Free quad fold 8.5x2.75 in mockups

Four panels off one sheet means a lot of content in something that still hands over easily: slim enough for a pocket, a rack, a stack by a till or a mailing. It's the format for a rate card, an event schedule, a drinks or dessert list, a product guide, a map with stops — anything with a few clear sections that doesn't warrant a stitched booklet.

The fold pattern is the real choice, because it decides how the piece reveals itself. A quad fold is halved and halved again, so it opens in two moves into a full page. A gate fold opens outward from the centre like a pair of doors, the most theatrical of the three — worth using when there's one image or announcement waiting behind them; its outer panels are cut slightly narrower so they meet in the middle without overlapping. An accordion zigzags open panel by panel and reads as one continuous run.

What they share is the panel shape: each band is wide and shallow, roughly three times as wide as it is tall. Text runs in long lines rather than columns, images want panoramic crops, and a tall photo won't sit in a band at all — so it works best as one idea per panel. Opened right out you're back to a full sheet, which can be treated as a single page or as four separate strips depending on the fold.