Print prep for booklets and doujinshi
Saddle-stitch imposition, batch folio numbering, bleed and trim marks, spine width with a cover template, and one-sheet folded zines — the PDF chores that stand between a finished manuscript and a printed book. Pick a job above.
Load a file to start.
No upload — everything runs in your browser
Six jobs
Saddle-stitch imposition reorders the body into last-with-first sheet order, two pages per landscape sheet. Gutter shift moves content away from the spine for perfect binding while keeping single pages. Batch folios stamp a running number on every page. Bleed and trim marks extend the sheet 3 mm past the finished size. The spine calculator turns paper stock and page count into a spine width and a flat cover template. The zine imposer puts eight pages on one A4 or A3 sheet.
Submitting differs from printing at home
For a commercial order you want three of these: folios, bleed and trim marks, and the spine calculation. Imposition is the printer’s job, so submitted files stay as single pages in reading order. Printing and binding it yourself flips that around — saddle-stitch imposition and the zine layout are what you need. Either way, the shop’s own spec sheet is the authority on size, bleed and whether folios are required.
The order to do things in
Manuscript, then folios, then bleed and marks, then submit. For home binding: manuscript, folios, imposition, duplex print, staple through the centre and fold. Imposition always comes last — numbering an already-imposed file numbers the sheets rather than the pages a reader turns.
Vocabulary: gutter, fore edge, bleed, trim marks
The gutter is the bound edge and the fore edge is the open one; Japanese also names the head and the foot. Bleed — nuritashi — is the 3 mm of artwork past the finished edge that stops a wandering cut from showing white. Trim marks (tombo) show where to cut; the Japanese style doubles them so the inner line is the trim and the outer line is the edge of the bleed. A nombre is the folio, the running page number.
Frequently asked questions
Which job should I start with?
It depends on the destination. Home-printed and hand-bound copies need the saddle-stitch imposer. A commercial order needs folios and bleed. A perfect-bound book needs the spine calculator for its cover. For something you hand out at a table, the one-sheet zine is the quickest route.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Reading and writing the PDF happen entirely in your browser and nothing is sent to a server, so unreleased artwork stays private.
Does it handle Japanese fonts?
Japanese text already embedded in your PDF is preserved untouched. The only things drawn here are folio digits and guide lines, so no Japanese font ever needs embedding.
How do I find out what my printer wants?
Read the submission manual and templates they publish. Bleed amount, whether trim marks are wanted, folio placement, per-sheet paper thickness and the page-count increment all vary from shop to shop. The defaults here are common industry values, not a substitute for their spec.