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Sample Roll Fold Setup

For Sizing Tri-Fold Brochures and Others

Here's an example of output from our Roll Fold Calculator:

Desired folded width: 3.5 inches
Number of panels: 4
Decrease in width of successive panels: 0.0625 inches

  Outside (page 1)
 Inside (page 2)
Panel width guide width guide

1 3.375 3.375 3.5 3.5
2 3.4375 6.8125 3.5 7
3 3.5   (OBC) 10.3125 3.4375 10.4375
4 3.5   (OFC) 13.8125 3.375 13.8125

Total document width: 13.8125 inches

Here's how to set up your document with this information:

  1. Create a new, 2-page document that's 13.8125 inches wide and as tall as your design dictates (perhaps 8.5 inches). (Here's a picture of this in PageMaker 6.5; it's <6K) You probably don't want any default margins, guides, or text boxes. If your layout program doesn't let you specify numbers that precisely, just accept whatever it rounds to.
  2. Turn on (show, make visible) your page rulers and guides.
  3. Double-check that the zero point of the ruler is at the left edge of the page; this is usually the default.
  4. Add vertical guides to page 1 at the positions shown in the table, either by dragging from the ruler or entering in a dialog box. If you're dragging, zooming in may allow you greater precision. You should have vertical guides at 3.375", 6.8125", and 10.3125", or as close to that as your layout program will allow. You don't really need to place a guide at 13.8125; that's the right edge of the sheet.
  5. Add vertical guides to page 2 at 3.5", 7", and 10.4375"; again, you can skip 13.8125".
  6. These guides show you where the paper will fold. You may want to add additional guides for text block margins, etc.

Here's another picture; this time of page 1 in layout in PageMaker 6.5; it's about 16k.