Letter or A4

[steve011]

hi all, i have to make a trifold flyer, A4 size with illustrator 10.
i have no idea how to do this and wondered if there were any free templates lying around the web. i found a couple but they were in "letter" format and im not sure if thats the same thing - even though the size difference is small.
can someone give me some tips?
should i use the letter trifold template, or should i try to find an A4 one?

thanx

steve011 the newbie

 

[Eggles]

If you are working in a country that normally uses A4 as a standard paper size, then use A4. There is enough of a difference in dimensions between A4 and US letter to be a nuisance if you try to use letter size.

So you need a trifold brochure layout? If the brochure is to be folded in Z-format, then make three equally sized panels i.e. 99mm each (3 x 99 = 297mm, the long length of A4). If one of the panels is to be folded to the inside, then that panel must be a little narrower, so as to clear the fold between the other two panels. How much narrower depends on the thickness of thr paper used - the heavier the weight, the narrower the folded-in panel. Try folding some of the weight paper you intend printing on, and then measuring how wide each panel was in order to get them to fit neatly.

For a typical weight of 80gsm, a couple of mm is usually enough, so that the folded-in panel becomes 97mm (the one on the left when looking at the outside of the brochure and on the right when looking at the inside), leaving 100mm for each of the other two panels. You may need to take it to 96, 100.5, 100.5 or even 95, 101, 101 for thicker paper.

 

[steve011]

ok, thanx for the detailed reply eggles, i honestly didnt think about paper thickness.:-( i`ll have a go at it a bit later on tonight.
thanx again m8

steve0