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PDF Booklet Maker

Reorder pages for folded booklet printing. Free, and runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded, stored or sent to a server.

About PDF Booklet

Reorders and pairs up the pages so that a stack of sheets, printed double-sided and folded once down the middle, reads as a booklet. It is the imposition behind every stapled programme, zine and pocket guide.

The order is not intuitive, which is exactly why it is worth a tool. On the outside of the first sheet, page 1 sits beside the *last* page; on its back, page 2 sits beside the second-last; and so on inwards until the two counters meet in the middle. Get one pair wrong and the booklet is perfectly printed and unreadable. The file that comes out therefore reads as nonsense on screen — that is the sign it is correct.

A booklet always has a multiple of four pages, because one folded sheet makes four sides. A document that does not divide by four is padded with blanks at the end, which is why so many printed booklets finish with one to three empty pages.

Where it helps

  • Works out the folded page order, which is the part nobody can do reliably in their head.
  • Pads to a multiple of four automatically and says how many blanks it added.
  • Pages are embedded rather than rasterised, so text stays selectable.
  • An adjustable gap at the fold, for the binding to eat.
  • The document stays in your browser.

Limits

  • Saddle-stitch only — one folded section. A thick booklet is normally printed in several signatures, which this does not divide into.
  • No creep compensation: on a thick booklet the inner pages stick out and are normally shifted a fraction to allow for it.
  • It cannot know your printer's duplex behaviour — flipping on the long edge instead of the short one produces every other sheet upside down.
  • Links, form fields and annotations are not carried through.
  • Password-protected files must be unlocked first.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the output look scrambled?

Because it is imposed, not ordered. Page 1 is printed beside the last page because they end up on the same side of the same sheet once it is folded. If the file reads correctly on screen, the imposition is wrong.

How do I print it?

Double-sided, flipping on the short edge, at 100% scale with no "fit to page". Fold the whole stack in half together and staple along the fold. Flipping on the long edge is the usual cause of every second sheet coming out upside down.

Why were blank pages added?

One folded sheet has four sides, so a booklet's page count is always a multiple of four. A document of ten pages is padded to twelve; the result says how many blanks that took.

What about a thick booklet?

Past about forty pages a single folded section gets unwieldy and the inner pages stick out noticeably — real print work splits it into signatures of eight or sixteen and trims the edge. This imposes one section.

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