Direct Mail Brochures
Important Artwork Notice!
Please note that in order to benefit from USPS Reduced Postage Rate, you must use 4OVER4.COM's Direct Mail Templates that have been setup to meet USPS design guidelines. As you will see there are requirements for the size of the inkjet area, bar-code placement, and indicia. Reduced Postage Rates quoted are only available for FULL AUTOMATION orders, which requires that the USPS design guidelines are met.
4OVER4 Uses USPS Reduced Postage Rate to calculate your order. Orders that do not follow USPS Direct Mail Guidelines will be posted at the standard postage rate and will be invoiced accordingly.
See Direct Mail Brochures in action
Direct mail brochures up close: 4 sizes from 8.5" x 11" to 11" x 17", 9 folds including trifold and Z-fold, 4 stocks, from $238.73 for 500.
- From $238.73 per 500 brochures, with the per-brochure price dropping as the run climbs all the way to 25,000.
- 4 sizes, from a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet up to a roomy 11" x 17", each folded to the layout your mailer needs.
- 4 stocks: 100# Gloss Text, 100# Silk/Matte Text, 70# Uncoated Text, and a heavier 100# Gloss Cover.
- 9 fold styles, including Half Fold, Trifold and Z-Fold, printed full color on the front or on both sides.
- 6 business day standard turnaround with a 4 business day rush, rated 4.9 out of 5 across 61 reviews.
Send a Brochure People Actually Open
A flat postcard says one thing; a direct mail brochure opens into panels and says the whole story. You get an offer on the cover, the details inside, and a call to action on the back, so a full message lands in a mailbox and actually gets read. Five hundred start at $238.73, rated 4.9 out of 5 across 61 reviews, whether you are farming a neighborhood with new listings, welcoming patients to a clinic, or mailing a menu to a loyalty list.
A trifold 8.5" x 11" gives you six panels, room for an offer, the proof behind it and a map, where a postcard gives you two. You match the size to your envelope or self-mailer, pick the fold, and print the front only or both sides. Comparing it with other brochures? Browse every style on brochures printing, or stay here and build yours from the choices below.
The first run is 500 brochures for $238.73, about 48 cents each. Mail 4,000 households and each piece drops to about 12 cents. The tiers below give the total at each of the 20 steps up to 25,000.
What Is a Direct Mail Brochure
A direct mail brochure is a folded, full-color brochure printed to be mailed to customers and prospects as a marketing piece. At 4OVER4.COM these print in 4 sizes from 8.5" x 11" up to 11" x 17", on any of 4 paper stocks, with 9 fold styles and full color on the front or both sides, all set in the live configurator.
Instead of a single flat panel, a brochure opens up, so you have room for a headline offer, the details that back it, and a clear next step. You set the fold, pick your stock, choose the size, and print the front only or both sides, and the price updates live as you go. If you want the general version of the format, the Standard Brochures cover the same folds and stocks for any use, and the direct mail version is simply the one you build for a mailing.
How Much Do Direct Mail Brochures Cost
Direct mail brochures start at $238.73 for 500, which works out to about $0.48 per brochure, and the per-brochure price keeps dropping as the quantity climbs toward 25,000. There are 20 quantity tiers in all: 900 run $269.05, 4,000 run $472.41, and a full 25,000 run lands at $1,716.60, which is under 7 cents a brochure. A heavier cover stock, a two-sided print, or a 4 business day rush shift the total. Count the addresses on your list, then drag the slider below to that number and read the run total and the per-brochure cost.
What Sizes and Folds Can a Direct Mail Brochure Have
Direct mail brochures come in 4 flat sizes: 8.5" x 11", 8.5" x 14", 9" x 12", and 11" x 17", with 8.5" x 11" as the default. Each size folds into one of 9 styles, including Half Fold, Trifold and Z-Fold, so the finished piece fits a standard mailing envelope or mails as a self-mailer.
Size and fold work together to decide how the brochure reads. Start with the standard 8.5" x 11" sheet, the workhorse that trifolds into a classic three-panel mailer. Step up to 8.5" x 14" or 9" x 12" for more room, or go full 11" x 17" when you want a large spread that folds down to a mailable size. Then pick the fold: a Half Fold makes a simple two-panel card, a Trifold gives you six panels for an offer and details, and a Z-Fold accordions open for a step-by-step reveal, with 9 fold styles in all. If a single fold pattern is your whole focus, the Folded Brochures cover every crease in one place. Every size, fold and stock is grouped below exactly the way the live configurator presents them, so you know what you can change before you change it.
How to Mail a Folded Brochure
A folded brochure mailed on its own is a self mailer, which means it travels without an envelope and has to hold itself shut through the sorting machines. Three things decide whether it goes through cleanly.
- Seal the open edge. Tabs, also called wafer seals, are the small clear stickers placed across the loose edge so the piece cannot flap open. The folded edge goes into the machine first, so the seals belong on the side opposite the fold.
- Give the address its own panel. Leave one outside panel clear for the address block, the return address and the postage indicia, with no artwork, no fold and no varnish running through it.
- Match the seals to the fold. A half fold has one open edge and one closed spine. A trifold and a z-fold leave the top and bottom open as well as the side, so they need sealing on the edges that can lift.
If you would rather not deal with tabs at all, mail the brochure inside an envelope. It costs more per piece but it removes every self mailer rule and lets the recipient open something sealed.
Postage and Mailing Costs
Postage is a separate decision from printing, and it usually costs more than the print run does. Two routes cover most brochure campaigns.
| Saturation mail | First class | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per piece | The lowest rate available for a printed mailer | The highest of the two, priced per piece |
| List requirement | You mail whole carrier routes rather than chosen names, and there is a minimum volume | Any list, any quantity, including a single address |
| Delivery speed | Slower, and delivery lands across a window rather than a date | Fastest, and undeliverable pieces come back or get forwarded |
| Size limits | Bigger folded pieces move to a higher rate band, so the fold you choose changes the postage | Same principle: a letter sized folded piece is cheaper to mail than a flat |
Saturation mail suits farming a neighborhood, a grand opening or a menu drop where everyone on the route is a prospect. First class suits a customer list, a renewal reminder or anything where the wrong address needs to come back to you.
What Paper Stocks and Ink Can You Choose
There are 4 paper stocks for direct mail brochures: 100# Gloss Text, 100# Silk/Matte Text, 70# Uncoated Text, and a heavier 100# Gloss Cover. The stock sets how the mailer feels in a hand and how it survives the trip. The 100# Gloss Text pops photos and color, the 100# Silk/Matte Text keeps a softer, easy-to-read surface, and the 70# Uncoated Text takes a pen if you want a coupon or a form to fill in. When you want a piece with real weight that stands up in a stack of mail, the 100# Gloss Cover is the heavy option. For ink you choose 4/0 to print full color on the front with a blank back, or 4/4 for full color on both sides so every panel carries your message.
Best Folds for the Mailbox
Nine fold styles are available, but four do most of the mailing work. Ranked by how well they survive the trip and how the message unfolds:
| Fold | Through sorting | How the reveal reads | Address panel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half fold | Best. One spine, one open edge, the least to catch | Two big faces, cover then a full spread inside | One outside face, address on the back |
| Trifold | Strong. Compact and stiff once folded | Cover, then a teaser panel, then the full inside spread | The back outer panel, kept clear of copy |
| Z-fold | Good, though the accordion can spring if it is not sealed | Panel by panel, so it suits a sequence or a step by step | An end panel, with the copy sequence starting on the other face |
| Gate fold | Needs sealing on both leading edges | The theatrical one, two doors opening onto a center panel | The back, since both front leaves are part of the reveal |
A heavier sheet mails better than a light one. Of the four stocks here, the 100# Gloss Cover is the one that arrives least creased, while 70# Uncoated Text is the one people write on and keep on the fridge.
Design it without a designer
Pick a layout in the brochure design templates that matches your fold, then set the colors, copy and photos in the online editor. Put the offer on the cover panel, keep the address panel empty, and save the details for the inside spread.
Already have your artwork? Skip the editor and download a press-ready blank instead. Each blank brochure template is built at the real trim size with the fold lines, bleed and safe margin already drawn in, so your design never crowds a crease or the cut. Grab the size and fold that match your order below, drop your art in, and upload.
Wally makes the mailbox moment count
Why a folded brochure at $238.73 per 500 gets opened, not tossed.
A folded brochure holds more than a postcard, so your offer, your story, and your call to action all arrive in one piece. Five hundred start at $238.73, on 4 stocks, in 4 sizes with 9 fold styles. Pick your fold, set the speed, and Wally gets them printed for your next mail drop.
Press-Ready Blank Templates
How Do Direct Mail Brochures Compare to the Rest of the Range
Weighing a mailing brochure against a general brochure, a specific fold or a version aimed at one industry? The chart below lines up direct mail brochures against their closest siblings, including the industry-ready Real Estate Brochures, so you can compare the starting price on each before you choose.
See How a Finished Direct Mail Brochure Lands
Look at where each mailer puts its offer and its address panel in the prints below. Our own customers printed every one of them with us in-house, across different sizes, stocks and folds. Tap any print to see it larger.
Real Brochures Our Customers Printed
How Fast Can You Get Direct Mail Brochures Printed
Direct mail brochures print on a 6 business day standard turnaround, and when a drop date sneaks up you can move the whole run to a 4 business day rush. The standard keeps the price lowest, and the rush buys back time for a set amount on top of the base, so you only pay for speed when you actually need it. Before anything prints, you choose how to proof: send it Straight To Production if your file is ready, approve a free online proof on screen, or order a next-day hardcopy proof to hold the real stock and color in your hand first.
See the Rest of Our Brochures
Direct mail brochures are one stop in a much larger lineup, and you can scan the full print product range any time, or stay inside brochures printing to see every fold and format side by side. Each card below opens its own product page with its starting price.
More From High-Quality Brochures
Compare the full range on brochures printing, order the standard unmailed version as brochures, or run a flat mail piece instead with church postcards.
Print Your Direct Mail Brochures Today
At 4OVER4.COM, quality comes first, and it's backed by a satisfaction guarantee and 25+ years of printing since 1999. Whatever size, stock or fold you pick, these direct mail brochures are built to land in a mailbox and get opened. Set your fold, choose your speed, and print your direct mail brochures today.
Direct Mail Brochures: Frequently Asked Questions
How much do direct mail brochures cost?
They start at $238.73 for a run of 500, about 47.7 cents a brochure printed. The per-piece price drops as you scale, down to roughly 6.9 cents each at 25,000, before postage is added.
What is the minimum order for direct mail brochures?
500 brochures. That is also the minimum for the mailing service, since direct mail is built for campaigns rather than small test batches.
Can 4OVER4 mail the brochures for me?
Yes. A flat $250 mailing service covers list handling, addressing and the post office drop, then postage runs 47.1 cents a piece on Standard or 70.5 cents on First Class, and we process the mailing in 1 to 4 business days.
What sizes and folds can I choose?
You get 4 flat sizes (8.5" x 11", 8.5" x 14", 9" x 12" and 11" x 17") and 9 fold styles, from a simple Half Fold to a Trifold, Z-Fold, Gate Fold or Closed Gate.
What paper can I print direct mail brochures on?
4 stocks: 100# Gloss Text, 100# Silk/Matte Text, 70# Uncoated Text and a heavier 100# Gloss Cover, printed 4 color on one side or both sides.
How fast can I get direct mail brochures?
6 business days on the standard turnaround, or 4 business days for 26% more, plus 1 to 4 business days to address and drop the mailing.
What are common mistakes when using EDDM?
EDDM is the saturation route, where you mail whole carrier routes rather than chosen names, and it carries a minimum volume. Three things go wrong on a folded piece. The open edge is not tabbed, so the brochure flaps open in the sorting machines. No outside panel is left clear for the address block, the return address and the postage indicia. And the folded size pushes the piece into a higher rate band, so the fold you picked quietly changes what you pay.
Does direct mail work anymore?
It works when the piece earns the few seconds it gets. A brochure opens into panels, so the offer sits on the cover, the detail inside and the next step on the back, which is more than a flat card can hold. These are rated 4.9 out of 5 across 61 reviews. At 25,000 the run is $1,716.60, under 7 cents a brochure, so the cost per household stays low enough to mail a whole route.
Questions about Direct Mail Brochures? See answers
