A Quick Guide to the Most Commonly Used Sizes of Custom Presentation Folders.
BY FOLDERPRINTERS WRITERS
January 16, 2025
If you clicked through to visit this page and read this article, it is highly likely that you are already cognizant of the advantages of using custom presentation folders for your company's marketing, branding or messaging efforts, and are taking the next steps toward producing them.
In case you are not yet fully aware of the benefits of having your own branded printed pocket folders,
this article might help to fully convince you to employ them.
If you are ready to go for it but still need some clarity, particularly as it relates to size, do read on.
Based on millions of pieces we have printed for thousands of clients as a leading national manufacturer of custom presentation folders, here are the three commonly used sizes.
9 x 12
By far, the most adopted dimensions are nine inches wide and 12 inches tall when folded, with a pocket on one or both panels, each measuring four inches high.
This means that when the folder is opened and fully spread out, it measures 18 inches across and, of course, still 12 inches from top to bottom.
On the left is a presentation folder shown closed which measures nine inches wide by 12 inches tall. On the right is the same folder, opened. Its dimensions are 18 inches wide and — of course, still — 12 inches tall.
This is the most popular because it follows the universal copy-paper and letterhead size of 8.5 x 11 inches.
An opened 9 x 12 presentation folder showm with a sheet of standard letter-size copy paper inserted in one of its pockets.
Being an extra half-inch and one-inch on each side allows the letter-sized documents to be completely enveloped (when appropriate number of sheets tucked in and positioned correctly) in a manner that no portion of the inserted paper is visible within a closed folder.
Additionally, the 4-inch pockets are configured to stably hold the inserted items in such a way that most of it remains visible — thereby exposing the message to the recepient — when the folder is opened.
The plane is also large enough to affix a business card if slits are cut on it.
6 x 9
Another popular size is six inches wide by nine inches tall.
A quick mental calculation will reveal that folding the aforementioned letter-sized sheet will yield a piece that is 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches, a size that comfortably fits inside this folder configuration.
A smaller 6 x 9 pocket folder alongside a standard 9 x 12 folder.
Furthermore, a host of other commonplace items can also be properly inserted. These include 5x7 postcards, invitation cards, and printed photographs.
9.5 x 14.75
This size might strike most people as odd, but those in the legal filed will recognize it right away. Which is why it is more commonly referred to as legal folders.
A legal-size folder (left) displayed next to a standard size presentation folder to show difference in height.
It is named so because it is designed to hold legal-size paper, which measures 8.5x 14 inches.
Interestingly, because the extra printable space affords listing more items and categories, quite a number of restaurants choose this size for menus. For that purpose, folded sheets can be stapled along the spine of the folder, just like a thin booklet.
CONCLUSION
Certainly, there are other available folder sizes. In fact, a complex, intricate — money is no object — folder can be configured to any printable size, but those listed above are the most common and therefore relatively economical.
What is important in nailing down the folder size to produce is greatly dependent on your intended function, purpose, and of course, budget.
