PDF Booklet Maker
Reorder a PDF for folded, saddle-stitched booklet printing.
File
Result
Your converted file will appear here.
About the PDF Booklet Maker converter
Printing a booklet is not a matter of printing the pages in order. Fold a stack of paper in half and the first page ends up sharing a sheet with the last, the second with the second-to-last, and so on inwards.
Drop a PDF in and get one back with the pages already arranged, ready to print double-sided, fold and staple.
What the ordering actually is
For an eight-page booklet the sheets carry pages 8 and 1 on the front of the first sheet, 2 and 7 on its back, then 6 and 3, and finally 4 and 5 in the middle. Written out it looks arbitrary; folded, it reads perfectly.
The arithmetic is unforgiving — one index out and the whole thing reads wrongly, which you discover after printing, folding and stapling. Every imposition here is checked before it is written: each page has to appear exactly once, and the order is verified against a simulation of the folded booklet.
Signatures, for anything thick
Folding many sheets together makes the inner pages stick out at the fore-edge — the effect is called creep, and past about eight sheets it is bad enough that the middle pages need trimming off.
Setting a signature size folds the document in smaller groups that are stacked rather than nested. Each group is a self-contained booklet, so they can be folded separately and gathered in order.
Printers without a duplex unit
On a duplex printer the sides interleave, so the file prints straight through. Choose "flip on the short edge" in the print dialogue — the long edge setting turns every other side upside down.
Without a duplex unit, choose the single-sided option. It writes every front first and then every back, so you print the first half, put the stack back in the tray and print the second.
Odd page counts and rotated pages
A booklet needs a multiple of four pages, so anything shorter is padded with blanks. They are added at the end, where a blank page is unremarkable, rather than in the middle.
Pages that carry a rotation — common in scans — are straightened as they are placed, so a document that mixes portrait and rotated pages still comes out the right way up.
Frequently asked questions
Which way do I flip on the second side?
Short edge. The pages sit side by side in landscape, so flipping on the long edge turns every second side upside down. If a test print comes out inverted, that setting is why.
How many sheets per signature?
Four to eight is typical for ordinary paper. The thicker the paper and the more sheets you nest, the further the middle pages creep out at the edge. For anything under about 32 pages a single fold is fine.
Can I print A5 booklets from A4 paper?
Yes, that is the default. Two A5 pages fit side by side on a sheet of A4 landscape, which is what the layout produces.
The pages look small with a lot of white space.
Each page is scaled to fit its half of the sheet while keeping its proportions. A US Letter source on A4 paper, or vice versa, leaves a band of white because the shapes differ. Reducing the margin helps a little.
Is my document uploaded?
No. The pages are rearranged in your browser, which matters for anything you would not email to a stranger — a manuscript, a contract, an order of service.