How to Print Trifold Brochures

Print trifold brochures easily at home.

Trifold brochures are popular promotional pieces for organizations and businesses. While designing and printing a trifold brochure yourself is a cost-effective alternative to hiring a professional graphic designer and printer, improper printing methods are a waste of resources and reflect poorly on your company or organization. Learn how to print trifold brochures properly by planning what materials you'll need and by learning about your printer's capabilities.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Printer
• Printer ink
• Computer

Instructions

1. Determine the type of paper you want to use to print the trifold brochure. Consider a thicker stock or photo paper to create a sturdy, aesthetically pleasing brochure. Consult your printer's users' manual, software help section or call the product manufacturer to be sure the kind of paper you want to use is compatible with your printer.

2. Test your printer's ink levels. Depending on your printer, this can be done by printing a test, or status, page or by checking the printer's computer software. If you are low on ink, replace it to ensure your brochures are printed with crisp color that does not smear or fade.

3. Check and test your printer's duplexing, two-sided printing capabilities by printing a test brochure. Many printers can print double-sided when you select the duplexing option under printer properties in the print dialog screen. If your printer has automatic duplexing, be sure the printer's settings reflect a vertical axis printing flip. If you have to manually duplex the brochure, print one side of the brochure, then remove that page from the paper tray, top toward you. Rotate the paper counterclockwise 180 degrees and insert the paper, face-up, into the printer. The goal is to the rotate the paper so the top edge is the same for both sides of the page.

4. Print your desired number of brochures. Print all the brochures you need with automatic duplexing or, for manual duplexing, print only the first side, then remove all the one-sided pages and insert them in the proper manner to print the second side.

Tips & Warnings

• For some printers, if you are printing on paper that is more that 28 pounds, manual duplexing is required.

• While most printers print face up, consult your users' manual before printing and adjust your printing technique accordingly.

References

• HP.com: Print two-sided automatically
• HP.com: Print two-side manually