Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Standard brochures are printed on a letter-size 8.5 x 11 sheet and folded (most often tri-fold, sometimes bi-fold) into the format most people picture when they hear the word brochure. It's the size that mails easily in a standard envelope, fits standard literature racks and binders, and works for the widest range of uses: sales sheets, event handouts, service overviews, nonprofit materials. If your content fits comfortably in three or four panels without feeling cramped or half-empty, this is usually the right size to start with.
A standard brochure is printed on a letter-size 8.5 x 11 sheet (the same paper size as a printed page) and folded down into a compact, easy-to-handle piece, most commonly a tri-fold with six panels or a simpler bi-fold with four. It's the size most people picture by default when they think "brochure," and for good reason: it mails easily in a standard envelope, fits the vast majority of literature racks and binder pockets, and photocopies or scans cleanly if someone needs a quick digital copy.
The tri-fold's six-panel layout naturally splits content into a logical sequence: an outer cover panel that grabs attention, a back panel for contact information or a map, and four interior panels for the body of the message. That structure works well for sales overviews, service menus, event programs, nonprofit fundraising materials and general company handouts. Anything where the content breaks cleanly into an introduction, a few supporting points, and a call to action, without needing the extra real estate a legal or large-format brochure provides.
Paper stock for a standard brochure typically runs in the 80 lb to 100 lb text-weight range, which folds cleanly along a tri-fold or bi-fold score without cracking or feeling stiff. Lamination is optional but worth considering for a piece that will be handled repeatedly (at a trade show table, in a waiting room) since it adds a layer of protection and a bit more visual punch, particularly on photography with a gloss finish.
Where a standard brochure starts to feel tight is when the content genuinely needs more space: dense technical specifications, multiple product lines, or disclosure language that can't be trimmed. In those cases, sizing up to a legal or large-format brochure keeps panels from feeling overstuffed. But for the majority of marketing and informational pieces, the standard size hits the right balance of cost, mailability and readability, which is why it's usually the first size to consider before deciding a project needs something bigger.
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.
A letter-size sheet folded (most often tri-fold, sometimes bi-fold) into the format most people picture when they hear the word brochure. Tri-folded it produces panels a little under 3.7 inches wide, which is the width literature racks, envelope windows and pocket folders are all built around. That compatibility is why it remains the default.
Will it fit a rack? Tri-folded, yes. The resulting panel width is what most literature racks are dimensioned for. Bi-folded it is too wide for a standard slot.
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 |
Tri-folded, yes. The resulting panel width is what most racks are dimensioned around. Bi-folded it is too wide for a standard slot, which is worth knowing before you choose the fold rather than after printing.
Tri-fold if you want a sequence. A cover, a reveal, then the full inside spread. Bi-fold if the content is one continuous spread and you would rather not interrupt it with two creases.
Missing scoring on a coated stock. From roughly 170gsm upward the sheet has to be scored before folding, or the coating fractures white along the entire crease on the first fold.
Less than the space suggests, because each panel is under four inches wide and readable type has a minimum size. Draft the copy to the panel rather than designing the panel around finished copy.
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 standard 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. 8.5″ × 11″ sheet 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: 8.5″ × 11″ sheet, folded. Order it when the default (fits racks and folders). If you have seen it called standard 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 standard 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: standard 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.
