Panels, Pages, and Folding

(If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.)

Finished Size: The dimensions of a printed piece after folding. For example, if you fold an 8½"x11" piece of paper into quarters, the finished size would be 4¼"x5½".
Flat Size: The dimensions of a printed piece when it is laid flat, before folding.
Flap: A flap is another name for a short panel (a panel that is smaller than the other panels in a printed piece). For example, if you were to fold an 8½"x11" piece of paper at 4½" down the page and 9" down the page, the last 2" section could be called a Flap.
Narrow Format: A piece where the finished height is at least twice the finished width. Some common narrow dimensions are 4"x8" or 3"x9".
Oblong Format: A piece where the finished width is at least ¾" greater than the finished height. Some common oblong dimensions are 6"x4" and 8"x5".
Square Format: A piece where the difference between the finished height and finished width is less than ¾". For example, 6"x6" or 6"x5½" are square formats.
Upright Format: A piece where the finished height is at least ¾" greater than the finished width. Some common upright dimensions are 5"x8" or 4"x6".
Page: A page is a section of paper to be printed onto. The edges of the page might be folds, or actual edges of the piece of paper. A piece of paper has two pages, front and back.
Panel: A panel is a physical section of paper with two sides (pages). If you fold a piece of paper in half, you have created two panels and four pages.
Parallel Fold: A parallel fold is one which is parallel to the fold that came before it. For example, if you fold a piece of paper halfway down, then halfway down again, the second fold is a parallel fold.
Right-Angle Fold: A right-angle fold is one which is at right-angles to the fold that came before it. For example, if you fold a piece of paper halfway down, then halfway across, the second fold is a right-angle fold.
Spread: A spread is two or more pages meant to be viewed together. The most recognizable example of a spread is a magazine ad that is printed on two facing pages.