By Trish Witkowski

Folding is my passion—having spent the past nine years of my life researching brochure folds. So, given my specialty, the first thing I do when I find a new folding style (after the victory dance) is to classify it. Yes, folding styles can be classified—in my work I discovered that folding styles have distinct characteristics that allow them to be classified into folding “families.”

I have found that there are eight different folding families: Accordions, Basics, Exotics, Gates, Maps, Parallels, Posters and Rolls. All brochure folds can be classified into one of these families, and once classified, can be further dissected, assessed for folding compensation requirements and named.

To be able to properly identify brochure folds, it’s important to understand what to look for— such as what characteristics make a roll fold different from a gate fold, etc. To aid in this process, the following is a brief overview of the eight folding families.

Accordions
The Accordion family is one of the largest folding families, boasting almost fifty varieties. Accordions are also some of the most common folding styles used in brochure folding. The key 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, but are notoriously problematic during auto-insertion into envelopes. This style of folding offers flexibility, with the potential to add as many panels as the limitations of press and folding equipment can bear. Click to view an example of the Accordion Family.

Basics
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 key characteristic of a basic fold is its overall simplicity. This almost lack-of-character is what disqualifies these folding styles from the other folding families. Click to view an example of the Basic Family.

Exotics
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. The key characteristics of the exotics are the inability to identify strong ties to any one of the other folding families (or to other exotic folds), and a uniqueness of form. And, yes, unique usually means expensive, although there are some specialty binderies that can automate what would normally be done by hand. For best results with exotics, talk to your printer at the earliest concept stages. Click to view an example of the Exotic Family.

Gates
Gate folds are generally symmetrical, with two or more panels folding into the center from opposing sides. The key characteristic of a gate fold is the necessity of a gate fold attachment on the folding machine to execute the folding style. 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. Click to view an example of the Gate Family.

Maps
A cousin to the Accordion family, map folds characteristically have several accordion folds and are built in a tall format that opens into a large continuous layout, rather than spreads. This tall layout generally requires that it be folded in half, thirds or even quarters. Because of this, a map fold is described in “stories.”

A map folded in half is a two-story map (two stories high); the map folded in thirds is a three-story map; and in quarters, is a four-story map. Maps are limited to lighter weight stocks and may require special machinery configurations. Click to view an example of the Map Family.

Parallels
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. Click to view an example of the Parallel Family.

Posters
Poster folds are combination folds that are built to open out into a large poster format. The key characteristic of posters is that they consist of at least two folding styles—with one serving 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. Posters are limited to lighter weight stocks. Click to view an example of the Poster Family.

Rolls
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. Click to view an example of the Roll Family.

So now you know how to classify folding samples into folding families—but I’m sure you’re wondering what would be the significance of this skill? The answer is quite simple, actually. If you choose a common folding style, for example a standard accordion fold, and show it to a print production professional, they may call it an accordion fold, or they may call it a z-fold or a back-and-forth fold.

A designer may call it something different, too, or they may make a sketch of the fold or send a makeshift paper dummy to avoid having to try to verbally explain their folding intent. And that’s just for a simple accordion. But if we as an industry can agree that the accordion fold is officially an accordion fold, and no longer a zig-zag or other, then we’ve simplified the process and taken an important step toward a standardized and common language.

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This article was previously published in Print 21 Magazine (Australia) and is reprinted with permission from the author. Trish Witkowski is the president of Finishing Experts Group, Inc. She is the author of FOLD: The Professional’s Guide to Folding and the newly released A Field Guide to Folding. Ms. Witkowski’s software product, FOLDRite Template Master, is a new plug-in for Adobe InDesign that creates custom folding templates (85 styles) complete with fold marks and panel cues in the slug area, all using industry-approved settings.

6/18/08