Book print: how to print a PDF as a book you can fold

Bought a PDF of your study material, or got class notes from a senior? Reading 200 pages on a phone is tiring, and printing them one page per side uses a thick pile of paper. Book print turns the PDF into a small book that you can fold, staple and carry to class.

What book print does

We put two pages side by side on a landscape A4 sheet and print on both sides. That is four pages on every sheet, so a 200 page PDF needs just 50 sheets. Folded in half, each page is A5 size, the size of most guide books and novels. Text comes out a little smaller than the PDF, which suits most books and notes.

For example, 200 pages in black & white as a book costs about ₹180 on 50 sheets. Printed the normal way, double-sided, it uses 100 sheets and costs ₹320.

Two layouts

• Side by side: pages 1 and 2 on the front of the first sheet, 3 and 4 on the back, and so on. Choose this if you want spiral or comb binding along one edge, like a flip book.
• Ready to fold: we change the order of the pages so that when you fold the stack in half, it reads 1, 2, 3… like a real book. This is the one most students want.

Why the page order matters

If you print pages 1 and 2 on the first sheet and then fold it, page 2 ends up at the very back of the book. To fold correctly, the first sheet has to carry the first and the last pages. For an 8 page PDF it works like this:

The outside sheet has page 8 and page 1 on the front, with pages 2 and 7 on the back. The centre sheet has 6 and 3, then 4 and 5. Put sheet 2 inside sheet 1, fold along the dashed line, and the pages read in order. Our software works this out for any number of pages, and the preview shows the page number on every half before you pay.

When the pages don't divide by four

Every folded sheet holds four pages. If your PDF has, say, 10 pages, we add 2 blank pages at the end so everything lines up. You can also use Choose pages to skip blank or unwanted pages before printing.

Thick books: fold in sections

One folded stack works well up to about 40 pages (10 sheets). Beyond that the fold gets bulky and the middle pages push out at the edge. For thicker books choose Sections of 20 pages. Each set of 5 sheets is ordered as its own little booklet: fold each one, stack them in order, then staple or get them bound. This is how printed books are made too.

Folding and finishing

1. Keep the sheets in the order they come out. Do not shuffle them.
2. Line up the edges, then fold the stack (or each section) in half along the middle.
3. Press the fold flat with a ruler or the back of a spoon.
4. Staple on the fold with a long-arm stapler, or ask us: choose Staple under binding and we fold and staple it for you.

Tips for a better book

• Choose 80 GSM paper so the print on the back shows through less.
• Black & white is the best value for text. Use Mixed colour if only a few diagrams need colour.
• Check the preview: the small number on each half is the page that prints there.
• Only print material you have the right to copy, such as your own notes or a PDF you bought.