Tool
Folded card maker
Make a greeting card that folds from one sheet of A4 or US Letter: your words and your photo on the front, your message inside, each face placed and turned so that it reads the right way up once the sheet is folded. A quarter-fold card prints on one side of the paper, on any printer. Free, and nothing you type or choose leaves your device.
Quarter fold, upright card: folded twice, printed on one side. The card is 105 × 149 mm (4.13 × 5.85 in).
It fills the upper part of the front, cropped from the middle, with the words under it. It stays on this device.
The sheet as it prints: the inside is upside down on purpose. Fold the top half back, then the left half back; the short marks at the edges show the folds.
Fold a quarter-fold card
- Print the PDF at 100% (Actual size) on one side of the sheet.
- Lay it print side up, with the front of the card at the bottom right.
- Fold the top half back, behind the bottom half, along the two short marks at the sides.
- Fold the left half back, behind the right half. The front is on top and the fold is on its left.
Nothing is printed across a fold: the marks are 4 mm long and sit at the edge of the sheet, so the card has no line down its spine. Everything on a face keeps 9 mm clear of that face’s edges, which is more than the strip a home printer leaves blank, so no word is lost at the edge of the paper or in a fold that is a millimetre off.
Envelopes, names and the rest of the table
A quarter-fold card from A4 goes in a C6 envelope and one from US Letter in an A2; the envelope template generator draws either to cut and glue from a sheet of your own paper, and the envelope address printer puts the addresses on a stack of them. For the presents and the table, the place card and gift tag generator makes both from a list of names.
The link carries the fold, paper, frame and colour only. What you wrote and the picture you chose stay on this device.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print a card that folds from one sheet of paper?
Choose Quarter fold, type the words for the front and the message for the inside, and download the PDF. Print it at 100% (Actual size) on one side of an A4 or US Letter sheet. Fold the top half back behind the bottom half, then the left half back behind the right: the front is on top, and the message is inside, the right way up. The inside is printed upside down on the sheet so that it comes out upright after the two folds.
What is the difference between a quarter-fold and a half-fold card?
A quarter-fold card is the sheet folded twice. It is printed on one side only, so any printer can make it, and it comes out a quarter of the sheet: 105 × 148 mm (A6) from A4, 4.25 × 5.5 in from US Letter. A half-fold card is the sheet folded once: twice the size, 148 × 210 mm (A5) or 5.5 × 8.5 in, but the message inside has to be printed on the back of the sheet.
How do I print the inside of a half-fold card on the back?
The PDF has two pages: the outside, then the inside. With a printer that prints both sides, choose two-sided printing and "Flip on short edge", because the page is landscape and the sheet turns over like the page of a book. Without one, print page 1, put the sheet back in the tray turned over, and print page 2; print a plain-paper test first to learn which way your printer wants the sheet. Leave the message empty and the PDF is the outside alone, to write inside by hand.
What paper should I use for a folded card?
For a quarter fold, ordinary paper or a light card of up to about 120 g/m² (32 lb): the sheet is folded twice, and heavier card cracks and springs open. For a half fold, card of 160–220 g/m² (60–80 lb cover) stands up well; score the fold first by running the back of a knife along a ruler. Check the heaviest paper your printer feeds before buying.
What envelope fits the card?
From A4, a quarter-fold card is A6 and goes in a C6 envelope (114 × 162 mm); a half-fold card is A5 and goes in a C5 (162 × 229 mm). From US Letter, a quarter-fold card is 4.25 × 5.5 in and fits an A2 envelope (4.375 × 5.75 in); a half-fold card is 5.5 × 8.5 in and fits an A9 envelope (5.75 × 8.75 in).
Are my photo and my words uploaded?
No. The photo is read from your device by your own browser, and the PDF is made there. Nothing you type or choose is sent to a server, and the link under "Continue on another device" carries the fold, paper, frame and colour only, never a word of the card or the photo.
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