*Constructing 3-Fold Brochures
Using Microsoft Word
Prim ary steps f or creati on:
a.) Use columns (setting margins for correct width)
b.) Use textboxes for text positioning
c.) Need 2 pages to create the brochure (not separate documents)
Det ermini ng Layout P osition (before creation)
Before opening Word, you should figure out how you want the “panels” of your brochure to be viewed. There are
typically two types of folds commonly used in tri-fold (3-fold) brochures: The Z (or accordion) fold and the barrel
(or roll) fold. As the name indicates, with a Z-fold, the paper is folded in alternating directions, which is good if you
want to present your information in sequential fashion. The barrel fold is much like you folding a letter before
putting it in an envelope (the second fold wraps around the first one; see diagram below). It helps to take a scrap
piece of paper and fold it the way you want your brochure to appear (use numbers and do a quick print). You may
be surprised to see the backside of the brochure has the front cover.
Setting up th e Page
a.) Open a blank new document (file new blank document) in Word
b.) Give your document a name (SAVE AS) and save it to a remote location (not desktop)
c.) Create 2 pages within the document (Insert break page break); notice a new page shows up
d.) Setting “Margins” to create the fold/text positioning (format document)
1.) All margins set to .5” (1/2 inch) for top, bottom, left, and right); gutter is not important
2.) Next, choose “page setup” (below margins) and choose paper size
US letter
e.) Change standard view to landscape (file page setup) and choose orientation
f.) Next, Format Columns to change column dimensions (3 columns with nearly equal widths)
1.) Go to (format columns) and change the number of columns to “3”
2.) Turn off the “equal column width” (should be checked already, just deselect it)
3.) Set 1
st
and 3
rd
columns to 3.17” and middle column (#2) to about 3.67” (approx. 11” total width)
4.) NOTE: spacing should be at 0” as we will use a different technique for this.
**Usi ng “tabs” i nst ead of columns:
It’s possible to use tabs when creating your brochure layout. In that case, you need to use
the “ruler” (view ruler). Make sure your cursor is blinking on the first page and the
arrow is pointed “up.” Now you are ready to set up the markers for the folds. Make sure
that the page setup has been transferred to landscape. Set tabs with the ruler to approx.
3.17” and another at the 6.84” mark (the last one we can leave alone as it will be created
automatically after the second tab is done. Make sure the tabs are set on the 2
nd
page.
You can also set up tabs by going to (Format tabs) on the menu toolbar.
g.) Now, we need to setup page boundaries to highlight our folds and help us determine our textbox positioning
1.) Go to (Word Preferences Text Boundaries (and select it, then choose “OK”) (notice lines on pages)
Using Textboxes for Positioni ng Text
When typing text in the 3-fold brochure format, use “textboxes” as a way to
keep text aligned and positioned in accordance to the folds and text boundaries.
To create a textbox, you can do one of two methods:
a.) Go to (Insert textbox)
b.) Or, bring up your drawing toolbar (View toolbars drawing) and select
this icon to create a textbox (much easier)
How do you eliminate lines around a textbox?
Highlight your textbox and go to the “drawing toolbar” (located near the right side of the document). Next, choose
the icon that looks like and choose (“NO LINE”). The lines around the textbox will disappear.