So you need a booklet. Maybe it’s a program, a menu, a little saddle-stitched catalog… something that folds in half and has pages. You open up your favorite design app and start working. And then you send it to your printer, and things get… complicated.
Here’s what’s actually going on, and how to set your file up correctly from the start.
Click the button to download our free booklet templates for InDesign:
Download InDesign Booklet TemplatesUsing the Right Program
Before we get into the how, a quick word on the what. If you’re designing a multi-page booklet, you really want to be working in a program built for page layout. Adobe InDesign and Affinity Publisher are the two best options: both are designed specifically for this kind of work and will save you a lot of headaches. Canva can work for very simple projects, though it has some limitations we’ll get into.
Programs like Photoshop, Word, or PowerPoint aren’t ideal for multi-page booklets. They weren’t built for this kind of document, and while you can technically make something that looks right on screen, getting it print-ready is an uphill battle.
Why Booklets Are Different from Regular Documents
Here’s the thing about a booklet: the pages don’t print in the order you read them.
Try this. Take a blank piece of paper and fold it in half like a little book. Number the pages 1 through 4 in reading order. Now unfold it. You’ll see that page 1 and page 4 are on the same side of the sheet, and pages 2 and 3 are on the other. That’s how every booklet works, no matter how many pages it has. The more pages it has, the more complex the page pairings get.
Your printer needs to know which pages belong together on each physical sheet. This grouping is called imposition, and it’s your printer’s job to handle it – not yours.
Send Single Pages, Not Spreads
Your printer wants individual pages, one at a time, in reading order. That’s it. Page 1, page 2, page 3… all the way through to the end.
Do not send spreads (two pages side by side as one file) unless your printer specifically asks for them. Even if your design looks like a spread – like a centerfold image that spans both pages – you still send each page as its own file. Your printer will put them back together correctly on press.
A quick way to check your own file: open your exported PDF in Acrobat and scroll through it. If you see one page at a time stacked as you scroll, you’re good. If you see two pages sitting side by side, you need to re-export.
Don’t Forget the Inside Covers
This one catches a lot of people off guard. Your PDF needs to include every page of your booklet, even the ones you want left blank. The correct order is always:
Page 1: Front cover
Page 2: Inside front cover
Pages 3 through third-to-last: All interior pages
Second-to-last page: Inside back cover
Last page: Back cover
If you want the inside covers unprinted, include them as blank pages in your PDF anyway. Leaving them out throws off the entire page order, and your printer will have to come back to you before anything can go to press.
Page Count Rules by Binding Type
Each binding type has its own page count requirements, and submitting a file with the wrong count is one of the most common reasons orders get delayed. Here’s what you need to know.
Saddle Stitch
Saddle stitching is the most popular booklet binding. Sheets of paper are folded in half and stapled along the spine. Because every sheet produces four pages when folded, your total page count must always be a multiple of four.
Minimum: 8 pages
Maximum: ~72 pages
Increments: multiples of 4 (8, 12, 16, 20, and so on)
If your content lands at 10 or 14 pages, you need to add blank pages to bring it up to the next multiple of four. Those blank pages still need to be in your PDF.
Spiral Binding
Both of these bindings allow pages to lay completely flat when open, which makes them popular for manuals, cookbooks, and workbooks. The spine is the coil or wire itself, so it cannot be printed on.
Minimum: 12 pages
Increments: multiples of 2
Maximum thickness: up to 2 inches
Perfect Binding
Perfect binding gives you a square spine, the kind you see on paperback books and catalogs. Because pages aren’t folded, your count only needs to be a multiple of two. Perfect binding is the most expensive option, and also has much higher minimum quantities.
Minimum: 28 pages
Maximum thickness: up to 2 inches
Increments: multiples of 2
Perfect binding also gives you a printable spine, which saddle stitch does not.
Page Numbering: Even Left, Odd Right
Inside page numbers in a booklet follow a simple rule: even numbers go on the left page, odd numbers go on the right. Your visible page numbering typically starts on the first inside spread – not on the cover – so page 1 of your interior content is actually page 3 in your PDF (since the front cover is page 1 and the inside front cover is page 2).
One thing worth noting: your interior page numbers don’t have to match the page numbers in your PDF. Your file might show something as page 3, but you can choose to display it as page 1 in your design. Just keep the even-left, odd-right rule consistent throughout.
How to Set It Up by Program
The goal is the same no matter what software you use: export single pages in reading order, with bleed.
Adobe InDesign
Create a new document set to your finished page size, not the spread size, not the sheet size. For a 5×5-inch booklet, your document is 5×5 inches – not 10 x 5. Set your page count to the total number of pages in your booklet and check “Facing Pages” so you can see spreads while you work (InDesign tracks individual pages behind the scenes regardless).
Add 0.125″ bleed on all sides in your document settings. Any background colors or images that go to the edge of the page need to extend that extra eighth of an inch.
When you export, go to File > Export and choose Adobe PDF (Print). In the General tab, make sure you’re exporting Pages, not Spreads – there’s a checkbox for this that’s easy to miss. That single setting is where a lot of files go wrong.
Click the button to download our free InDesign booklet templates:
Download InDesign Booklet TemplatesFurther reading: Add crop marks and bleed in Adobe
Affinity Publisher
Affinity Publisher works very similarly to InDesign. Set your document to your finished page size, enable Facing Pages, and set bleed to 0.125″ on all sides. When exporting, go to File > Export > PDF and make sure the Spreads option is turned off.
One thing to double-check in Affinity: make sure your color mode is CMYK, not RGB. Print works in CMYK, and colors that look great on screen in RGB can shift when they hit the press. Set this when you create the document or convert before export.
Canva
Canva is one of the easier options for simple booklets because each page in your Canva document automatically becomes one page in your PDF — you’re already set up correctly without thinking about it. Design your pages in order and download as PDF Print (not PDF Standard). The print PDF will be higher resolution and better suited for press.
Where Canva starts to struggle is with more complex layouts. Things like precise bleeds, color accuracy, or anything requiring fine typographic control. For a clean, straightforward booklet, it can get the job done. For anything more involved, InDesign or Affinity Publisher will give you more control.
Canva is easiest to forget the inside cover or other blank pages, so be sure to include those if needed.
Further reading: Add crop marks and bleed in Canva
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Uploading spreads instead of single pages is the most frequent file issue printers see. The second most common is leaving out inside covers, which throws off the entire page order. The third is submitting a page count that doesn’t match the requirements for your binding type. All three are easy to catch if you review your file before sending it in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to arrange my booklet pages into spreads before sending them?
No. Upload your pages in consecutive order as single pages. Your printer handles the imposition. Trying to do it yourself is where most file problems start.
Why do booklet pages print in a different order than my PDF?
Because during printing, pages are physically rearranged so that when the sheets are folded and bound, everything ends up in the right reading order. You don’t need to account for this in your file – that’s your printer’s job.
What if my page count isn’t a multiple of four for saddle stitch?
You’ll need to add blank pages to reach the next multiple of four. Include those blank pages in your PDF. Don’t just leave them out and expect the printer to figure it out.
Can I have blank inside covers?
Yes, but you still need to include them as blank pages in your PDF. Blank pages count toward your total and are necessary to keep everything in the right order.
Can I print on the spine?
Only with perfect binding, which has a square spine. Saddle stitch, spiral, and Wire-O bindings don’t have a printable spine.
If you’re working on a print project and want to make sure your files are set up correctly before you send them in, we’re always happy to take a look. That’s kind of our thing.