Trish Witkowski is Chief Folding Fanatic at the online community foldfactory.com. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design and a master of science degree in Graphic Arts Publishing from RIT. An award-winning designer, she held the position of creative director for a Baltimore-based agency for six years, and has taught design and desktop publishing at the college level. Trish has a specialized expertise in the area of folding and is the creator of the FOLDRite™ system, and the template-building software plug-in FOLDRite Template Master. Trish frequently writes and blogs on the topic of folding and finishing and hosts a popular weekly e-video, the “60-second Super-cool FOLD of the WEEK.” She has written three books on the topic of folding: A Field Guide to Folding, Folding for the Graphic Arts: A Teacher’s Handbook, and FOLD: The Professional's Guide to Folding.

Today I’ll show you this week’s fold: the Lady Liberty Self-envelope Mail piece. This sophisticated self-mailer was created by Structural Graphics in Essex, CT. On the outside, it’s a simple direct mail envelope but opens to reveal an L-format pop up that is illuminated by metallic gradient hidden behind a broad-side fold. Simple, yet classy! Watch for…

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This week’s fold comes from SPC, Specialty Print Communications in Niles, IL. This Mystifying High Speed Inline Pop-up Mailer is a self-mailing piece printed on 100 lb. sterling matte text. Amazingly, these mailers were finished 100% inline from end to end. This is a great example of an exiting mailer than can be printed in…

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This weeks fold is the Accordion with Rockin’ Millboard covers sent it from Print It in Vancouver, Canada. This promotional piece highlights print technology and expertise at its finest. The piece features a long accordion fold which is actually two different folds seemed together. The front and back covers feature 60 point millboard to add…

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This week, we showcase the Iron Cross with Stitched-in Booklet submitted by Digital Ink in Alexandria, VA created for the American Bankers Association. The piece first opens in gate format to reveal two sides that fold out to create an iron cross format. The innovation doesn’t stop here. The interior boasts of a 12 page…

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Welcome to the first FOW on The Digital Nirvana in 2012! I’m sure this year will bring plenty of innovative and fun new folds. This week’s Fab Kaleidoscope Cover Invitation comes from Schmitt’s Press in Baltimore and was created back in 2005 for a fundraising event for Maryland Institute College of Art. What makes this…

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This week’s fold is a Storytelling Vertical Open Gate into Accordion submitted by VSA Partners in Chicago. It’s a great example of how a folding can tell a company’s story. While this was not used as a direct mail piece, it’s a creative leave behind piece that people will want hold on to. The designer…

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In this week’s fold, Trish highlights another great creation from ITP in Elizabethtown, PA. This unique direct mail piece was created for New Homes Guide in Fairfax Virginia. ITP and New Homes Guide used this piece to not only tell advertisers about their new large-format magazine, but they also showed advertisers what space they can…

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This week, Trish brings us the Neat Single Sheet Seat Belt Promo created by Lawton Printers in Central Florida. It is a single sheet card format featuring a seat belt that opens to reveal detailed information about the airline and its promos. Printed on an 80 to 100 lb cover stock, this fold is an…

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This week’s 60 Second Super Cool Fold of the Week was designed for The Clarrett Group and printed by Cedar Graphics inRonkonkoma,NY. From the outside, it looks like a briefcase with a handle but when you use that handle to open piece… it reveals a large format poster detailing the Clarett Group’s ambitious plans. The…

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Check out the latest 60 Second Super Cool Fold of the Week. This fold comes from ITP inElizabethtown,Pennsylvaniaand is a piece they created for Global Business travel Association. It is a self-mailing piece that uses an open gate fold format with an interesting tweak. Watch the video to learn more!  

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Here is the 112th Super Cool Fold of the Week from Trish at FoldFactory. Watch as she teaches you how to create the fun Assymetrical Gate Fold piece with a perfed postcard. It was originally designed by Cayenne Creative Group for International Paper to promote their Elements line.

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Direct mailers seem to get more and more innovative every week and create digitally printed pieces that I couldn’t even fathom on my own. This week’s fold is no exception. It is a hexagon-shaped fold that unfolds to a larger hexagon. The catch to successfully recreating this piece is to ensure that each mini hexagon…

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Digital print used to be a fairly restrictive process. It was great for short runs, smaller formats and simple folding styles. Quality was good but not as good as offset, paper choice was limited and the glossy look of the toner was unmistakable. Times have changed, however. The line between digital and conventional print has…

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Here is another original idea for direct mailers – the Gate Fold Brochure with Glueless Pocket.

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Are you looking for a new idea for a tradeshow leave-behind? Look no further than the 60 Second Super Cool Fold of the Week for the Long Triangle Fold. This collateral piece was designed by The Whitmore Print Group from Baltimore Maryland and created for Edge Technologies in Fairfax, Virgina. Enjoy!

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