Folding may be one of the last steps in the printing process, but it's one of the first things you need to consider when planning your next printed piece.

Folding affects the paper stock you choose, the design elements you want to incorporate, how the piece needs to be produced, even how the copy should be organized. By taking folding into account up front, you'll save yourself lots of time and money.

There's probably nothing that causes as much confusion as folding. Do you want a letter fold or an accordion fold? Parallel fold or gatefold? Closed or open? above is a guide to the most popular folds. And remember, to double check the fold when you receive your proof.

Folding formats also bring up the issue of pages. In printing, one "page" always refers to one face or one side of a sheet of paper. For example, the single-fold illustration shows a four-page printed piece. This definition of "page" is the same whether you're dealing with a simple brochure or a lengthy booklet.

Stocks with obvious watermarks must be folded so the watermark faces upright; textures may not lend themselves to folds that cause the texture to run in different directions on facing pages. And, you may want to avoid stocks that are coated on one side only.

Paper grain - the direction of the paper fibers - also plays a role. We prefer to fold a paper with the grain rather than against it; there's less resistance, which translates to less cracking of the paper along the fold. If your design demands that you fold against the grain, we recommend that the sheet be scored first. Scoring is needed for thicker papers even if you're folding with the grain.

If a piece will be folded more than once, thickness plays a big factor. The dimensions of inside pages will have to be a bit smaller so the piece will lie flat when folded. You also need to account for the "creep" that occurs as multiple pages are folded and have a tendency to creep out away from the fold.

Inks have a tendency to crack along folds. This is especially noticeable if you're using a darker ink over a light-colored stock. Scoring will help reduce cracking - and a coat of varnish along with the scoring will help even more.

Finally, make sure your layout takes account of the folds. It's never a very good idea to fold across a photograph. Likewise, consider how the copy will flow. Try to avoid having the first or last line of a paragraph on one page and the rest of the text on another.

The post office prefers that the bottom edge is closed. That helps it pass through the mailing equipment. Remember, you're the one who suffers if a piece doesn't pass through the Postal Service equipment easily - pieces are more likely to get stuck and arrive at their final destination looking mangled.