High Impact Folding Tricks

Transcription

1 10 High Impact Foldig Tricks The secret to gettig wow-factor o ay budget 1. Simple Guillotie Trims Guillotie trims ca give the effect of a die without the price tag. It s amazig what a simple short trim o a cover or fold-i pael ca do to eve the most basic of foldig styles. Ad guillotie trims do t have to be straight. Add a agled trim to a cover, or eve better, alog the top of a accordio fold for a waterfall effect. Waa cut corers? I have a great sample i my collectio it s a 4-pael accordio, ad the upper right ad lower left corers are cut at agles. It makes a eat shape whe flat ad folded, ad it really worked with their desig cocept. 2. Directioal ad Format Chages We get so used to lookig at the same few formats every day that sometimes we forget that we ca chage these formats i eve the simplest of ways to make them feel ad look etirely differet. If you do t believe me, the take your usual 4 x 9 tri-fold ad make it 9 x 4 ad see what that does to your layout ad your mid. Now, take some of your other favorite basic folds ad make them loger, shorter, wider, or rotated 90 degrees. I most cases, it s the same fold to your priter, it s just your art ad pael orietatio that chages. The most critical issue to keep i mid whe chagig formats is to truly uderstad the ed use of your product. Sometimes a brochure is specified i a certai size ad format for usability issues, or to fit ito a literature rack, or for mailig purposes. Maybe it has to fit ito a custom evelope, folder or bider. Be sure to do your research ad get the gree light before chagig the format of a product. 3. Asymmetry The key to gettig attetio is to do somethig uexpected. Asymmetry is a fu way to get a viewer s iterest. I have a really cool sample of a double-parallel fold that is double parallel folded i such a way that it creates a stepped effect alog oe side. The maer i which it was folded (two parallel folds) does t chage, just the size of the sheet ad placemet of the folds. What is most excitig about this idea is that stepped foldig styles ca be complex specialty folds, but this foldig trick achieves the look of a stepped foldig style without the price tag. Asymmetry also works with gate folds, amog others. O a stadard gate, push the break betwee the paels to off ceter. Iterestig! O a closed gate, make the two leftmost paels shorter, ad the rightmost paels loger to create a short cover ad a step o the right edge. gate 2011 Trish Witkowski, foldfactory.com

2 4. Broadside Folds A foldig style ca take o a totally differet persoality whe it s i a broadside format. The broadside optio doubles the total area for a spacious, poster-style iterior, yet it folds dow very eatly ito a tailored package. Take it a step agled corer trim further usig oe of my favorite tricks: trim the corer at a agle for a graphic teaser it looks like a die cut, but it s actually just a agled trim! Cheap ad impactful. 5. Visual Tricks This is a fu oe foldig offers iterestig ways to reveal iformatio, ad sometimes the way to create impact with a folded piece whe you re o a budget is to do so with a sazzy visual trick. Oe sample I have that I ve always ejoyed is a old Verizo piece ad it s got a short pael ad o that short pael is a phoe o a cradle, ad whe you lift the pael, the phoe is off the cradle ad i your had (the face of the phoe is prited o the uderside of the short pael), ad the image revealed by the pael is a empty cradle. So, utilizig a basic short trim ad iterestig imagery, you ca also amuse ad captivate the recipiet. 6. Short Folds Short folds are broadside folds that do ot meet at a flush edge. They re shorteed by whatever legth you wat, ad you get a ice baer effect alog the bottom of the piece (o the iside or outside). Usually, short folds are desiged to lift up, but a fu trick is to desig the short fold to pull dow istead it s called a iverted short fold. If that s ot eough, tur the iverted short fold ito a pocket to hold a sell sheet or smaller brochure. The pocket techique creates a ice little package without the extra cost of a die or glue. Glueless pocket example Oe ote of cautio: this cocept gives the effect of a pocket, without the security of a real, glued pocket folder. It s great for light marketig pieces, but if you really eed the stregth ad durability of a folder, you should get a folder. Short Fold Iverted Short Fold 2011 Trish Witkowski, foldfactory.com

3 7. Die Cuts Everybody loves a die cut. Although ot usually i the cheap tricks category, some of the simpler forms of die-cuttig ca happe ilie durig the prit fiishig process. Sometimes a simple slit ad tuck or rouded corer ca make thigs iterestig. Tip: Ask your priters about their die ivetory you may be able to save moey by utilizig a pre-ejoyed die. 8. Exteded Paels The opposite of a short trim is a exteded pael. I compariso, a short trim iteracts with the cotet o the pael beeath it, whereas a exteded pael is usually a extesio of the back cover. A exteded pael ca create a fu graphic teaser, or a tab for iformatio or bradig. Log paels work well for accordio folds ad double parallel folds i particular, due to the fact that they have ope trailig edges, as opposed to roll folds, tri-folds ad gate folds whose paels tuck ito themselves. 10. Short Paels Short paels, or flaps, are used fairly commoly i brochures for Busiess Reply Cards, however there are may other creative opportuities for paels that are drastically shorter tha their compaio paels. For example, a tri-fold where the fold-i pael is desiged as a short pael ca be a coupo, a call-out testimoial, or a fu way to use a visual trick (see tip umber 5). Chage the foldig order so that the fold-i pael is actually o top of the cover ad it becomes a closig mechaism. Short pael folds to iside Short pael folds to outside 9. Iteractio If you ca get the viewer to iteract with your prited piece, that s a major wi. Whether it s through a iterestig opeig order ad reveal, or a little die-cut widow that they have to ope, or a sticker they have to place, thik about creatig a experiece that pulls the viewer i ad gets them ivolved. It s a prove techique that gets results, ad it does t have to break the bak. Try shorteig the fold-i paels of a gate fold to create a wide chael i the middle ad two colums o either side. This trick makes for a more difficult productio process, so proceed with cautio, but the creative possibilities are edless. For foldig templates, ideas ad ispiratio, visit foldfactory.com. Joi the foldfactory commuity (it s free!) to start receivig the 60-secod Super-cool Fold of the Week 2011 Trish Witkowski, foldfactory.com

4 Scorig & Foldig Do s ad Do ts A Expaded Resource to Complimet The Stadard 4: Scorig & Foldig Do s 1. Talk to your priter. Talk to your priter durig iitial plaig phase, ot just at the productio phase Your priter ca suggest ways to refie costs ad methods for gettig the most out of your budget. They ca also steer you away from what you caot afford. Some thigs that seem like small issues ca tur what seems like a stadard project ito a far more difficult or possibly had-folded oe. For example: 3 Miiature foldig: oe dimesio smaller tha 2 i. 3 Oversized foldig: a fold loger tha 30 i. 3 Accordios more tha 6 folds, Rolls with more tha 5 paels, Gate folds with a gap wider tha 2 iches or o gap at all 3 Folds o the diagoal, odd shapes like circles ad triagles, multi-directioal die-cut foldig, stepped folds 3 Extremely lightweight/delicate papers, or extremely heavy papers 2. Create a foldig dummy. Do t describe the fold show it. Your folded mock-up will get folded ad ufolded several times throughout the prit productio departmets. Make a foldig sequece dummy (see page 9 of The Stadard 4: Scorig & Foldig), ad o oe will misuderstad your itet. The priter caot always tell what foldig style you are itedig by lookig at your file. A four pael folded piece could be a accordio, a roll fold, a gate fold, or a double parallel fold. 3. Choose a fold that suits your story. Ask yourself how the fold you re thikig of usig ca help tell a story or support the flow or purpose of the cotet. The foldig style should be part of the overall desig cocept. Just because you fid a foldig style you like, it does t mea you should use it o your ext project. Every foldig style has a particular user experiece ad depedig upo the message that must be commuicated, ad the audiece you are targetig, the fold must appropriately follow suit. Cosider amout of iformatio i the piece. For example, if you have a ruig story that must be read i a particular order, a roll fold may ot be the right choice, sice the paels roll out ad ca cause cofusio as to where to go to cotiue readig. Facy foldig is t always the best solutio. Facy ca sometimes equal cofusig or distractig. Sometimes a dyamic desig o a very simple foldig style is the most effective way to commuicate your message. 4. Ask about the quatity. Almost ay foldig style, o matter how difficult, ca be automated if the quatity is high eough. If you work i very high quatities, you may be surprised at the exotic solutios you could be usig. With eough lead time, a specialty bidery ca usually make it happe.

5 Small quatities ca also make the cost of had-foldig a o-issue. Small mistakes ca equal big moey o large press rus. Quatity is especially critical for Direct Mail. Format should always be i the frot of your mid for letter-sized mailig specificatios. If you re mailig a small quatity, you may be willig to absorb the extra cost for o-machiable letter surcharge for a square piece (or ay piece outside of aspect ratio) but those umbers really add up as quatities icrease. Prit your layout ad mock it up ad pass it aroud to be sure people are experiecig the piece i the order it was iteded, ad that they are gettig the marketig message. 5. Cosider the delivery method. Sometimes a format chage that seems like a refreshig update to you becomes a royal pai to someoe else. What if that ewly-redesiged oddsized applicatio packet o loger fits i the stadard maila file folders at the office where they re ultimately filed? Did you kow it was also supposed to fit i the custom literature rack i the frot office? Do your research to be sure that the chage you re makig does t mess up somethig dow the lie. Certai foldig styles better led themselves to selfmailig or auto-isertig tha others. For example, accordios are t great for either process, because you have two ope edges ad a lot of expasio, but a wrapped accordio works well for both. 6. Thik about order of iformatio. Each foldig style has a atural viewig order, so placemet of your critical marketig message ca be overlooked if you do t test the experiece o others. I the illustratio below, the critical marketig message is o the iside right pael for both folds, but sice most people uroll a roll fold immediately, the message may be lost. Whereas o the gate fold, the message will be read. 7. Prit it out ad fold it dow. Foldig is dimesioal, but we desig a folded piece as a flat layout. It ca be hard to tell if the layout will look right or read correctly whe it s folded dow. For example, whe laid out flat, the left fold-i pael of a gate fold is actually o the right, ad the right fold-i pael is o the left. Also, if it folds icorrectly whe you fold it, the same will happe for your priter. Do t leave it up to someoe else to fix, ad do t tell yourself you ll go back ad fix fold placemet later. Get it right from the start to avoid mistakes at the prit productio process. Repeat the mock-up process to be sure o fold marks or guides shifted i the process. 8. Give your cliet a real folded sample. Cliets get used to what they see o a scree, ad ofte they ca t visualize how it will actually look ad feel util they experiece it as a folded sample. Avoid the awkward surprise momet ad sed them a mock up. There is also a lot of cofusio over foldig termiology ad ames of foldig styles, so your cliet may thik they re askig for oe thig, but i the ed they re gettig somethig else.

6 9. Look carefully at folded priter proofs. Proofs are had folded, but your proof should fold correctly. Do t assume it will be adjusted/fixed/ folded more accurately whe it s prited. Commuicate ay issues, cocers or questios before sigig off, ad make sure your priter uderstads that you wat your color breaks to alig exactly at the fold, or that you wat the gap o your gate fold as tight as ca be. Do t leave ay decisio to someoe else. Do t sig off util you re happy. 10. Use a template (or ask for oe) Be proactive whe desigig for folded materials. If you do ot kow how to set up your file correctly, be hoest about it ad either: 3 Ask your priter for a template file, or; 3 Use a professioal-quality foldig template Foldfactory.com offers a software plug-i called FOLDRite Template Master that offers ulimited fast, accurate custom foldig templates through Adobe IDesig, ad they also offer sigle template dowloads olie. Visit foldfactory.com for more iformatio. Get a FREE Foldig Template Courtesy of Sappi Fie Paper, sig up for a foldfactory accout (it s free) ad eter the code sappiv4 at registratio to receive oe poit, good for oe free custom template dowload i oe of 85 foldig styles, icludig roll folds, accordios, gate folds, ad more. Do ts 1. Do t sell the cocept before you do your homework. No oe likes to be sold somethig they ca t afford. Make sure that the foldig style ad format you re pitchig is withi their budget requiremets from ot oly a productio stadpoit, but also from a mailig perspective, if that s the itet. The compromise is ever as good as the origial i the cliet s eyes. Do t waste time goig dow a road that is ot a possibility. Creativity is great, but do some research before you commit to a directio if it s somethig you ve ever doe before. 2. Do t fold o auto-pilot. Break out of your foldig rut! Eve low budget projects ca be modified to make them a bit more iterestig. Sometimes just a chage i orietatio portrait to ladscape ca make thigs seem fresh. Short trims o covers are just a guillotie cut. The key is do t get lazy. It may be faster to produce a tri-fold, sice you ve doe it so may times, but there are may budget-coscious folds that are also good choices, like double parallels, rolls, accordios, ad eve gate folds ca be ecoomical if your priter has the proper equipmet.

7 5. Do t forget to check fold placemet. 3. Do t igore postal regulatios. With the postal service, close is t good eough ad the stakes are very high. Get a Letter Size Mail Dimesioal Stadards Template from the USPS ad pay close attetio to aspect ratio, address orietatio, ad fold placemet. These three critical elemets ca make the differece betwee postal optimizatio rates, ad a.20 per piece o-machiable letter surcharge. Address orietatio must ALWAYS be parallel to the logest dimesio O a mailig pael, if folds are vertical, a vertical fold MUST be at the lead edge, ad if horizotal, fold should be below the address. See pages for more iformatio. 4. Do t forget to ask for a paper dummy. Ask for a folded paper dummy i the actual stock you pla to use. Put everythig together ad weigh it if the piece is goig to mail. Do t guess. Some foldig styles require a more rigid sheet the wrog choice ca make a great fold ad desig ito a literal flop Paper cotributes to the tactile experiece of prit, so be sure you re choosig the right sheet. Ask your priter for guidace if you re usure what sheet would give you the best result. Fold placemet i may cases does ot alig page to page. Pael placemet ca also be cofusig whe laid out flat where the cover ad back cover falls, etc. Make a quick mock-up to see where paels ad folds should be. If you are usure of how to properly place your folds from page to page, ask your priter or use a professioal-quality foldig template. 6. Do t forget about foldig compesatio. Paper is dimesioal. For oe pael to fold ito aother, the pael that folds i must be slightly shorter to accommodate for the dimesioality of the sheet, ad for subtle process variatio i the mechaical foldig process. The critical mathematical adjustmet to the paels of your folded piece must be made i the digital documet, or margis ad color breaks will shift oticeably. If you are usure of how to properly place your folds from page to page, ask your priter or use a professioal-quality foldig template.

8 7. Do t rule out scorig. We score for may reasos: 3 We score folds agaist the grai 3 We score across heavy ik coverage to prevet crackig 3 We score to assist with had foldig 3 We score for critical fold placemet ad color breaks at the folds 3 We score heavier weight sheets Geeral rule is to score 100# text ad above, however, there ca be reasos to score lighter weight sheets. The ridge created by the score is always to the iside of the fold. So, for a accordio fold, the scores must alterate directio due to the zig-zag ature of the folds. The Four Variables of Scorig A: Rule Height B: Rule Width C: Female Die Width D: Couter Height There are may ways to score: 3 Litho score (press score) Press scores allow the applicatio of a score ilie while the job is o press. Metal rules with adhesive backig are applied to the impressio cylider o the press. The scorig rule creases the sheet as it passes udereath. 3 Heat Score A litho scorig techique requirig the use of special offset presses that ca hold heat. This process ca apply up to 350 degrees of heat to a copper die that ca score, stamp or emboss ilie durig the pritig process. Heat scorig is especially effective o heavier coated stocks, but is ot good for dry ucoated stocks due to the fact that the heat removes moisture from the sheet. 3 Rotary Score This process utilizes a special wheel attachmet for foldig machiery, ad the wheel with pressure applied rolls as the sheet passes udereath prior to foldig ad creates the crease ilie durig the fiishig process. 3 Letterpress Score Letterpress scorig is the highest quality ad the most expesive. It is a offlie process i which a steel rule is formed ito the desired shape ad set withi a piece of wood that is locked oto a metal frame. The frame is clamped to a letterpress machie that forces the paper betwee the steel rule ad the impressio of the press. 3 Wet Score This type of scorig is specifically for a ucoated sheet. A special water attachmet o the foldig machie applies a thi, straight stream of solutio where the paper must fold. With dampess o the fold, the paper ca t help but to create a perfectly clea fold. 3 Impact Score A techique used primarily for digital prit, a kife quickly hits the sheet as it passes udereath

9 8. Do t expect the priter to read your mid. The priter caot always tell what foldig style you are itedig by lookig at your file. A four pael folded piece could be a accordio, a roll fold, a gate fold, or a double parallel fold. Do t expect your priter to make desig decisios for you they ve bee bured by that i the past. Do t assume the priter kows that you wat a very close gap o your gate fold, or that your color breaks should lad at the folds. 10. Do t submit a file to the priter without idicatig where the folds are. Measure ad place fold guides o the page ad put fold marks i the slug area ad LOCK THEM. Always build your file to trim size the fiished size of your piece icludig foldig compesatio ad pull bleeds past the documet edge. Do t float your desig o a larger page with crop marks sed oe, two page file (if it s a two-sided piece), ot to separate files. 9. Do t make assumptios about productio. Not all postpress operatios are separate or offlie procedures. Techology has chaged ad may priters are ivestig i ew fiishig techologies that ca eable ilie, efficiet pricig. Do t assume somethig is out of your budget or cut a corer to save a few bucks without askig your priter first. They may have a ecoomical solutio for you that allows you to get everythig you wat withi your budget.

10 Templates / Ispiratio / Resources / Commuity Foldfactory offers the idustry s oly dyamic custom foldig templates i 85 foldig styles. Wat a tri-fold? You ca have oe if you really wat it, but you ca also have a productio-perfect 6-pael vertical roll fold template istead. Focus o desigig ad leave the math to us. Build ulimited templates with our IDesig plug-i or use our olie pay-as-you-go service. foldfactory.com/plugi Need some ispiratio for your ext project (or just have a little time to bur)? Check out foldfactory s video library. Foldfactory offers hudreds of short videos of real foldig samples from basic to exotic, direct mail, specialty, proprietary you ll see great solutios for ay budget. Do t believe us? The click o the twist fold, the iro cross or the stepped accordio ad prepare to be impressed. Create a free foldfactory accout ad start receivig the 60-secod Super-cool FOLD of the WEEK. It s fold-tastic. foldfactory.com/ideas There are great foldig ideas hidde i dark sample closets ad portfolios all over the world. Set them free. Foldfactory.com is searchig the globe i a first-of-its-kid competitio to reward the best uses of folded paper ad desig for prit. Etrats will compete for prizes throughout the competitio, ad i the ed, there will be a book of the best of the best ideas for folded materials. We re lookig for big ad small ideas ad there s o limit to age of etry. Good foldig ad desig is good foldig ad desig, so dig up somethig from the past ad eter ow. Desig somethig ew ad eter later. A portio of the proceeds goes to graphic arts educatio programs ad the balace will fud the expasio of the foldfactory resource ad services. For rules, categories, ad to eter: foldfactory.com/cotest

11 60 great foldig ideas 1 hady fabook The Fold Picker from foldfactory.com ad Sappi Fie Paper Brilliatly compact, this ew foldig idea fabook promises to breathe ew life ito your prit projects. The 2-sided publicatio offers 30 low-to moderatebudget frugal foldig optios i oe directio, ad with a simple flip, offers 30 high-budget fabulous foldig splurges i the other directio. All of the foldig styles featured i the picker have coordiatig videos posted o foldfactory. Comig soo: Templates! Produced by foldfactory.com ad Sappi Fie Paper. Format: 10" x 3" screw ad post boud, 72 pages. Price: $29.99 Now available o locatio at the HOW Desig Coferece or olie