It’s one of those questions that, the more people you ask, the more different answers you’ll get…
Many people will say they’re basically the same thing, and the truth is that there are no hard and fast rules. Popular opinion, however, does tend to differentiate between the two in the sense that a flyer is commonly regarded as the kind of cheap and cheerful piece of promotional literature which is printed on fairly lightweight stock so that it can cost-effectively be distributed in vast quantities; whereas a leaflet is a rather higher quality, better produced, and more informative document which is likely to be distributed just a little more selectively.
A good way to think about it is this: a flyer is something which just flies out, and a leaflet is something which you can leaf through to gain a little more information.
A flyer is the type of literature which is often given out by hand in the street, or posted through your letterbox at home, promoting the likes of nightclubs, pizza delivery services, the opening of a new shop, or a promotional event. And a leaflet might more likely be found in a display rack at a tourist information centre, or at the railway station, providing more detailed information about nearby attractions such as theme parks, stately homes, or public gardens.
It’s also quite common for a leaflet to be folded, whereas a flyer is frequently a single flat sheet, although this is by no means always the case. A flyer can perfectly well be folded, and a leaflet can be flat.
And another common, yet flexible, rule of thumb is that leaflets tend to be printed on both sides of the paper, and flyers are often just printed on one side only.
What about size?
Again there are no rules at all, though conventional wisdom would generally suggest that leaflets are bigger. At Instaprint we’ve printed literally millions of leaflets and flyers, of all different shapes and sizes, but we’d say that the most common leaflet is printed on A4 and folded twice to DL size, and the most common format for flyers is A5 printed to one side only and not folded.
Ultimately, it’s about what you want!
And we’re here to help and advise on what would be the best format for your own particular needs. We’ll listen to your ideas on what you want to use the literature for, who it’s targeting, what you want to say, and then suggest the ideal format for you – whether it’s a flyer, a leaflet, or anything else for that matter. What counts is that it’s right; it looks good, is professionally produced, and represents excellent value for money – that’s the hallmark of Instaprint’s work.
So whether you need flyers or leaflets, make Instaprint printers in Nottingham your first port of call. Our helpful team are always on hand to listen and suggest the ideal solution for any requirement, so don’t hesitate to call us on 0115 895 0120.