochure Formats: 4 Popular Options that are Budget-Friendly

A young woman reading a tri-fold brochure

estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Promote your Brand with Printed Brochures

Brochures are a very popular form of marketing communication. Designed to highlight the benefits offered by a company, product or service, brochures provide a convenient and visually appealing way to convey these promotional messages.

Businesses distribute brochures to prospective customers to showcase their offerings, build awareness, and stimulate demand. To capture attention and encourage a positive response, brochures use intriguing headings, attractive imagery and persuasive text. Also, to be entirely effective, brochures must include a compelling call to action and display a clear method of contact.

Printed brochures are extremely versatile and can be created in a variety of convenient sizes and formats. Unlike flyers or sell sheets, which are designed as flat documents, a brochure incorporates one or more folds as part of its design. These folds create distinct panels, or pages, which allows the brochure's content to be presented in logical sections.

The most economical brochures use simplistic formats that are fashioned from standard paper sizes. These brochures are more cost-effective because they are commonly produced and don't require any special customization. Despite the relative simplicity, these brochures can still deliver impactful content.

If cost is a concern for your project, below are 4 of the most inexpensive brochure formats to consider.

A woman reading a brochure about spa services — *Made with only a single fold, the Half-Fold is a very inexpensive brochure format*

Budget-Friendly Brochure Formats:

1. Half-Fold

The Half Fold is a very inexpensive brochure format. A printed sheet is simply folded in half to create a total of four panels - two panels on each side.

Two of the most popular finished sizes for a half-fold brochure are 5.5" x 8.5" and 8.5" x 11". The 5.5" x 8.5" brochure is made from a standard 11" x 8.5" sheet folded in half. The 8.5" x 11" brochure is made from a standard 17" x 11" sheet folded in half.

These are the two most common sizes but other half-fold brochure sizes can be produced rather economically too. For example, an 8.5" x 11" sheet can be folded lengthwise to create a brochure measuring 4.25" x 11". This variation of a half-fold is commonly referred to as a vertical half-fold.

2. Tri-Fold using a Letter Fold

A tri-fold brochure opened fully — *A Tri-Fold brochure using a Letter Fold has both ends folded inward to create three panels*

Compact and tidy, the Tri-Fold is an extremely popular brochure format that sees widespread use across multiple industries. Whereas the half-fold uses a single fold, the tri-fold method uses two parallel folds. These two folds divide the printed sheet into six panels of like size - three panels on each side.

To create a tri-fold using a letter fold, one end of the sheet is folded inward until its edge is approximately one-third of the way across the width of the document. The other end of the sheet is then folded over the top until its edge aligns with the outer folded edge.

The most prevalent finished size for a small letter-folded brochure is 3.66" x 8.5". It is made from a standard 11" x 8.5" sheet folded into thirds. A common finished size for a large tri-folded brochure is 8.5" x 11". It is made from a 25.5" x 11" sheet folded into thirds. Though 3.66" x 8.5" and 8.5" x 11" are the most frequently used finished sizes, the letter-fold can be used to create other brochure sizes as well.

3. Tri-Fold using a "Z" Fold

A Z-fold brochure opened fully — *A Tri-Fold brochure using a "Z" Fold has each end fold in opposite directions to create three panels*

It should come as no surprise that the Z-Fold brochure derives its name from the "Z" shape it forms once folded. A variation of the tri-fold described above, the Z-fold also uses two parallel folds to create six panels of like size - three panels on each side of the sheet. However, instead of both ends being folded inward, the ends will be folded in opposite directions.

To create a tri-fold using a "Z" fold, one end of the printed sheet is folded inward until its edge is a third of the way across the width of the document. The other end of the sheet is then folded in the reverse direction until it aligns with the opposite edge on the back side of the sheet. Because the two ends of the sheet are folded in different directions, the brochure ends up resembling the letter "Z".

The most popular finished size for a small Z-folded brochure is 3.66" x 8.5". Just like the small letter-folded brochure, it is made from a standard 11" x 8.5" sheet folded into thirds. A common finished size for a large Z-folded brochure is 8.5" x 11", which is made from a 25.5" x 11" sheet folded into three sections.

A Z-fold brochure will open with less resistance than a letter-fold and will lie somewhat flatter. This makes it better suited for larger images or diagrams that need to span across multiple panels to be viewed properly.

A brochure made as a multi-page booklet — *A brochure made as a Saddle-Stitched Booklet can display an extensive amount of information for a reasonable cost*

4. Saddle-Stitched Booklet Format

Once the content of a brochure requires more space than the six panels of a large tri-fold can provide, it is time to consider creating the brochure in the form of a Booklet.

Booklet-style brochures are created from two or more folded sheets that are nested together and joined by wire staples driven through their fold lines.

The staples penetrate all of the sheets and are cinched closed in the fold line of the innermost sheet. This staple binding method, known as Saddle-Stitching, is the most reasonably-priced way to bind a booklet.

Because each folded sheet creates four pages, a brochure can be made with 8 pages, 12 pages, 16 pages and so on. By utilizing this cost-effective booklet format, the brochure can now affordably display content that is incredibly extensive and detailed.

Booklet style brochures can be made with various dimensions, with finished sizes of 5.5" x 8.5" and 8.5" x 11" being among the most common. Of course, the 5.5"x 8.5" booklets are constructed of standard 11" x 8.5" sheets that have been folded in half and the 8.5" x 11" booklets are constructed of standard 17" x 11" sheets that have been folded in half.

Though booklet brochures can be created with a portrait orientation (height greater than width) or a landscape orientation (width greater than height), the portrait orientation is more commonly produced. As such, a portrait booklet will be a little more economically priced than its landscape counterpart.

Let Color Vision assist with your next Brochure Project!

Brochures are ideal for sharing the story of your company, showcasing your products and services, and touting the unique benefits your organization provides.

Fortunately, custom-printed brochures don't have to break the bank. All of the formats outlined above provide an inexpensive way to engage your intended audience and promote your brand.

Color Vision has built a strong reputation by offering quality printing at affordable prices, so be sure to get in touch with us to discuss your next order of professionally printed brochures.

Because we offer both offset and digital printing services, we can assist with short, medium, and long production runs. We also offer a variety of coating and finishing options to enhance the visual appeal of your brochures.

If you have an upcoming brochure project and would like a quote, use our easy Quote Request form to send us your specifications and we will be happy to email a quote to you. Or, if you prefer to contact us by phone, we can be reached at 800-543-6299.

As always, we look forward to assisting with your next print project!