Pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical leaflets, inserts and outserts
Patient information leaflets folded to specification — straight, cross-fold, tapped and single-fold — printed at small type sizes on low-GSM stock, with no set-off and no ink rub.
Leaflets, inserts & outserts
Al Ashar Printers · Lahore
Note on responsibility
We print to the artwork you approve. Regulatory responsibility for label content rests with the marketing authorisation holder. What we provide is disciplined artwork control, accurate reproduction, mock-ups for your regulatory review, and documented quality control on every run.
Insert, outsert, leaflet — the words are not interchangeable
They get used loosely in enquiries and precisely in specifications, and the difference is not academic: an insert and an outsert are made on different equipment, to different fold counts, at different costs.
- Leaflet
- The general term for the printed patient information sheet, however it is folded or attached.
- Insert
- A folded leaflet placed inside the carton, alongside the blister or bottle.
- Outsert
- A compact multi-panel leaflet affixed to the outside of the pack, used where there is no room inside.
An insert is folded to a size that fits the carton and dropped in on the line. An outsert is folded much smaller and many more times, into a block that is glued or taped to the outside of the pack — and it is the more demanding of the two by a distance.
Why leaflets are the hardest thing in pharmaceutical print
Everything about a patient information leaflet works against the press. The stock is very light, so it takes ink differently and shows set-off if it is stacked before it is dry. The type is very small, so a fractionally heavy impression closes up the counters and the text stops being readable. The fold count is very high, so an error in the first fold is multiplied by every fold after it.
And unlike a carton, nobody looks at a leaflet until a patient needs it — which is exactly why we proof leaflets folded, at final size, on the production stock rather than flat on a laser print. You read the panel the way the patient will, and the fold pattern is confirmed against the carton it has to go into.
Formats
Formats we fold
Tell us the panel count, the finished size and how it is fed on your line, and we will tell you which of these it should be.
Inserts — placed inside the carton
- Straight insert
- Parallel folds only — the simplest and most common format.
- Cross-fold insert
- Folded in one direction and then across it, for a high panel count in a small footprint.
- Tapped insert
- Carries an additional fold or tuck so it feeds reliably on an automatic line.
- Single-fold insert
- A single fold, supplied for further folding on your own line.
Outserts — affixed outside the pack
- Outsert
- A compact folded block affixed to the outside of the pack.
- Topsert
- An outsert mounted on the top face of the pack.
- Twinsert
- Two leaflets combined into one block — typically two languages, or a device instruction with the leaflet.
- Decked outsert
- Panels stacked in decks so a very high panel count folds into a small block.
Specifications
What we can produce
| Insert formats | Straight, cross-fold, tapped and single-fold |
|---|---|
| Outsert formats | Outsert, topsert, twinsert and decked |
| Printing | Offset, one or two colours on light stock |
| Proofing | Proofed folded, at final size, on the production stock |
| Stock weight | On request |
| Panel count | On request |
| Folded size | On request |
| Minimum order | On request |
| Lead time | On request |
Figures shown as “on request” are confirmed with your quote — they depend on the size, board and finishing of your specific job, and we would rather give you the real number than a range we have to walk back.
Compliance
What must appear on the pack
The particulars required in Pakistan, the category-specific statements and the export exemption are set out in our guide — written from the DRAP labelling guideline for packaging and regulatory staff.
Questions
Questions about leaflets, inserts & outserts
Anything not answered here, ask us directly — we would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Straight, cross-fold, tapped and single-fold inserts, and outserts including topserts, twinserts and decked formats. Which one you need depends on the panel count, the finished size and how the leaflet is fed on your line — send us those three and we will recommend the format.
An insert carrying an additional fold or tuck so that it feeds reliably through an automatic inserting machine. It exists to solve a handling problem on your line rather than a printing one.
Smaller than you would want it to be, and that is exactly the problem. On light stock a fractionally heavy impression closes up the counters and the text stops being readable, so we proof leaflets folded, at final size, on the production stock — you read the panel the way the patient will, before the run.
Because the stock is very light and the ink coverage is dense with small type. If sheets are stacked before they are dry the image transfers to the back of the sheet above, and on a leaflet that means unreadable text rather than a cosmetic mark. It is controlled through ink, coverage and how the run is stacked, not afterwards.
Yes — send the carton or its dieline with the leaflet artwork. We fold to the internal dimension with the allowance the insertion machine needs, rather than to the flat carton size.
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Quantity, size, substrate, colours and finishing — with those five details most jobs are quoted the same working day.
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