HarborlightWhy the pages get shuffled
In a folded, stapled booklet (printers say saddle-stitched), every sheet of paper carries four pages: two on the front, two on the back. The outer sheet holds the first two pages and the last two. Three rules follow from that:
- The page count must be a multiple of 4. A 10-page booklet becomes 12, with two blank pages, usually at the end.
- Each sheet is twice the width of a page. Half-letter pages print on letter paper turned sideways, and A5 pages on A4. Letter-size pages need 11 × 17 in (tabloid) paper, and A4 pages need A3.
- The two pages on each side add up to the total plus one. In an 8-page booklet, 8 + 1, 2 + 7, 6 + 3 and 4 + 5 all make 9. It's a quick way to check a layout.
Page order for 8 and 12 pages
Left page first, then right page, as the sheet lies in front of you.
The general rule, for sheet n of a booklet with T pages: the front holds page T − 2n + 2 on the left and 2n − 1 on the right; the back holds 2n on the left and T − 2n + 1 on the right.
Print it double-sided, the right way
- Make the page count a multiple of 4. Each folded sheet carries four pages. Add blank pages at the end if you need to: 10 pages become 12.
- Impose the pages. Place two pages side by side on each sheet in booklet order. For 8 pages: sheet 1 front 8 and 1, back 2 and 7; sheet 2 front 6 and 3, back 4 and 5.
- Print on both sides, flipping on the short edge. Choose two-sided printing and flip on the short edge. Print one sheet first to check that page 2 sits behind page 1.
- Stack, fold and staple. Keep the sheets in order with sheet 1 on the outside, fold the pile in half together and staple on the fold.
No two-sided printer? Print the fronts of all sheets, put the stack back in the tray, then print the backs. How to turn the stack depends on your printer, so try it with one sheet before printing the lot.
If it still comes out wrong
- Backs upside down: the printer flipped on the long edge. Booklet sheets are landscape, so choose the short edge.
- Pages shrunk or shifted: the print dialog scaled the file. Choose actual size (100%) rather than fit to page.
- Tiny pages on letter or A4 paper: the booklet was designed with full-size pages. Design in half letter (or A5) from the start so nothing has to shrink.
- Blank pages in odd places: plan them. With 10 pages of content, the two extra pages can hold notes or a back cover instead of sitting empty.
- Some PDF readers and printer drivers have their own booklet option. If yours does, use it on a normal, page-by-page PDF; don't impose the file twice.
Bulletin Press does the shuffling for you
Design your bulletin or newsletter page by page, in normal order. Then open Print & PDF and choose Fold & print booklet: Bulletin Press puts the pages in saddle-stitch order two to a sheet, adds blank pages at the end to reach a multiple of 4, and previews each side of each sheet. It also tells you the paper size to load and to print two-sided, flipping on the short edge. Download the PDF or print straight from the browser.
Page sizes include Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Half letter, A4 and A5. Free, no account, works offline.
It works on pages you build in Bulletin Press: it doesn't rearrange a PDF made elsewhere, and it can't open Publisher (.pub) files.
Moving away from Publisher? Read what changed and your options.