How to print a booklet double-sided

A booklet PDF from Notebook Generator is already imposed: each PDF page is one side of a sheet of paper, with two notebook pages side by side. When you print it double-sided and fold the stack in half, the pages read in the right order. You never need to rearrange anything in the print dialog.

Before you print

1. In the Notebook Maker, open Download PDF and choose Print-ready booklet.
2. Pick the paper you will print on. The dialog shows whether two pages fit side by side and recommends paper for your page size (for example, A5 pages on A4 paper, Half Letter pages on Letter).
3. Check the summary: how many sheets you need and how many blank pages were added. A folded booklet always has a multiple of four pages, so up to three blank pages may be added.
4. Create the PDF and use Check to see the real output before you print.

Print at actual size (100%)

This is the single most important setting. In the print dialog choose Actual size, 100% or No scaling. Do not choose “Fit to page”, “Shrink oversized pages” or “Fit to printable area”: they make every page a few percent smaller, so your 5 mm dot grid is no longer 5 mm and the pages no longer line up on both sides of the sheet.

Program	Where to find it
Adobe Acrobat Reader	Page Sizing & Handling → Actual size
Chrome / Edge PDF viewer	More settings → Scale → Default or 100
macOS Preview	Scale: 100%
Firefox	Scale: 100% (not “Fit to page width”)

Also turn off any booklet option in the print dialog. The PDF is already a booklet; printing it as a booklet again shuffles the pages.

Choose the right flip edge

Booklet PDFs are landscape by default, with two pages side by side. When the printer turns the sheet to print the back, it can flip it around the short edge or the long edge.

• Flip on short edge (also called “short-edge binding” or “tablet”) is right for landscape booklet PDFs. This is the default in Notebook Generator.
• Flip on long edge is the default of many printers. If you can only use long edge, choose “Automatic, flip on long edge” in Notebook Generator before creating the PDF. The backs are then rotated so they still come out the right way up.

The setting in Notebook Generator and the setting in your print dialog must match. If the backs come out upside down, the two settings disagree.

If your printer only accepts portrait pages, set PDF orientation to Portrait in the export dialog. The spreads are rotated by 90° on the PDF page and the flip edge is calculated for you.

Printers without automatic double-sided printing

Choose Manual under double-sided printing. You get two files:

1. Print the fronts file.
2. Take the printed stack, and put it back into the paper tray the way your printer needs to print on the other side. Most printers want the printed side facing up in the tray, and the top edge going in first, but this varies, so test with two sheets first.
3. Print the backs file.

Two options help with common printer behaviour:

• Reverse order of backs: use it when your printer stacks pages face up, so the first sheet ends up at the bottom of the pile.
• Rotate backs 180°: use it when the backs come out upside down.

Do a test print first

Before printing a 20-sheet booklet, print only PDF pages 1 and 2 (one sheet). Fold it and check that page numbers and the cover read correctly. The printer calibration goes one step further and measures your printer so sizes and front/back alignment are exact.

Common problems

The pages are slightly too small. The print dialog is scaling. Choose Actual size / 100%.

The back is upside down. Switch between flip on short edge and flip on long edge, either in the print dialog or in Notebook Generator, not both.

Pages are in the wrong order. A booklet option is turned on in the print dialog, or the sheets were reordered after printing. Keep the sheets in the order they come out of the printer.

The edges of the page are cut off. Your printer cannot print to the edge of the paper. Use larger margins, or calibrate the printer so Notebook Generator can warn you when content falls into the unprintable area.