Custom Restaurant Menus That Make Ordering Easy (and Delicious)
Your menu is the one piece of marketing every single guest reads. It sets the mood, tells your story and, most importantly, helps people decide what to order. And guests still want it in their hands: in a 2024 survey of 850 U.S. diners, 81% said they prefer a physical menu, and just 1% preferred a QR code (Toast). Our restaurant menu printing gives you every size, fold and paper you need to build a menu that looks great and works hard, from a one-page lunch special to a 12″ x 18″ tri-fold.
What Our Restaurant Customers Order Most (2026)
- 8.5″ x 14″ is our most popular flat menu size.
- 11″ x 17″ half-fold is our most popular folded menu.
- 12″ x 18″ is a favorite for tri-fold menus.
- 7 in 10 restaurant menus our customers order are laminated (35%) or waterproof synthetic (35%), built to last for years.
Based on PrintMagic restaurant menu orders, as of 2026.
Which Menu Is Right for Your Restaurant?
| Restaurant type | Size | Fold | Panels | Best paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casual dine-in | 11″ x 17″ | Half-fold | 4 | Laminated or waterproof |
| One-page dine-in | 8.5″ x 14″ | Flat | 2 | Laminated, waterproof or 100 lb. cover + aqueous |
| Large or family menus | 12″ x 18″ | Half-fold or tri-fold | 4–6 | Laminated or waterproof |
| Take-out and delivery | 12″ x 18″ or 8.5″ x 14″ | Tri-fold | 6 | 80 lb. gloss text |
| Fine dining / prix fixe | 8.5″ x 11″ or 8.5″ x 14″ | Flat | 2 | 100 lb. cover with satin aqueous (1,000 minimum, 5–7 days) |
| Bar, patio and pool | 8.5″ x 11″ or 8.5″ x 14″ | Flat | 2 | Waterproof 10 pt. |
| Specials, desserts and drinks | 4″ x 10″ or 5.5″ x 8.5″ | Flat | 2 | 100 lb. gloss text |
| Pocket and handout menus | 8.5″ x 11″ | Double parallel or roll | 8 | 80 lb. gloss text |
11 Sizes
4″ x 10″ · 4.25″ x 11″ · 5.5″ x 8.5″ · 5.5″ x 17″ · 8″ x 9″ · 8.5″ x 11″ · 8.5″ x 14″ · 9″ x 12″ · 9″ x 16″ · 11″ x 17″ · 12″ x 18″, printed horizontal or vertical. Need something else? Request a custom quote.
Fold Guide: 15 Folding and Scoring Options
| Fold | Panels | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat (no fold) | 2 (front and back) | One-page dine-in, specials, bar and dessert menus |
| Half-fold | 4 | Classic dine-in menus. 11″ x 17″ is our #1 folded menu. |
| Tri-fold / letter fold | 6 | Take-out and delivery menus |
| Z-fold | 6 | Take-out menus that open in one motion |
| Gate fold | 6 | Showcasing a signature dish in the center |
| Double gate fold | 8 | Large menus with a dramatic reveal |
| French fold | 8 | Booklet-style menus from one sheet |
| Roll fold | 8 | Long take-out menus that unroll panel by panel |
| Double parallel fold | 8 | Pocket menus and compact take-out |
| Accordion fold | 8 | Step-by-step menus (courses, build-your-own) |
| Half-fold, then tri-fold | 12 | Big menus that fold down to pocket size |
Scoring options (score in half-fold, score and tri-fold, score and Z-fold, score for gate or double gate) put a clean crease in thick 100 lb. cover and waterproof stocks (waterproof offers half, tri and Z-fold scoring only), so they fold smoothly without cracking. Scored menus ship flat, ready for you to fold.
From Our Print Shop
We always score, then fold. Pressing a clean crease line into the stock before folding keeps cardstock and menu papers from cracking along the fold, so your colors and text stay crisp right across the crease.
Paper and Coatings
- Standard Gloss Text, 80 lb.: lightweight and economical. The go-to for take-out and delivery menus.
- Standard Gloss Text, 100 lb.: a heavier text with a rich gloss, about as thick as a magazine cover.
- Standard Gloss Cover, 100 lb.: stiff and sturdy, about as thick as a baseball card. Great for dine-in, specials and table menus.
- White Premium Opaque, 70 lb.: bright white, smooth and opaque for color-rich designs.
- Waterproof Paper, 10 pt. (EndurACE): waterproof and tear-resistant for patios, bars and heavy use.
Coatings: UV (ultra-glossy and abrasion-resistant, but not for writing on) · Aqueous (glossy protection against fingerprints and dust) · Satin Aqueous (soft, between gloss and matte, and you can write on it with a ballpoint pen, which is handy for daily specials) · or uncoated.
Need menus that last for years? Our laminated menus use a heavy 5 mil lamination on both sides of 80 lb. cover stock, thicker than the 3 mil laminate common in the industry, for menus that stand up to spills and constant wipe-downs. Prefer something lighter and flexible? Waterproof synthetic menus are tear-proof and easy to carry. Order our sample kit to feel the papers first.
New to menu printing? Read our complete guide: How to Choose, Design and Print a Restaurant Menu.
Free Layout Templates and Easy File Setup
Download a free layout guideline template for your menu size and fold. Lay out your design on the template so text and images line up with the folds and stay inside the safe area, then export a print-ready PDF.
- Add a 0.125″ bleed on all sides.
- Use CMYK color and high-resolution images.
- Keep text and prices inside the safe area, away from folds and edges.
Prefer to hand it off? Add menu design services to your order.
We Proofread Your Menu Before We Print It
A typo or a wrong price on 500 menus is an expensive mistake. Every order includes a free proof: we check that your design fits the print lines and folds, and we look for grammar errors and typos. Nothing prints until you approve it.
Short Runs, Fast Turnaround, Easy Updates
Restaurant prices keep moving. Food away from home rose 3.4% in the year to June 2026 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), so menus need updating more often. Order as few as 25 menus or as many as 25,000 (minimums vary by paper and coating), print up to 15 versions in one order (lunch and dinner, multiple locations, English and Spanish), and choose 1–2, 2–4 or 5–7 business day turnaround, depending on paper, coating and quantity.

















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