Brochures

A z-fold is a different variation of the trifold. Like the trifold, a z-fold is when a paper is folded in thirds. Z-folds are folded in the shape of a "Z", hence the name. If you visualize the letter "Z", the front of the brochure would be the bottom of the letter, the middle of the brochure would be the slanted part of the "Z" between the top and bottom, and the back of the brochure would be the top of the "Z".

This largely depends on the type of brochure and type of fold. In general, the most common brochure size is 8.5" x 11". This size is especially common for trifolds and z-folds. 11" x 17" is more common for bifold brochures.

Because trifolds and z-folds are both folded in thirds, they have the same area for content sections. With a trifold/z-fold on 8.5" x 11", each section or fold would be approximately 8.5" x 3.67". With a bifold at that same size, each section or fold would be approximately 8.5" x 5.5". Each section of a trifold/z-fold on 11" x 17" paper would be 11" x 5.67". Each section of a bifold on 11" x 17" would be 11" x 8.5".

Nothing. People use both terms with the hyphen (bi-fold and tri-fold) to describe the same thing without the hyphen (bifold and trifold). Some people prefer the bi-fold and tri-fold over bifold and trifold and vice versa. They mean the same thing. Some people will even omit the hyphen and call them bi fold or tri fold brochures. However, the most common are the non-hyphenated versions: bifold and trifold.