pdf tool

2 pages per sheet in a PDF, or 4 or 6

To print 2 pages per sheet, drop a PDF and choose 2, 4 or 6: the pages are scaled down and placed on A4 or Letter in reading order, left to right and then down. The result is a new PDF you print at actual size, so any printer gives the same layout.

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How it works

  1. 1

    Drop the PDF

    The page count and the first page's size appear, and the preview shows the first sheet.

  2. 2

    Pick the pages per sheet

    2, 4 or 6, on A4 or Letter. Best fit turns the sheet whichever way makes the pages largest, which puts two portrait pages side by side on a landscape sheet.

  3. 3

    Add cut lines if you will trim

    Dashed lines run through the gaps between the pages. A thin frame around each page and the margin are under Advanced options.

  4. 4

    Save and print at actual size

    Step through the sheets in the preview, then save. Print with scaling off so the sizes stay as shown. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored, ever.

How big each page ends up

With the default 5 mm margin round the sheet and a 4 mm gap between pages, two A4 pages side by side on a landscape A4 sheet are each scaled to 67%, close to A5, which is A4 folded in half. Four on a portrait sheet come out at 47%, a little smaller than A6, and six on a landscape sheet at 33%. Body text set at 11 points prints at about 7.4 points two up and about 5 points four up. The summary under the options gives the smallest scale in your own file, so you can judge before printing.

Cut lines for handouts and cards

Tick Draw cut lines between pages and a dashed grey line runs through the middle of each gap, across the whole sheet, so a guillotine or a craft knife has a guide. Two up gives two halves of the sheet, and four up gives four quarters. The lines sit in the 4 mm gap rather than on the pages, so a cut that wanders slightly does not touch the content on either side.

Reading order, not booklet order

Pages go onto each sheet left to right, then down, and the next sheet carries on where the last one stopped. That is what you want for handouts, slide notes, drafts to mark up and anything read one sheet at a time. Booklet imposition is a different job: it reorders the pages so that a stack of sheets folded in the middle reads in sequence, and that needs a booklet tool and a printer that prints both sides.

Limits worth knowing

This lays pages out for a desk printer. Pages keep their order and are never rotated to fit a space better, so a landscape slide in a portrait space prints smaller than it could; choose a landscape sheet for slides if Best fit has not already. Each page is drawn onto the new sheet, so form fields go flat and links stop working. Sheets are A4 or Letter. Print with scaling turned off, often called actual size or 100%, because fit to page shrinks everything a second time and moves the cut lines.

Printing a flyer two to a sheet

A flyer exports as a PDF with every page included, and an A4 page is captured at 2480 by 3508 pixels. Duplicate the flyer's page in the builder before exporting, and putting the PDF two up here gives each A4 sheet two copies at close to A5, ready to cut along the line. Flyer exports carry no bleed or crop marks, so trim on the cut line rather than at the edge of the artwork.

Limits

  • This is imposition for desk printing, not booklet imposition: pages are placed in reading order, so the sheets cannot be folded into a booklet.
  • Each page is scaled to fit its place on the sheet and never rotated to fill it better, so a landscape page in a portrait space prints smaller.
  • Form fields and links become flat on the new sheets.
  • Sheets are A4 or Letter only.

What it does not do

  • It does not make booklets or saddle stitched layouts.
  • It does not repeat one page across a sheet.
  • It does not add bleed or crop marks for a print shop.

Questions people ask

Can my printer do this without a new PDF?

Often, yes. Most print dialogs have a pages per sheet setting, and CUPS, the print system on macOS and Linux, supports 2, 4, 6, 9 and 16 up. A file is still worth having when the layout must be the same on every printer, when a print shop is doing the job, or when you want cut lines on the sheet.

Which way round should the sheet be?

Leave Best fit on and the tool works it out: it tries portrait and landscape and keeps whichever makes the first page largest. For portrait pages that means landscape for two up, portrait for four up and landscape for six up. Widescreen slides go the other way for two up, onto a portrait sheet. Force one way if your printer tray or binder needs it.

Can I print the sheets on both sides?

Yes. Save the sheets, then turn on two sided printing in your print dialog. For portrait sheets choose flip on long edge, and for landscape sheets, which is how two up usually comes out, choose flip on short edge so the backs are not upside down. The pages stay in reading order from front to back.

Will the text be too small to read?

At two up, 11 point body text prints at about 7.4 points, which most people can read without strain. Four up brings it to about 5 points, fine for slides and drafts you will scribble on. Six up is best kept for slides and thumbnails. The summary under the options shows the smallest scale in your file before you print.

Does it change my original PDF?

No. The original is only read. The sheets are built as a new PDF with 2-up, 4-up or 6-up added to its name, and the original stays as it was on your device. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored, so closing the tab leaves no copy anywhere.

Make a flyer to print two to a sheet

Take what you made here into flyers.

Create a flyer with OneCraft

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Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .