Posts Tagged Print
This post is about Booklet printing using InDesign. InDesign automatically imposes your document, and creates the printer spreads. These can be sent to a printing device or an Adobe PDF Printer to create a PDF.
The number of pages in a booklet should always be a multiple of 4. If not, then blank pages are added to your output.
The original document is not modified while creating a booklet, neither is a copy created with pages moved around. The source files remain intact and InDesign does the heavy lifting and outputs the booklet to the print stream: which you can capture on a printer ,or PDF via the Adobe PDF Printer.
You can preview the spreads, and once you’re satisfied, you can send it on to the printer.
There are a few terms the “Pro’s” use when it comes to booklets. Some that you’ll encounter are:
- Printer Spreads – in printer spreads, pages are positioned such that when the two pages are printed on the same sheet, folded, and collated, the pages end up in proper sequence.
- Imposition – The process of creating printer spreads from layout spreads.
- Cover – is the outermost printer spread. In the above example, pages 1 and 8 form the Cover.
- Centerfold – In the print world, the innermost printer spread, such as pages 4 and 5 in the above example. Also refers to a picture — or even the person, whose picture is on the centerfold.
- Sheet – The term sheet represents two printer spreads: the front of the sheet and the back of the sheet.
- Creep – Creep is the distance pages need to move from the spine to accommodate paper thickness and folding.
- For a negative creep values, the outermost sheet is not adjusted, but the pages on the inner sheets move towards the spine.
- For a positive creep value, the innermost sheet is not adjusted, but the pages on the outer sheets move away from the spine.
Remember: Centerfolds require a positive creep.
See Printing Booklets in the InDesign help for exact procedures.
You can also have a look at some videos on YouTube . One for example is at Print Booklet to PDF.