Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Custom brochures are built around whatever fold, page count and size your project actually needs, rather than a fixed tri-fold or standard letter layout. That makes them the right call when your content doesn't map cleanly onto a standard fold. A product catalog with more panels than a tri-fold can hold, an oversized format for trade-show handouts, or an unusual panel count built for a specific display rack. Tell us the fold style, size, page count and finish, and we'll build the layout around how the piece will actually be read and handled.
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A standard brochure comes in one of a handful of familiar shapes. A letter-size tri-fold, a legal-size sheet with an extra panel, a larger format for more visual content. A custom brochure order exists for projects that don't fit neatly into any of those templates: a product catalog that needs more panels than a tri-fold offers, an oversized piece built for a trade-show table, a square or unusually proportioned format, or a page count that calls for saddle-stitching rather than a simple fold.
The fold does most of the work in how a brochure gets read, so it's worth choosing it around the content rather than the other way around. A half-fold or bi-fold keeps things simple for a short message with a strong cover. A tri-fold or z-fold breaks content into a sequence of panels that guide the reader from one idea to the next. A gate-fold, where both outer panels open inward toward the center, suits a dramatic reveal. A before-and-after, a product unveiling, a map that unfolds to full size. A roll-fold, where each panel nests inside the next, works well for step-by-step content that benefits from a fixed reading order.
Paper choice matters more on a custom brochure than people expect. A lighter text-weight stock, generally in the 80 lb to 100 lb range, folds cleanly and keeps a multi-panel piece from feeling stiff or bulky, while a heavier cover-weight stock gives a shorter piece more presence on a table or in a bag but can crack along the fold if it isn't scored first. Lamination adds durability for a brochure meant to be handled repeatedly (at a trade show, in a waiting room) while an uncoated or soft-touch stock reads as more premium for a piece meant to be kept rather than skimmed and set aside.
Because the specifications are entirely custom, it helps to settle a few things before requesting a quote: the finished size, the fold style and resulting panel count, whether the piece needs to accommodate future content updates, and how many you'll need for the current campaign versus ongoing use. Getting those details locked in early keeps the proofing process fast and avoids a reprint once you see how the fold actually reads in hand.
Brochure weight is a balance between feel and fold. Text weights around 130 to 170gsm fold crisply without scoring and suit anything distributed in volume. Heavier silk and cover weights feel more substantial and survive being carried in a bag, but they must be scored before folding or the coating cracks visibly along every fold. That scoring requirement is the practical dividing line in this family.
When does a brochure need scoring? From roughly 170gsm upward on coated stock. Skip it and the fold cracks white along its whole length on the first fold.
Full color on both sides is standard, since a brochure that is not printed on the reverse is a flyer. The consideration specific to this format is that the artwork has to be built as panels rather than as pages. Content that crosses a fold needs to allow for it, and any image spanning two panels has to survive being interrupted by a crease.
Can an image cross a fold? Yes, but keep faces and fine detail off the crease. A fold through the middle of a face is the classic brochure mistake.
The fold decides the reading sequence, which matters more than the panel count. A tri-fold reveals in thirds and hides the inside until fully opened. A bi-fold opens like a card to a single wide spread. A roll fold tucks each panel inside the next, so panels get progressively narrower and must be cut to allow for it. A gate fold opens from both sides to a center reveal.
Which fold should I choose? Describe the sequence you want the reader to experience rather than naming a fold, and we will tell you which one does it.
Gloss lifts photographic color and suits image-led brochures; matte and silk read calmer and are much easier on long copy, since gloss throws glare exactly where someone is trying to read. Lamination is worth it on cover-weight pieces that will be carried and re-read, because the fold is the first place an unprotected brochure starts to look worn.
Does the fold wear out? It is the first place to go. On anything kept and re-opened, a laminate or a silk finish makes a visible difference within weeks.
For pieces where the standard sheet sizes and fold patterns do not serve. A square format, a specific panel width that has to match existing collateral, an unusual fold sequence, or a page count beyond what folding a single sheet can produce. Past a certain point the right answer stops being a folded sheet and becomes a stitched booklet, and we will say so.
When does a brochure become a booklet? Roughly when you need more than eight panels. Beyond that, folding gets bulky and a saddle-stitched booklet is cheaper and reads better.
Ask for samples before a long run. How a stock takes a fold is the property that decides whether a brochure looks crisp or cracked.
A blunt rule pressed into the sheet before folding so the fibers bend along a controlled line. On anything from roughly 170gsm upward on coated stock this is not optional. Without it the coating fractures white along every fold.
A bonded film, worth it on cover-weight brochures that get carried and re-opened. The fold is where an unprotected brochure fails first, and a laminate is what stops that happening within a fortnight.
Both cut glare so long copy stays readable under overhead light. On a text-heavy brochure this is a legibility decision rather than a stylistic one, gloss actively fights sustained reading.
A shaped edge, a die-cut window revealing the panel beneath, or an integral pocket for a loose insert. All three turn a folded sheet into something that does not read as a standard brochure at a glance.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Brochure | From | Sheet | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Brochures | $220 | 8.5″ × 11″ sheet, folded | The default (fits racks and folders) |
| Legal Brochures | $290 | 8.5″ × 14″ sheet, folded | More content, still fits a rack |
| Large Brochures | $310 | 11″ × 17″ or larger sheet | Images need room to work |
| Custom Brochures | $220 | Your sheet, fold and panels | No standard sheet or fold fits |
Roughly when you need more than eight panels. Beyond that, folding gets bulky and awkward to open, and a saddle-stitched booklet is both cheaper to produce and easier to read. We will say so rather than sell you a difficult fold.
Yes, and it stands out for exactly the reason it is uncommon. Confirm postal costs before committing. Square formats attract surcharges in many postal systems regardless of weight.
Usually. Send a physical copy. Stock weight, coating and fold pattern are all far easier to identify in the hand than from a description, and matching those matters more than matching the artwork.
Yes. Gate, roll, accordion, double parallel and others. Rather than naming a fold, describe the sequence you want a reader to experience and we will tell you which pattern produces it.
Pricing for custom brochures starts at $220 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of custom brochures prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof showing the flat sheet with fold lines, plus the panel sequence in reading order. On a roll fold the proof also shows the stepped panel widths, since those panels are deliberately not equal. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Photographic elements should be supplied at the resolution the finished size needs, not the resolution that looks sharp on screen. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. Your sheet, fold and panel count is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: your sheet, fold and panels. Order it when no standard sheet or fold fits. If you have seen it called custom brochures printing elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on custom brochures it is worth asking for one, because the difference between text weight gloss and text weight silk is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on text weight gloss, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are scoring, lamination, silk and matte finishes. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: custom brochures are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. If nothing about the artwork or the specification has changed, there is nothing to re-approve. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
