Accordion folds are some of the most common folding styles
used in brochure folding. The common characteristic of
accordion folds is the "zig-zag" back-and-forth
nature of the panels. Accordions are an excellent choice
for a variety of applications. Nicknames: z-fold, back-and
forth, zig-zag
The Basic folding family consists of some of the easiest
and most common folding styles. Great for low budget or
simple projects, these styles are perfect for invitations,
newsletters and brochures, and virtually guarantee stress-free
production at almost any printer or bindery.
The Exotic family is the most exciting of the bunch. Filled
with unrelated specialty folds that challenge even the
most creative mind, many of these styles require either
the services of a specialty bindery, or hand-folding.
Gate folds are characterized by the necessity of a gate
fold attachment to execute the folding style. Gate folds
are generally symmetrical, with two or more panels folding
into the center from opposing sides. Note: Not every printer
has a gate fold attachment in their shop, which may require
that they outsource the folding or hand fold the final
fold.
Map folds characteristically have several accordion folds
and are built in a tall format that opens into a large
continuous layout, rather than spreads. Maps are limited
to lighter weight stocks and may require special machinery
configurations.
The Parallel folding family consists of styles with panels
that stay parallel to each other. Parallel folds run the
gamut from simple to complicated, and offer a variety
of options suitable for almost any application.
Poster folds are combination folds that are built to open
out into a large poster format. Posters consist of at
least two folds, one serves as the base fold, and one
as the finished fold. The base fold is the first folding
style applied, the finished fold is the folding style
it adapts for the finished format. For example, the Double
Parallel into Accordion Poster (PO-16, page 743 of FOLD:
The Professional's Guide to Folding) has a Double Parallel
base fold, and then finishes in an Accordion fold format.
Posters are limited to lighter weight stocks.
Roll folds consist of four or more panels that roll in
on each other. The roll-in panels must get incrementally
smaller to be able to tuck into the respective panels.
One of the benefits of a roll fold is that it can have
multiple panels, but rolls into a compact package. Nicknames:
barrel fold, over and over
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