“What is the difference between a leaflet and a flyer” is a question we are frequently asked. Is there a technical difference between these two common printed products?

Unfortunately there isn’t a straight forward answer. The two terms are often used to describe the same type of product both by users and also by printing companies.

One of the reasons the two terms are interchangeable is because both of these printed products have similar physical characteristics which include:

Both flyers and leaflets are an unbound, single sheet of printed paper
Both terms are used to describe a printed sheet which details information of an advertising nature such as events, product sheets, special offers or promotions etc.
Flyers and Leaflets are both low cost printed items usually printed in higher quantities and distributed free.
Both are described as “throw aways” as the information contained is usually short term and not designed to be kept.

If there is little difference in physical characteristics the difference in use may differentiate the two. In the past the term flyers would usually refer to printed sheets used to promote events, club nights, music gigs etc. The term Club Flyer was at one time in common use. A leaflet in the past would generally be used to distribute information or advertising for political parties or charities. However in modern use these terms are no longer exclusively used in this way.

To add more confusion to the terminology used there are also booklets and brochures that have very similar characteristics and uses. Read our blog on “the difference between leaflets, booklets and brochures“

With the above in mind naming a product a flyer or a leaflet is a difficult task. However at Eazy Print we have decided to differentiate the two products based on the following:

Flyers

A single unfolded sheet of paper printed either single or double sided, containing any information which is advertising in nature.
The paper used should be a board weight for example 300gsm or 350gsm

Leaflets

A single sheet of paper printed either single or double sided which may be supplied flat or folded. The leaflet should contain marketing or advertising information
The paper used should be a paper weight such as 130gsm, 150gsm or 170gsm.

Ensuring printed products are named correctly may seem an irrelevance, however in the UK mis-naming something could have cost implications. Both flyers and leaflets are VAT exempt, however data capture cards for example attract VAT at 20%. Data capture cards could be physically the same as a flyer, a single sheet of printed paper, but yet attracts VAT.

Eazy Print offers a range of flyer and leaflet printing.

Written by Joanne Serellis