Need help with margin for tri-fold brochure

[Lectus]

Hi!
So, I made a simple tri-fold brochure, with 3 panels on an A4 paper on landscape mode.
The problem is that when I sent the PDF to the printer shop, the printer added extra margin and then my brochure wouldn't fold and I needed to cut off the extra margin manually.

How can I design this brochure so the printer will print it exactly like I designed it so it can be folded?

Thanks

[utnik]

hi lectus

forget the predefined '3-fold' layout and set your file manually as two pages in a single page landscape layout:

   
• place vertical guides where the brochure should fold. (99 and 198 mm for zigzag, 100 and 200 mm inside, 97 and 197 mm outside for fan fold)
• set the required bleeds.
• ask the printer if he needs some fold marks.

utnik

[Nermander]

If the printer doesn't print your PDF to 100% scale, complain!

The equipment they use may not be ably to print to the edges (so you have to have margins for the content), but they shouldn't scale down the PDF unless you explicitly request it.

[Lectus]

What's the minimum margin for printing an A4 document?

[utnik]

What's the minimum margin for printing an A4 document?

first answer: there's no absolute minimum!

for the second one, i'm not sure what you're asking:

   
• for technical reasons, it depends on the printer and/or the precision of the final cut (could go down to a margin of almost 0mm – ask the printshop...)
• for optical reasons, it depends on your layout and the precision mentioned above! – take a look at your layout and ask, how far you could shift it in any direction without loosing the view of a good print product...

utnik