Brochures

The print file requirements differ depending on the type of the brochure:

• brochures without cover
• brochures with four-sided cover
• brochures with six-sided cover

Brochures without cover

If you would like to order brochures without an additional cover, you have three options of submitting the print files:#

• We prefer: Consecutive single pages in a PDF file
• Consecutive single pages in several PDF files
• Single pages as individual TIFF, JPEG or PDF files

Brochures with four-sided cover

If you would like to order brochures with an additional four-sided cover, you have three options to submit the print files:

• We prefer: Consecutive single pages in a PDF file
• Consecutive single pages in several PDF files
• Single pages as individual TIFF, JPEG or PDF files

Brochures with six-sided cover

If you would like to order brochures with an additional six-sided cover, i.e. with a flap in the front or back, you must send the print files for the inner section and cover separately.

Inner section

You have three options when submitting the inner section of the brochure:

• We prefer: Consecutive single pages in a PDF file
• Consecutive single pages in several PDF files
• Single pages as individual TIFF, JPEG or PDF files

Six-sided cover

We need the print files for the six-sided cover of brochures readily imposed in a two-page document (outside and inside of the cover). The flap can either be on the back or front of the brochures.

Both the flap and the page adjacent to the flap must be created shortened in the print file due to the fold:

• Page adjacent to the flap: width of the cover − 2 mm
• Flap: width of the cover − 5 mm

Additionally, the width of the flap can be shortened if you want a smaller flap.

With a six-sided cover with the flap on the back, the arrangement of pages in the imposed print file looks as follows: To the left of the first page of the document (outside) is the flap (5), shortened by 5 mm, in the centre is the reverse side (6), shortened by 2 mm, and to the right the front or title page of the cover (1). On the second page of the document (inside), the inside title page (2) is located at the left, the inside reverse side (3) in the centre, shortened by 2 mm, and the inside of the flap (4) at the right, shortened by 5 mm.

Creep when folding brochures

When folding brochures with a high number of pages, the middle pages can be pushed outward resulting in a cascaded appearance.

To prevent that objects near the edge such as page numbers, lines and other elements are cut off or are positioned too closely to the edge of the page, you should already allow for the creep when creating print data.

Example:

Brochures with 48 pages in the inner section and a paper weight of 135 g/m²

Creep = 48 pages : 4 x 135 g/m² : 1000 = 1.62 mm ≈ 1.6 mm

The 48 pages force approx. 1.6 mm paper outward in the middle of the brochures. If the stack is folded, the inner pages will be forced outward by the value of approx. 1.6 mm. When the brochure is subsequently cut off, the inside pages will be 1.6 mm shorter than those on the outside. This can be seen in particular in elements such as page numbers located close to the edge.

Observe safety margin

Important texts, logos and other illustrations that must not be cut off must be positioned at least 5 mm (more if possible) from the edge of the final format.

Please do not use white or coloured margins or outlines. Especially with small sizes such as A6 Square, A6 and A5, we recommend to closely follow the safety margin and bleed specifications.

Naming singe files correctly

If you send us the inner section in several files with one page or several pages respectively, please name the files such that they are consecutively numbered.

Example: "Brochure_01.pdf", "Brochure_02.pdf", "Brochure_03.pdf", etc.

Covers created individually must also be named clearly.

Example: "Brochure-Cover_04_01.pdf", "Brochure-Cover_02_03.pdf".

Read more information on naming multiple-page documents.