first time designing A4 bi-fold brochure/menu

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Hey there! No need to apologize at all – we all start somewhere, right? Congrats on diving into InDesign for your partner's menu design!

For a bi-fold A4 brochure, you have a couple of options:

a. You can set up the document as an A3 landscape with 2 columns. This way, you create the area for the fold line, and then split the page into 2 A4 sections.

b. Alternatively, you can set up the document as an A4 landscape with 2 columns.

Both methods work, but it depends on your preference and workflow. Setting it up as an A3 might give you a clearer visual of the fold line, but setting it up as an A4 might be more straightforward if you're accustomed to that format.

As for bleed lines and margins, you're absolutely right – those are up to you and depend on the style and printing requirements. Just ensure your margins and bleeds are sufficient for printing and trimming.

Feel free to ask more questions if anything else comes up – happy designing! Viveprinting

Use two A4 landscape pages plus 3mm bleed on each edge.

If it's a tri-fold zig-zag fold the fold marks are equal, if it's roll-fold the the third “page” is narrower so it tucks in. Make up a plain paper dummy so you can measure the widths (note the sides).

Work in RGB colour mode, place your images in InDesign either in PSD or JPG format.

Provide your printer with a PDF/X-4, select single pages (not spreads), crop marks ticked and Use Document Bleed settings ticked (unless your printer has given you a different spec).

Feel able to come back to this friendly forum with more questions.

Here are some useful templates: https://www.printed.com/templates/folded-leaflet