How to Make a Brochure: Tri-Fold Layout, Sizes and Examples That Work

To make a brochure that gets read, write it in the order people actually open it (cover, flap, inside spread, back), design it on your printer's template and add a QR code you can track. That's how to make a brochure that works: the most common format is a tri-fold, one letter-size sheet folded twice into six panels.

We read the top-ranking guides on Google and asked ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. None of them explained how to tell whether a brochure brought in a single customer. This guide does.

A brochure is still one of the hardest-working pieces of traditional marketing for a small business: it sits on your counter, goes in a bag or a mailbox and has room to explain what a postcard can't.

On this page

What is a brochure (and how it differs from a flyer)

A brochure is a folded printed piece with several panels that explains a business, a service or an event in more depth than a flyer.

What is a brochure, exactly? It's a single sheet, printed on both sides and folded one or more times into panels. Closed, it fits in a hand, a rack or a #10 envelope; open, it shows a full spread. The tri-fold is the default for small businesses, followed by the bifold.

What it isn't: a flyer. A flyer is a flat, unfolded sheet with one message you get at a glance. A brochure asks to be opened, and rewards it with detail.

Brochure vs flyer: which one do you need?

Pick a flyer for one offer or one event; pick a brochure when you need to explain several services, prices or steps.

Piece	Folds	Panels	Best for
Flyer	0	1 or 2	One offer or event, read in seconds
Bifold brochure	1	4	A short menu or one service
Tri-fold brochure	2	6	Several services, pricing, steps or a map

Tri-fold brochure layout: what goes on each of the 6 panels

A good brochure layout follows the reading order: cover first, then the flap, then the three inside panels, and the back panel last.

The classic mistake is designing it left to right. On a roll fold (the standard tri-fold), the outside of the sheet runs flap on the left, back cover in the middle and front cover on the right.

Panel	Where it sits on the sheet	When it's seen	What to put there
1. Front cover	Outside, right	First	Name, one-line benefit, strong photo
2. Flap	Outside, left (narrower)	When the cover opens	The hook: your customer's problem or the offer
3. Inside left	Inside, left	Together with the flap	Who you are and why you, in three lines
4. Inside middle	Inside, middle	Fully open	Services or products, with prices if you have them
5. Inside right	Inside, right (tucks in)	Fully open	Proof: reviews, before and after, guarantee
6. Back cover	Outside, middle	Last	Contact, hours, map, QR code and call to action

What is a z fold brochure?

A z fold brochure opens like an accordion, so all three panels are the same width and get read in sequence. It's great for step-by-step instructions, timelines or a map. On a letter sheet, each panel is about 3.67 inches wide.

Brochure size: standard tri-fold dimensions for printing

The standard brochure size in the US is letter: 11 × 8.5 inches flat and about 3.67 × 8.5 inches folded.

Format	Flat	Folded (tri-fold)	Best for
Letter	11 × 8.5 in	About 3.67 × 8.5 in	Counters, racks, #10 envelopes
Legal	14 × 8.5 in	About 4.67 × 8.5 in	More copy without a bigger fold
Tabloid	17 × 11 in	About 5.67 × 11 in	Trade shows, menus, big photos
A4 (outside the US)	297 × 210 mm	About 99 × 210 mm	Printing in Europe or Latin America

Here's the detail most guides skip: on a roll fold, the three panels aren't equal. In the 4over4 tri-fold design guide, the panel that tucks inside is 3 5/8 inches and the other two are 3 11/16, so it doesn't buckle against the fold. On heavy cover stock, that gap grows to 1/8 inch.

The rest of the specs your printer will ask for:

• Bleed: 1/8 inch on every side, so your canvas is 11.25 × 8.75 inches.
• Safe zone: text at least 1/8 inch from the trim and 1/4 inch from each fold.
• File: PDF, CMYK, images at 300 dpi.

What paper is best for brochures?

The best brochure paper for a tri-fold is 100 lb gloss or silk text (about 148 gsm). 100 lb cover (about 270 gsm) feels premium but cracks at the fold unless the printer scores it first, according to the same 4over4 guide.

How to make a brochure step by step

Pick one action you want readers to take, write the copy panel by panel, design on your printer's template and proof a folded copy.

1. Choose one goal and one action

   Done

   Call, book, request a quote or visit. Ask for three things and people do none.

2. Write the copy before you design

   Done

   Panel by panel, in the order from the table above. If it won't fit at 9 pt or bigger, cut words.

3. Download your printer's tri fold brochure template

   Done

   It has the panel widths, bleed and fold lines built in, so the narrow panel is already right.

4. Design with hierarchy

   Done

   One headline per panel, one photo that sells and short lists. White space counts as design.

5. Create the QR code and the link inside it

   Done

   A short URL on your domain that redirects to a page with UTM tags. Put it on the back panel, at least 1 inch wide, and say what people get for scanning.

6. Print a proof, fold it and read it

   Done

   On plain paper. Read it in the real order and scan the QR code from about three feet away with two phones.

Brochure templates: where to find a good one and what to check

A good template saves you an hour; a bad one costs you the print run. Where you get it depends on who is printing, not on which one looks prettiest.

Source	Best for	Watch out
Your printer's template	Anything that printer will produce	It only fits that printer
Canva	Fast design with your own photos	Many templates use three equal panels
Adobe Express	Free templates and quick edits	Same check: look at the panel widths
Word or Google Docs	An office printer	No bleed and no CMYK

Before you trust any template, run this one-minute check:

1. The flat size matches your paper: 11 × 8.5 inches, landscape, for a letter tri-fold.
2. It has two pages, outside and inside, in the order your fold needs.
3. It shows fold guides and 1/8 inch of bleed.
4. On a roll fold, the tuck-in panel is narrower than the other two.
5. The fonts and stock photos are licensed for printed material you sell with.

If a template fails the fourth point, don't redraw it by hand. Start from your printer's file instead.

How to make a brochure in Google Docs

To make a brochure in Google Docs, set a landscape page, add three columns and use column breaks so each panel starts right.

Go to File, then Page setup, choose landscape and margins of about 0.5 inch. Then Format, Columns, three columns. Page one is the outside (flap, back, cover, in that order) and page two the inside. Google Docs is fine for an office printer; a print shop may ask for bleed, which Docs can't add.

Brochure examples for small businesses

The best brochure examples share a clear benefit on the cover, an offer on the flap and a single call to action on the back.

Examples we made up for this guide, to show the split:

Business	Cover	Flap	Inside	Back
Dental office in Austin	“A brighter smile, no judgment”	$49 new-patient exam with this brochure	Services, insurance accepted, reviews	Phone, map and QR code to book
Landscaping company in Denver	“Your yard, done by spring”	Free estimate this month	Services, packages, before and after	QR code to the quote form
Yoga studio in Portland	Studio name and class photo	First week for $20	Class types, schedule, teachers	QR code to the schedule and address

Brochure printing cost: what 500 tri-folds run and how to order

Brochure printing costs from $0.15 to $2.50 a piece depending on the printer, according to UPrinting's own cost guide. Size, paper and fold move the price more than anything else. Its published examples are for 500 full-color, double-sided tri-folds with a three-business-day turnaround.

Size	Gloss	Matte
5.5 × 8.5 in	$141.65	$154.55
8.5 × 11 in	$224.25	$247.50
8.5 × 14 in	$314.90	$349.70
11 × 17 in	$382.35	$503.05

Matte costs more than gloss at every size, and the gap grows with the sheet: $12.90 at 5.5 × 8.5 inches, $120.70 at 11 × 17. Treat these numbers as an example, not a quote. Then run your own math before you order. Say you print 500 letter-size tri-folds at $224.25, or $0.45 each, and they bring in 8 customers. Each one cost you $28.03 in printing. If a customer is worth more than that to you, good. If not, shrink the run or fix the offer.

To compare quotes, ask every printer for the same spec: flat size, fold, paper stock, full color on both sides, quantity, turnaround, and whether folding and a proof are included. Otherwise you're comparing different brochures.

Business brochure tracking: how to tell if it brings in customers

A business brochure is measured with a QR code pointing to a UTM-tagged page and a discount code that only exists on paper.

What you measure	How	With what
Visits from the brochure	QR code with a short URL that redirects to a UTM link	Google Analytics
Customers who show up	A discount code printed only in the brochure	Your register or online store
Which drop works	A different utm_content for each spot (counter, mailers, trade show)	Google Analytics

Build the link with the UTM builder and turn it into a code with our QR code generator. That QR code is static: it never expires, but it doesn't count scans. The UTM does the counting, as Google Analytics Help on campaign URLs explains: always set source, medium and campaign.

If you hand it out in your shop, put your loyalty card offer on the back panel: anyone who returns with the brochure starts with a stamp. And if you plan to hand brochures out on the street, check the permit rules first in our guerrilla marketing guide.

Frequently asked questions about making a brochure

01

Can ChatGPT design a brochure?

ChatGPT can write the copy and suggest a layout, and its image tools can mock up a cover, but it won't hand you a print-ready file with exact panel widths and bleed. Use it for the words: the prompt in this guide gives you copy panel by panel. Then drop that text into a template from your printer or Canva. Check prices, hours and phone numbers by hand, because AI can make them up.

02

How do I make a 3 fold brochure in Word?

If you want to know how to make a brochure on Word, set the page to landscape, use narrow margins and split the text into three columns under Layout, with a column break at the end of each panel. Add a second page for the inside. On page one, put the flap on the left, the back cover in the middle and the front cover on the right. Export a PDF and ask your printer whether they need bleed.

03

How to print a brochure from Canva?

Click Share, then Download, and choose PDF Print. Check the box for crop marks and bleed, keep both pages (outside and inside) in the same file and send it to your printer, or order through Canva Print. Before you download, make sure the template matches your fold: many Canva templates split the page into three equal columns, which only works for a Z fold.

04

Can a brochure be 6 pages?

Yes. A tri-fold is often sold as a 6-page or 6-panel brochure, because one sheet folded twice gives you three panels on each side. If you need more room, the next step up is an 8-panel brochure (a double parallel or gate fold on a larger sheet) or a stapled booklet, which must have a page count divisible by four. For most small businesses, six panels is plenty.

05

How do you fold a brochure?

Here's how to fold a brochure by hand: lay the tri-fold inside up, fold the narrow right panel over the middle one, then fold the left panel over the top so the cover faces you. Crease each fold with a ruler and a bone folder or the back of a spoon. If you're folding hundreds, pay for machine folding: it beats an afternoon of crooked panels. Heavy cover stock also needs scoring first.

06

How do I get a brochure printed?

Download your printer's template, design inside it and send a PDF with 1/8 inch bleed, CMYK color and 300 dpi images. Ask for a printed proof if your colors matter, and order them folded. Online printers are fine for standard letter tri-folds; a local print shop helps when you need a rush job or unusual paper. Price depends mostly on quantity, paper weight and folding.

07

What is a bifold brochure?

A bifold brochure is a sheet folded once down the middle, which gives you four panels: front, back and a two-panel inside spread. A letter-size bifold folds to 8.5 × 5.5 inches. It suits short menus, event programs and a single service with pricing. If you need to explain several services or steps, a tri-fold gives you six panels for about the same printing effort.

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