Make a booklet from any PDF — imposition, the fold, and the printer settings
Updated 28 August 2026
Booklet Maker reorders and places a PDF's pages two-up on landscape sheets so that, printed double-sided with the flip on the short edge and folded down the middle, they read as a booklet. Padding to a multiple of four goes at the end and is stated; text stays vector — nothing is rasterised.
Turn any PDF into a print-ready booklet in your browser: pages imposed two-up, blanks stated, saddle-stitch signatures optional — print, flip short edge, fold.
UnboundPDF is a free suite of 53 PDF and image tools that run entirely in your browser — merge, split, compress, edit text, OCR in 126 languages, redact, sign, convert and archive to PDF/A. Your document is read and written by the page on your own device; there is no document-upload endpoint in the core tools, no account, no watermark and no daily cap. Every result can be checked — with the Network tab, or with the Document Passport the Workspace writes for a chain of steps.
- Open Booklet Maker and add the PDF; pick A4 or Letter.
- Read the plan — how many blanks pad the count to a multiple of four (they go at the end), and the signature size if you saddle-stitch.
- Download, then print double-sided with the flip on the SHORT edge, fold the stack, staple the spine.
Open Booklet Maker, add the PDF, download the imposed sheets — then the paper does the magic: double-sided, short-edge flip, fold.
What imposition actually is
A booklet's page 1 and its last page share a physical sheet. Imposition is that reordering — side by side, in the order the FOLD needs, not the order you read. The tool does the arithmetic and shows the plan; your pages are embedded as vector content, so text prints as sharply as the original.
The printer settings that matter
Double-sided, flip on the short edge, actual size (no shrink-to-fit). Those three settings are the whole craft; the first two are printed on the tool so you do not have to remember them here.
Scope
Mixed page sizes are normalised to the sheet's half and stated. Very small pages place at fit. Links and form fields do not carry onto imposed sheets — the booklet is for paper; keep the original for screens.
Frequently asked questions
Why did blank pages appear?
A folded sheet carries four pages, so the count is padded to a multiple of four. The blanks go at the end of the document and the tool states how many.
Long-edge or short-edge flip?
Short edge — the instruction is on the tool before and after the run. Long-edge duplex prints the backs upside down.
Do links and form fields survive?
No — each imposed sheet is a new page and annotations are not carried onto it. Stated on the page; impose the reading copy, keep the interactive original.