How to Make a Brochure Using Google Docs

This wikiHow teaches you how to create and print a brochure in Google Docs. The most common brochure type is a tri-fold brochure, which may also be known as a pamphlet. Although Google Docs doesn't have a tri-fold brochure template, it's pretty easy to create your own. If you're not concerned with the format and just want to make a simple two-page brochure, you can use one of Google Doc's free business brochure templates.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Tri-Fold Brochure

1. Go to https://docs.google.com in your browser. If you're not already signed into Google Docs, follow the on-screen instructions to sign in now with your Google Account.
   
   • Before you get started, decide what you want your tri-fold brochure to look like. Brochures come in many shapes and sizes. Think about how many pages you want your brochure to have and the size of each page.
2. Click to create a blank document. It's the large rainbow plus sign in the top-left area of the page.
   
   • To name the file, click the "Untitled Document" textbox in the upper-left corner of the window, then enter a type in a title for your brochure.
     
3. Click the menu and select . This is where you can set up the dimensions of the file.
   
4. Click the radio button next to "Landscape." This changes the page orientation of the document to landscape so you can fold the brochure properly.
   
5. Set the margins as "0.25" and click . The margins are on the right side of the window. This gives you more space for images and text.
   
6. Create a three-column table. You'll need to create three columns on both sides of the page so you can fold it into thirds. To do this:
   
   • Click the Insert menu at the top of Docs.
   • Select the Table menu.
   • Drag your mouse so only the top three squares are highlighted. Each of the squares will represent a column in your brochure.
   • When you see the new table, press the Enter or Return key repeatedly to extend the columns to the bottom of the second page. Since you're making a tri-fold brochure, you'll want your columns to line up on both sides of the sheet. The idea is that you'll see three vertical columns on both sides of the page (you can hide the actual lines later). Although you haven't added data yet, this gives you some visual table lines to work with.
7. Familiarize yourself with the tri-fold layout. You should now have 2 pages with three columns each. Since you'll be folding the brochure along the lines, the layout will look like this:
   
   • Page 1 (the "outside" page): Inside flap (this part folds in) | Back Cover | Front Cover
   • Page 2 (the "inside" page): Other side of inside flap | Inside of Back Cover | Inside of Front Cover
   • It might be more helpful to visualize if you take a sheet of paper, draw column markers, and then fold it in this order:
     • Fold the left panel down (behind the cover).
     • Fold the right panel (the cover) behind so it covers the other panels (the back cover will now be at the top).
     • Flip the folded brochure over so the cover page is on top (and opens like a book).
8. Design the front cover. The front cover of the tri-fold brochure will be the rightmost column on the first page (column 3).^[1] The design of your cover is up to you, but here are a few ideas to get you started:
   
   • Type your desired title at the top (or anywhere, really) of column 3. Just click the mouse cursor in the column and start typing. To stylize the text, highlight what you've typed and use the text style menus and buttons that run along the top of the document.
     • For example, you can select a style by clicking the menu that says Normal text and choosing an option. You can also change the font face, size, weight, and even color.
     • It's common to center the title. To do so, highlight it and click the button of 4 centered lines in the toolbar.
   • A strong cover image is important to illustrate the purpose of the brochure, as well as draw the interest of readers. To add an image, click the desired location, click the Insert menu, select Image, navigate to the image's location, select it, and then click Open.
     • Drag the blue anchors around the image's edges to reside if it desired.
9. Design the back cover. This is the center panel of page one, so it's directly to the left of the front cover. Brochure back panels often include contact information, credits, and closing statements. Occasionally back panels are even designed as mailing panels so you can mail it without an envelope.
   
   • It's a good idea to make the back panel as vibrant as the front so it draws attention to matter where the brochure is placed.
10. Create the first inside panel. Now that you're done with the two covers, it's time to add the rest of the content. Page 1 of the brochure will be inside the front cover, which is the third column on the second page. Since this is usually where you'll introduce the product or service, it'll probably be a little more text-heavy than the front or back covers.
    
    • When you open a tri-fold brochure, you'll see a flap on the right side that can be opened up. That flap, which is the leftmost column of Page 1, should contain stand-alone information, such as an ad, or special offer.
11. Add content to the rest of your brochure. Since you've introduced the product or service in the first column of page 2, you can continue adding content to the remaining pages. Since you already know how to add text and photos, check out these tips for more in-depth text formatting:
    
    • If you add images, you'll want to make them work with the text by setting up wrapping. Click the image after inserting it, and then click one of the three wrap icons below it.
      • Inline (icon 1) means the image will be added as part of the text, causing the image to shift when text is added or deleted. This is not recommended as it can cause formatting issues in the case of a brochure.
      • Wrap text (icon 2) allows text to flow around and to the side of an image. This is a good option for the inside of a brochure when you have small images amongst paragraph text.
      • Break text (icon 3) means the text will stop above and continue below the image. This is a good option for tri-fold brochures as the columns are small and don't have a lot of space for text to go around the image.
12. Hide the table outline to see the final product. Now that you've designed your brochure, you can get rid of those black guidelines. Here's how:
    
    • Click any blank area inside any column to select the table.
    • Right-click any blank area inside the table and select Table properties.
    • Change the default line size (1pt) to 0pt.
    • Click OK.
13. Print the brochure on a duplex printer. Since the inside and outside pages of the brochure technically span two separate pages, you'll need to print both pages together double-sided. Here's how to this in Google Docs:
    
    • Click the File menu and select Print.
    • Select your printer from the "Destination" menu.
    • Select how many copies to print (start with one just to make sure you like what you see).
    • Expand the More settings menu.
    • In the "Two-sided" section, check the box next to "Print on both sides," and then select Flip on short edge from the drop-down menu. This is because the file is in landscape mode—flipping on the long side would make the inside print upside-down.^[2]

[Edit]Two Page Brochure

1. Go to https://docs.google.com in your browser. If you're not already signed into Google Docs, follow the on-screen instructions to sign in now with your Google Account.
   
   • Although Google Docs has a brochure template, it's not the typical tri-fold style you may be expecting. Still, it'll work in a pinch when you need to get people the information they need.
2. Click . It's in the top-right side of the Google Docs page. This expands a set of pre-made templates you can use to create documents.
   
3. Click a brochure template in the "Work" section. There are two brochure templates in the "Work" section—one called "Modern Writer" (a travel-oriented template) and another called "Geometric" (a basic product template). Click the template that best suits your needs.
   
4. Replace the placeholder text with your own text. You'll notice all the text in the brochure is generic, like "Your Company" and "Product Brochure." The blocks of text of placeholder text beginning with "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet". Triple-click some placeholder text to highlight it, and then start typing your own content.
   
5. Replace an image. Brochure templates come with images pre-inserted, but you can easily replace them with images of your own without messing up the format. Here's how:
   
   • Click the image to select it.
   • Right-click the image.
   • Select Replace image.
   • Click Upload from computer (or select another location, like Google Drive or Google Photos).
   • Select the replacement image and click Open.
6. Change the image size if needed. With the image still select, click and drag the blue squares on the corners of the image to resize the image.
   
   • If you upload an image that is smaller than needed, making it bigger may cause it to look pixilated and fuzzy.
7. Reformat your text if needed. If you want to make text bigger or smaller, use a different font, or use a different color, you can apply your preferred changes by highlighting the text that you want to change and then clicking an option in the menu bar at the top of the page.
   
   • For example, you can make the text bold by highlighting it and then clicking B at the top of the page. Or you can use the "Font" drop-down menu to change the font.
8. Print the brochure. Use the following steps to print the brochure:
   
   • Click File in the upper-right corner of the menu bar.
   • Click Print.

[Edit]Sample Brochure

Sample Tri fold Roller Blends Recipe Brochure

[Edit]Tips

• Google Docs automatically saves your work every few minutes. Don't worry about having to save your work.
• Brochures are most easily created when all the files that you need for the brochure are in the same place. Consider copying all the photos and documents that you want to use for your brochure onto your computer's desktop to streamline the process.
• You can also create a brochure in Microsoft Word if you'd prefer not to use Google Docs.
• Not all printers support double-sided printing, which is what you'll need to create a folded brochure. Make sure that you have access to a printer that can print on both sides of a sheet before attempting to print your brochure. You can also take a document to a print shop.

[Edit]References

[Edit]Quick Summary

1. ↑ https://www.uspress.com/page/eight-five-fourteen-trifold-brochure
2. ↑ http://support.ricoh.com/bb_v1oi/pub_e/oi_view/0001037/0001037857/view/printer/unv/0055.htm

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