What is a pamphlet?

What is a pamphlet? That’s exactly the question this short article will answer for you. We’ll also answer common queries such as:

What is a leaflet?
What’s the difference between brochures and pamphlets?
What is a digital pamphlet?
What’s the best pamphlet design software?

Beyond the meaning of pamphlets, we’ll also explore some fabulous pamphlet examples that you can download and customise to create your own brochures and pamphlets quickly and easily.

What is a pamphlet?

A pamphlet is a small booklet or a leaflet with the main purpose of informing or educating readers about a particular subject. These can be in various formats, including a single-sheet and tri-fold pamphlet.

What does a pamphlet look like?

Pamphlets are usually a single sheet of paper with information printed on one or both sides, but they can also be composed of several unbound sheets.

When a pamphlet is a single sheet, it is often folded into sections to create a tri-fold or bi-fold pamphlet.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

If you still have questions about pamphlets, these answers may come in handy. We’ll also share some of the best pamphlet examples you’ll find at Envato.

Let’s dive into the topics that you may be wondering about:

1. What is the difference between a brochure and a pamphlet?

Pamphlet vs. brochure: are they the same? What differentiates them?

As we now know, a pamphlet has the general purpose of providing information and educating readers about a given subject.

A brochure, on the other hand, usually has a more commercial objective. It contains images and information about a product or company, so its main end is advertising.

2. What is the difference between a pamphlet and a leaflet?

For starters, what is a leaflet? Well, a leaflet is a piece of paper that provides information about a given topic or that intends to advertise something.

A pamphlet can be a leaflet, but doesn’t have to be. When a pamphlet consists of a single sheet, it is technically a leaflet. If it’s made up of more than one sheet, it’s no longer a leaflet, but a booklet.

3. What is a digital pamphlet?

Whereas the traditional pamphlet is printed and delivered physically, the digital pamphlet is published and shared online.

It’s ideal for organizations with a predominantly digital presence, those whose main clientele is online, or those lacking the budget for printing pamphlets.

This is an example of a digital pamphlet for social media.

4. What is a tri-fold pamphlet?

A tri-fold pamphlet has two evenly distributed folds, resulting in three inner and three outer sections of the same size. Yes, it can be tricky. Remember: the name is based on the number of resulting sections on each side of the sheet, not the number of folds.

A bi-fold, for example, has just one fold right in the middle of the sheet. This results in two sections of the same size on each side of the pamphlet.

5. What is the size of a pamphlet?

There is no single pamphlet size that covers everyone’s needs. However, there are international and standard sizes that can be helpful when you want to print your pamphlet in a different country. This standardisation is common with other printed materials too, such as posters and flyers.

In the US and Canada, the standard pamphlet size options for printing include:

Letter (8.5 x 11 in)
Legal (8.5 x 14 in)
Half Letter (8.5 x 5.5 in)
Tabloid (11 x 17 in)
Square (8 x 8 in, size varies)

In other countries, a common standard pamphlet size can be:

A4 (210 x 297 mm)
A5 (148 x 210 mm)
A3 (297 x 420 mm)
DL (99 x 210 mm)
Square (210 x 210 mm, size varies)

If this sounds too confusing or overwhelming, you can rely on pre-made templates that match your needs. These already come in predetermined sizes that save you the time of thinking it through and designing from scratch.

This job hiring poster template is an example of a standard A4 size pamphlet.

6. What is the best program to make a pamphlet?

The Adobe Creative Suite is hard to beat when it comes to the best pamphlet design software. Illustrator and Photoshop are popular apps that allow you to design pamphlets from scratch. There are also many templates, mostly available as AI files and PSD formats, which will give you a head start.

That being said, Adobe InDesign has the upper hand in anything related to editorial design. It may be less popular than Illustrator and Photoshop, but its layout is way more intuitive and simpler for pamphlet design purposes.

Alternatives outside the Adobe suite include Affinity Publisher and Microsoft Word. The latter may be more limited in terms of creative freedom, but it’s an accessible application that many people know how to use.

What more is there to learn about pamphlets?

We’ve covered the most common questions about pamphlets, but there’s so much more to learn. You can check out how to make a trifold brochure pamphlet or learn the steps to create tri-fold brochures in Photoshop.

Go deeper into the meaning of brochures, what differentiates them from pamphlets, and how to create pamphlets in the best pamphlet design software.

Choose your pamphlet template today

Now you know what a pamphlet is and where to find a terrific supply of the best premium pamphlets. If you like design video tutorials better, check out the Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

Finally, if you want more information on other useful resources, check out these really helpful articles below:

Post date September 19, 2021

This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Nona Blackman

What is a pamphlet? That's exactly the question this short article will answer for you. We'll also answer common queries such as:

What is a leaflet?
What's the difference between brochures and pamphlets?
What is a digital pamphlet?
What's the best pamphlet design software?

Beyond the meaning of pamphlets, we'll also explore some fabulous pamphlet examples that you can download and customise to create your own brochures and pamphlets quickly and easily.