Presentation folders: pocket sizes, card slits, capacity and what goes inside

The standard folder

The most common presentation folder finishes at 9 x 12 inches closed and holds 8.5 x 11 inch sheets. Inside are two pockets, often 4 inches deep, on the bottom edge of each panel. That standard exists for a good reason: it fits letter-size proposals, sell sheets and contracts with a little room around them, and it fits a 10 x 13 envelope for mailing.

Anything else is possible but custom: a single pocket, a small 6 x 9 folder for cards and inserts, a legal-size folder for 8.5 x 14 documents, or a vertical pocket.

Pocket depth

A 4 inch pocket holds documents securely and leaves the top of each sheet showing, so you can see what is in there. Shallower pockets show more of the first page but hold less firmly. Deeper pockets hold securely but hide your headlines. If the first thing in the right pocket is a sell sheet, make sure its headline sits above the pocket line.

Business card slits

Slits die-cut into a pocket hold a standard 3.5 x 2 inch business card at its corners. The card sits in the pocket where the client finds it with the documents. The usual spot is on the right pocket, and the slits can be cut for a card placed horizontally or vertically.

Some folders also get slits for a CD sleeve or a small brochure. Ask what is available with your folder style, and do not design artwork under a slit that will be hidden by the card.

Capacity: when a flat folder is not enough

A flat folder with no spine is designed for a modest stack. Overfill it and the pockets bulge, the glue or locks strain and the folder will not close flat. If your packet is more than a thin stack, ask for a capacity spine on the folder, commonly about a quarter or half inch, or for expanding pockets.

Before you choose, build one real packet with every page you plan to include and measure it. That is better than guessing.

Stock and finish

Folders are usually printed on a 12 pt or 14 pt card stock, or a heavy cover sheet, so the pockets hold their shape. Gloss, matte and uncoated all work. Heavy ink coverage on a folder that gets handled often benefits from a coating or laminate, since dark solids show scuffs and fingerprints. Pockets are glued or interlocking depending on the style. Both work for ordinary documents.

What to put inside

Print the inserts generically when you can, and personalize only the cover letter and proposal. That way one folder order and one stock of sell sheets serves many prospects.

• Left pocket: the things they read once. Cover letter, company overview, team page, testimonials you have permission to use.
• Right pocket: the things they act on. Proposal or quote, pricing sheet, contract, order form.
• Business card in the slit on the right pocket.
• Sell sheets, one per product or service, if it is a sales kit.
• For onboarding: welcome letter, handbook pages, benefits summary, a contacts sheet.
• For patients or new clients: what to expect, forms, aftercare, directions and phone numbers.

Design the outside for a desk

A folder sits on a desk with other paper. A clean front with your logo and one line saying what you do is easier to find in a pile than a busy one. The back usually carries your address, phone and website. Keep important art away from the pocket fold and glue areas, and ask for the folder template before you design. Folder layouts are die lines with pocket flaps, not simple rectangles.