# Day-23 — Brochures, Letterheads & Print-Ready PDF

- **Day:** Day-23
- **Module:** M07 — Print Design
- **Duration:** 180 minutes (3 hours)
- **Level:** Intermediate
- **Instructor:** Ali Akbar Shah
- **Primary tool:** CorelDRAW (free alternative: Inkscape — notes where relevant)

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## 1. Introduction — Why This Lesson Makes You "Print-Safe"

Cards and flyers taught you single-page print. Real client work quickly gets
more complex: a **trifold brochure** has six panels and a fold order that
punishes anyone who guesses; a **letterhead** must look official on every
single page a company prints; and every job ends the same way — a **print-ready
PDF** that survives the print shop's preflight check.

Today you learn the three-panel logic of the trifold, the quiet discipline of
letterhead design, and the full professional export workflow: CMYK check, 300
dpi images, PDF/X preset, and a preflight checklist you will use on every print
job for the rest of your career.

## 2. Key Concepts in Simple Terms

### 2.1 Trifold brochure — six panels, one sheet
- A standard trifold = one **A4 sheet (297 × 210 mm)**, landscape, folded into
  three panels.
- You design **two sides**: the OUTSIDE and the INSIDE. Each side has 3 panels.
- Panel width: 297 ÷ 3 = **99 mm** each. Professional tip: make the panel that
  folds *inside* **2 mm narrower (97 mm)** so the fold closes flat without
  buckling.

### 2.2 Fold order — the panel map (this is where beginners fail)
- **OUTSIDE** (the side you see when folded): reading left to right —
  **inside flap** (folds in, seen second), **back cover** (seen last), **front
  cover** (seen first).
- **INSIDE** (revealed when opened): reading left to right — **panel 1, panel
  2, panel 3** — one continuous story across all three.
- Memory trick: the front cover is the RIGHT panel of the outside. The panel
  that tucks inside is the LEFT panel of the outside — and it is the narrow
  one (97 mm).

### 2.3 Letterhead — quiet, consistent, official
- A letterhead = company identity at the top of an **A4 portrait** page
  (210 × 297 mm), leaving clean space for the letter text.
- Anatomy: logo + company name (top), thin rule, contact strip (top or
  bottom), generous margins (20–25 mm), footer with address/phone/email.
- Rules: one accent color max, no background images behind text, body text
  area left completely clean. A letterhead should never fight the letter.

### 2.4 CMYK vs. RGB — the final check
- Screens = RGB. Print = CMYK. Before export, verify EVERY object is CMYK:
  select objects, press **F11** (Uniform Fill), confirm the color model.
- Common trap: pasted web graphics and screenshots arrive in RGB. Convert or
  rebuild them — an RGB photo can print with shifted, dull colors.

### 2.5 300 dpi images — non-negotiable
- All placed photos: **300 dpi at final print size**. Check: select bitmap →
  **Bitmaps > Resample**.
- Formula: needed pixels ≈ (print width in inches) × 300. A 99 mm panel-wide
  photo ≈ 3.9 in → ~1170 px wide minimum.

### 2.6 PDF/X — the print-shop standard
- **PDF/X** is a strict PDF flavor made for print: it locks in CMYK, embeds
  fonts, and carries bleed and trim info.
- Export via **File > Publish to PDF** → choose a **PDF/X preset** (PDF/X-1a
  or PDF/X-3 are the common ones — ask your print shop which they prefer).
- Prepress tab: enable **bleed** (3 mm) and crop/trim marks if your version
  offers them.

### 2.7 Preflight — the checklist before you send
- **Preflight** = a systematic final inspection. CorelDRAW's **File > Print**
  dialog has a **Preflight tab** (in many versions) that flags issues
  automatically — but you should ALSO run the manual checklist below, because
  no software catches bad design decisions.

## 3. Worked Demonstration — "Crumb & Craft" Trifold (Outside)

Client (fictional): **Crumb & Craft bakery** — a trifold menu brochure.

**Setup:** Landscape A4: page **303 × 216 mm** (297 × 210 + 3 mm bleed each
side). Draw trim rectangle 297 × 210, centered (P). Panel guides on the
OUTSIDE page, left to right: 97 mm (inside flap) | 100 mm (back cover) | 100
mm (front cover) = 297 mm. Use the ruler + guidelines (View > Rulers, drag
guides) to mark panel edges.

**Outside panels:**
1. **Front cover (right panel):** full-bleed bakery photo (300 dpi), dark
   overlay, white logo + "Crumb & Craft" 24 pt + "Artisan Bakery Menu" 10 pt.
2. **Back cover (middle panel):** cream background; map sketch (simple vector),
   address, phone, hours, small logo. This is seen when the brochure lies face
   down — contact info lives here.
3. **Inside flap (left, 97 mm panel):** "Our Story" — 3 short lines about the
   bakery, 9 pt. Teaser text that makes you open the brochure.

**Inside (page 2):** three equal panels, one flowing menu: Breads | Cakes &
Pastries | Beverages — each with 4–5 items, item name 11 pt bold, description
8 pt, price right-aligned. Cream background, brown text, one gold accent rule
per panel.

**Letterhead demo (same file, page 3):** A4 portrait 210 × 297 mm. Top: small
logo left + "Crumb & Craft" 16 pt brown; thin gold rule; top-right contact
lines 8 pt. Footer: address · phone · email, 8 pt gray, centered. Everything
else blank — the letter's space.

## 4. Design Principles Applied

- **Sequence:** brochure panels are read in fold order — cover hooks, flap
  teases, inside informs, back cover gives contact. Design for the sequence,
  not the flat sheet.
- **Grid:** panel guides are a strict 3-column grid; nothing crosses a fold
  except backgrounds.
- **Restraint (letterhead):** the best letterhead is almost invisible — it
  frames the message instead of competing with it.
- **Consistency:** same fonts, same browns/creams, same logo across brochure
  and letterhead — one brand, every touchpoint.
- **Hierarchy:** menu item names bold 11 pt, descriptions 8 pt regular —
  scannable in seconds.

## 5. Common Mistakes and Fixes

| Mistake | Why it hurts | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Designing panels in wrong order | Front cover prints on the inside flap | Memorize the panel map; label panels while designing |
| Equal 99 mm panels | Fold buckles, brochure won't close flat | Make the fold-in panel 97 mm |
| Text crossing a fold line | Words disappear into the crease | Keep text 5 mm clear of every fold guide |
| Busy letterhead background | Letter text unreadable | Letterhead = header + footer only; body stays clean |
| RGB images left in the file | Color shift in print | F11 check every object; convert/replace RGB art |
| 72 dpi web images | Blurry print | 300 dpi at print size, verified in Bitmaps > Resample |
| Forgetting bleed on A4 | White edges after trim | Work at 303 × 216 mm; backgrounds to the edge |
| Sending a non-PDF/X file | Print shop rejects or "fixes" it badly | File > Publish to PDF → PDF/X preset, bleed on |

## 6. The Preflight Checklist (use on EVERY print job)

1. [ ] Document size correct, bleed 3 mm on all sides
2. [ ] All backgrounds reach the bleed edge
3. [ ] All text inside safe area (5 mm from trim; 5 mm from folds)
4. [ ] Panel order correct (trifold: front cover = right panel of outside)
5. [ ] All colors CMYK (F11 check) — no RGB objects
6. [ ] All images 300 dpi at print size (Bitmaps > Resample)
7. [ ] Smallest text ≥ 7 pt (≥ 8 pt for body)
8. [ ] Fonts embedded (PDF/X preset handles this)
9. [ ] Spelling proofread — twice
10. [ ] Export: PDF/X preset, bleed enabled, both/all pages included

## 7. Summary

- Trifold = A4 landscape, 6 panels; front cover is the RIGHT outside panel;
  fold-in panel is 97 mm.
- Letterhead = A4 portrait; identity top + footer, clean middle.
- Final export discipline: CMYK check → 300 dpi check → PDF/X preset → bleed
  on → preflight checklist.
- A designer who delivers clean print-ready PDFs gets repeat clients. A
  designer who doesn't gets phone calls.
- Next: Day-24 — Client Brief, Research & Moodboards (module M08 begins:
  Brand Identity Design).

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*Measure twice, export once.*