How to print an A5 booklet on A4 paper

An A5 page is exactly half of an A4 sheet. So when you fold a stack of A4 paper in half, you get an A5 booklet with no cutting at all. Each A4 sheet carries four A5 pages: two on the front and two on the back. Notebook Generator puts the pages in the right places for you (this is called imposition), so you only print, fold and bind.

Using US paper? Everything below works the same with Half Letter pages on Letter paper.

Step 1: Make an A5 notebook

1. Open the Notebook Maker and set Page size to A5.
2. Add your pages: a cover, then lined, dot grid, planner or any other template.
3. Keep the page count a multiple of 4 (16, 24, 32, 48…). If it is not, the booklet gets up to three blank pages at the end, which is fine but wastes paper.

Step 2: Count your sheets

Divide the number of pages by 4.

A5 pages	A4 sheets	Best binding
16	4	Staple or sew
32	8	Staple or sew
48	12	Staple (long-reach stapler) or sew
64 or more	16 or more	Sew several signatures

With 80 g/m² office paper, about 12 sheets (48 pages) is the most you can fold neatly as one booklet. Thicker notebooks fold better as several small booklets sewn together: choose Signatures (sew) as the binding when you download the PDF.

Step 3: Download the booklet PDF

1. Click Download PDF and choose Print-ready booklet.
2. Choose A4 as the printer paper. The dialog confirms that two A5 pages fit side by side.
3. Leave the flip edge on short edge, unless your printer can only flip on the long edge.
4. Use Check to look at the real sheets before you print.

Step 4: Print double-sided at 100%

• In the print dialog, choose Actual size or 100%. Never “Fit to page”: it shrinks every page and the backs stop lining up.
• Turn off any “booklet” option in the print dialog. The PDF is already a booklet.
• Choose double-sided, flip on short edge.

No automatic duplex? Choose Manual in the export dialog: print the fronts file, put the stack back in the tray, then print the backs file. Test with one sheet first. All the details are in how to print a booklet double-sided.

Step 5: Fold

1. Keep the sheets in the order they came out of the printer.
2. Fold the whole stack in half along the short side, so A4 becomes A5. With more than five sheets, fold each sheet on its own and nest them inside each other.
3. Press the fold flat with a bone folder or the edge of a ruler.

Step 6: Bind

• Staple: open the booklet in the middle and put two staples through the fold, about 2–3 cm from the top and bottom. See how to staple a booklet in the middle.
• Sew: three holes and one thread, no stapler needed. See the 3D binding guide for every step.
• Thick notebook: sew several signatures together. See sewing signatures.

Step 7: Trim (optional)

In thick booklets the inner sheets stick out a little at the front edge. Trim the front edge straight with a craft knife and a steel ruler, as in cutting and trimming.

Common problems

The pages are slightly smaller than A5. The print dialog is scaling. Choose Actual size / 100%.

The back of each sheet is upside down. The flip edge in the print dialog does not match the one in Notebook Generator. Change one of them, not both.

The pages are in the wrong order after folding. A booklet option is on in the print dialog, or the sheets were shuffled after printing.

The booklet will not stay closed. It is too thick for one fold. Use signatures, or press it under a heavy book overnight.