Free PDF Booklet & Pages-per-Sheet Maker

Worked example

Add a 10-page A4 PDF called report.pdf. The page shows "First sheet (page numbers)" with a "Front" side holding pages 10 and 1, and a "Back" side holding page 2 and a box marked "blank". The summary reads "10 pages → 6 printed sides on 3 sheets of paper". A booklet needs a multiple of 4 pages, so "Where to add 2 blank pages" appears with "Before the back cover" selected: page 10 stays last and the two blanks go in front of it. Leave "Layout" on "Booklet (fold and staple)", "Binding" on "Left (opens like most books)" and "Paper" on A4, then press "Make booklet". The page shows "Done: 6 printed sides" followed by the file size, and the button becomes a download for report_booklet.pdf. Print it double-sided, flip on the short edge, fold the stack in half and staple the fold. The A4 pages sit side by side on landscape A4 sheets, so each prints at A5 size.

Which settings to use, and the limits

• Choose "Booklet (fold and staple)" for a folded book and "Pages per sheet" for handouts. The booklet layout puts two pages on each side of a landscape sheet, in the order that reads correctly once the stack is folded in half. "Pages per sheet" shrinks 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 or 16 pages onto each side, starting at 4, to save paper or make handouts. The summary line counts sheets of paper: a booklet uses one sheet for every two printed sides, but "Pages per sheet" counts every side as a sheet, as if you print single-sided. Downloads are named like report_booklet.pdf or report_4-up.pdf.
• Let the tool choose the grid, then set the reading order. For portrait A4 pages the grid is chosen to keep the pages as large as possible: 2 per side is 2 × 1 on a landscape sheet, 4 is 2 × 2 portrait, 6 is 3 × 2 landscape, 8 is 4 × 2 landscape, 9 is 3 × 3 portrait and 16 is 4 × 4 portrait. "Reading order" offers "Left to right", "Right to left" and "Top to bottom". With 4 per sheet, "Top to bottom" puts pages 1 and 2 in the left column and 3 and 4 in the right. The last sheet leaves empty cells when the pages do not fill it.
• Set the paper, or use "Keep page size". "Paper" offers A4, Letter, A3, Legal, Tabloid and "Keep page size". It starts on A4, or on Letter when the browser language ends in -US, -CA, -MX or -PH. Pages are scaled to fit their half or cell of the chosen sheet. "Keep page size" instead makes the sheet big enough to hold the pages at 100 percent: two A5 pages make an A4 sheet and two A4 pages make an A3 sheet. The first page's size plans the layout, and a later page of a different shape is fitted inside its space.
• Use margin, space and border for printing and cutting. "Margin" and "Space at the fold" (called "Space between pages" under "Pages per sheet") are sliders from 0 to 20 mm in 1 mm steps, and both start at 0. They make the pages smaller to fit. In a booklet each page sits against the fold. "Thin border around each page" draws a light grey 0.5 point outline, which helps when pages have white edges or when you will cut the sheets apart.
• Split a thick booklet into signatures. "Split into signatures" appears only when the PDF has more than 20 pages. Choose 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 sheets each, which means 12, 16, 20, 24 or 32 pages per folded group. Each group is arranged as its own booklet, so you fold each one and then stack them in order. A 24-page PDF with "4 sheets (16 pages) each" gives one group of 16 pages and one of 8, which is 12 printed sides on 6 sheets of paper.
• Set the binding and where the blank pages go. A booklet needs a page count that is a multiple of 4. When yours is not, "Where to add 2 blank pages" (the number is worked out for you) offers "Before the back cover", which keeps the last page last, or "At the end". The preview marks blanks "blank". "Binding" has "Left (opens like most books)" and "Right (Arabic, Hebrew, manga)", which swaps left and right on every sheet. Right is preselected when the page language is a right-to-left one such as Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Urdu.

Common problems and how to fix them

It says "This PDF is password-protected. Unlock it first, then try again."

The tool checks for an encryption entry as soon as you add the file. The library that builds the new PDF cannot decrypt, and re-saving an encrypted file would produce a corrupt PDF, so the file is refused. This includes a PDF that opens without a password but has an owner password restricting printing or copying. An "Unlock PDF" button under the message passes the same file to the Unlock PDF tool in this browser.

It says "This PDF could not be read. It may be damaged." or "The new PDF could not be made. Try another file."

The first appears when you add the file and it cannot be opened or has no first page. The second appears when building the booklet fails. Both usually mean a damaged or unusual PDF. Open it in a PDF viewer, make a fresh copy with Save As or Print to PDF, and add that copy. The remove button on the file chip lets you start again.

The printed pages are smaller than the original.

In a booklet two pages share one landscape sheet, so with "Paper" on A4 an A4 page is scaled to A5, and "Margin" and "Space at the fold" shrink it further. "Pages per sheet" shrinks pages in the same way. To keep full-size pages, choose "Keep page size": the sheet grows to fit, so two A4 pages make an A3 sheet, which needs a printer that takes that paper.

The back of each sheet prints upside down, or the pages are in the wrong order.

The order is worked out for a sheet printed double-sided and flipped on the short edge, then folded in half, as the line after "Done:" says: "Print double-sided, flip on the short edge, then fold the stack in half and staple the fold." If your printer flips the other way, the backs come out upside down, so change the flip setting and test with a 4-page file first. For a right-to-left book, set "Binding" to "Right (Arabic, Hebrew, manga)".

The download has gone and "Make booklet" is back after I changed a setting.

A built PDF belongs to the exact settings it was made with: layout, pages per sheet, reading order, binding, blank pages, signatures, paper, margin, space and border. Changing any of them clears it, so you cannot download a file that no longer matches the screen. Press "Make booklet" (or "Put 4 pages per sheet") again and download the new file.

How it compares

If your PDF viewer or printer driver has a booklet print mode, it shuffles the pages at print time. This tool does it before printing and gives you a new PDF, so you can check the first sheet in the preview, save the file and print it from any program. The original pages are placed as they are (the library embeds them as vector pages, so text stays sharp). It does not add page numbers, crop marks or creep compensation (the allowance for the way inner pages of a thick booklet push outwards), it does not edit pages, and it takes one PDF at a time. In exchange there is nothing to install, and the file is processed in your browser and not uploaded.