If you layout your 8.5 x 11 brochure for a tri-fold by splitting your page into 3 equal columns, it will NOT fold correctly. Text and images will appear off center once folded on several of the panels. The thickness of the paper during the fold must be accounted for to achieve a finished panel that is centered. The panels on the inside, being a mirror image in placement of the ones on the outside, must also be offset an equal but opposite (in the other direction) amount. The amount of offset, however, can vary depending on if you are printing on text weight, cover stock, or other paper types. Below you will find a general setup that works for a tri-fold brochure. (With InDesign, multiple page sizes are supported within one document so you can set up your different sized panels there as a 6 page document as well).
How to set-up a tri-fold, 8.5 x 11 brochure:
Allow a .375” margin on all four sides of the paper (unless you are sure you are printing on oversized paper to accommodate a bleed.) Two panels are 1/16” larger than the third. Pages 1 & 2 of your document must be set up INDIVIDUALLY with different panel widths, being mirror images of each other – see the diagrams below. Unless you are using heavy paper, an amount more than 1/16” will be far too much for a fold allowance.
The FRONT COVER or outside panels:
Panels 2 & 3 must be slightly larger than Panel 1.
The Back or INSIDE PANELS:
Panels 1 & 2 must be slightly larger than Panel 3 (the mirror image of the outisde setup)
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