Magazine front covers:
gatefold covers

Gatefold covers

What is a gatefold cover? Back to top

A gatefold cover is often used on the front of magazines and results in an extra fold-out page so a typical cover doubles in size to become a horizontal A3 sheet. The right edge of the gatefold falls slightly shy of the right edge of the issue, as below.

A gatefold can also be used on a back cover, so a magazine could have a double gatefold. Furthermore, the cover could fold out several times.

Advertising often drives the use of the gatefold. The result is that the advertiser can gain a 'triple' spread made up of the back of the double front cover and page 3.

Time-Out: triple 'Heroes' gatefold (2008) Back to top

Time Out ran a triple gatefold to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2008 (cover date September 25).

A single image, though probably stitched together in Photoshop, was used across the four covers with 40 celebrities, fashionistas and media luvvies chosen as the 'men and women who make London' to celebrate its 40th birthday. Actress Helen Mirren was the only one given a chair

Time Out wheeled out 40 celebs, fashionista and media luvvies to celebrate its 40th birthday, with Helen Mirren in pole position

Maxim: pull-out gatefold (2002) Back to top

Maxim ran a variation on the gatefold with its pull-out pin-up cover in 2002 (March cover date).

The cover starts by folding back on itself about three-quarters of the way from the spine - as seen in the vertical line of the cover on the right. However, there is then a reverse fold after about half a cover's width so the cover then comes back out to range with the right edge of the issue.

The results (see below right) is that the front cover pulls out to about twice its usual width with:

• a three-quarter cover for Jennifer Allison;
• a half cover for Dani;
• a three-quarter cover for Charisma Carpenter.

The men's magazine sector was very competitive at this time and such cover gimmicks were common. Rival FHM ran a drop-down cover in 2004.

Maxim: a pull-out gatefold allowed the men's monthly to run three pin-ups as a cover gimmick

Quo: gatefold and split cover combined (1998) Back to top

Hachette's Spanish monthly Quo used an ambitious combination of split cover and gatefold for this November 1998 issue. This is very tricky to get right.

First, is getting the registration accurate in the printing and subsequent binding and trimming so the two sides of the image line up. The two sides of this cover overlap by about 7mm. In addition, there's the problem of matching the colour because the two sides are different sheets of paper, which might have been printed at different times. In this case, it's about as good as it gets, with images about 1mm out horizontally and the right side being slightly darker.

Quo: can you see the line of the split cover?

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Other relevant pages:

• Main page on magazine front covers
• The secrets of magazine cover design: how a cover is laid out and the jargon
• The best magazine cover ever
• Town front covers 1955-1968: classic swinging sixties men's lifestyle
• Selection of magazine covers, from Another Magazine to Nova to Zest