InDesign Basics: Imposition and Booklets Types

When designing any editorial product, it’s generally easier to work with the pages ordered sequentially. However, before you are ready to print, you will need to convert your file through a process called imposition . It arranges the pages to obtain a faster printing process, and it simplifies bookbinding .

Imposition in InDesign

Imposition is one of the fundamental steps in the prepress printing process that many see as tricky and difficult to manage. But thanks to InDesign, this process has gotten a lot easier. You can now design an entire booklet with the pages in sequential order and then use the “Print Booklet” feature to create the imposition and format your document to be print-ready. This feature offers a range of options for any booklet you may be looking for. However, depending on the type of final product, you may need to export your file in a specific booklet format. Below are brief descriptions of the different types of booklets to help you choose the best option for your Product Design process. There are several types of print products, with different sizes and formats, and with that, the imposition may vary. Think about your final product, how many pages it will have, and if you need several booklets or just one. If you have all of these into consideration, the imposition process will not feel overwhelming, and you will end up with a correctly printed booklet.

About the feature

After you finish designing your book or magazine in InDesign, you then go to File>Print Booklet, and on the Booklet Type menu, you can choose between three different options (Helpx Adobe): 2-up Saddle Stitch,

2-up Perfect Bound

and Consecutive. Keep in mind that you can use Preview to see if the imposition you choose is the correct one for your product. InDesign may need to add blank pages to the finished document if you don’t have enough pages for the option chosen.

2-up Saddle Stitch

This option creates two-pages, side-by-side printer spreads suitable for printing on both sides, collating, folding, and stapling. Saddle Stitch is the most common and cost-effective option because it gives your booklet a simple binding - the folded sheets are gathered and then bound (by stitch or staple) through the fold line. However, this type of binding cannot hold many pages, and it works best with smaller booklets containing less than 100 pages a notebook, manual, small magazine…). The perfect example is the comic booklet we created for Crystalize with their developer comics.

2-up Perfect Bound

This option creates two-page, side-by-side printer spreads that fit within the specified signature size. The perfect bound option divides your file into several booklets, depending on the number of pages. In Signature Style, you can have each booklet with 4, 8, 12, 16, or 32 pages. This option has the same principle as the 2-up saddle stitch in terms of binding, but instead of just binding one booklet, you are binding several and then collecting them into one final product. The Perfect Bound is used for bigger editorial projects and is widely used in soft- and hard-cover books. Bunad magasinet uses this type of imposition for their magazines.

Consecutive

Booklet Layout: How to Arrange the Pages of a Saddle-Stitched Booklet

Most booklets are created with the Saddle-Stitch binding method. This method uses printed sheets that are folded and nested one inside the other and then stapled through the fold line with wire staples. The staples pass through the folded crease from the outside and are clinched between the centermost pages. The result is a very simple yet professional looking document.

Despite its relative simplicity, saddle-stitch booklets often pose a challenge for someone new to graphic design. This is because the page set-up for saddle-stitched booklets requires a different approach than for other types of bound books.

Pages Must Be in Multiples of Four

Saddle-stitched booklets are constructed of folded sheets. As such, each folded sheet joined within the finished booklet will form four pages of the booklet. This means the page count of every saddle-stitched booklet must always be a multiple of four (4). It is not possible to create a 7-page, 10-page, or 25-page saddle-stitched booklet. All saddle-stitched booklets must contain 4 pages, 8 pages, 12 pages, 16 pages, 20 pages, 24 pages and so on. Even if a page in the booklet is blank, it still counts as a page.

Needless to say, creating the layout file properly at the onset will help optimize your booklet's press run…saving time, effort, and expense for all involved. The software you use to create the booklet will likely give you file layout choices, such as Reader Spreads or Printer Spreads. Because printing presses and production methods vary from print shop to print shop, do not automatically set up your booklet file in a particular spread or configuration without first consulting the printer you intend to use for producing your booklet.

As its name suggests, Reader Spreads show the pages in the order they will appear to the reader of the saddle-stitched booklet. Hence, Reader Spreads position the booklet's pages in ascending numerical order. The main purpose of Reader Spreads is to help visualize how the page layout will look once the booklet is bound.

Illustration A shows how Reader Spreads will look for an 8-page saddle-stitched booklet. With the exception of the first page and the last page, notice that the Reader Spreads present two opposing pages side-by-side (such as how pages 2 and 3, pages 4 and 5, and pages 6 and 7 are shown in the illustration). However, submitting a file in this manner will likely cause a huge headache for your printer. This is because the pages of a saddle-stitched booklet aren't actually printed in the arrangement shown in the Reader Spreads illustration.

For example, the illustration shows pages 2 and 3 right next to each other. However, 99% of the time pages 2 and 3 are not printed side-by-side. You can verify this by examining pages 2 and 3 of virtually any printed saddle-stitched booklet. These two pages will be on separate sheets. (The only exception is a 4-page saddle-stitched booklet, which will have pages 2 and 3 printed side by side).

What are Printer Spreads?

Printer Spreads display the booklet's pages as they will actually print side-by-side on a sheet (see Illustration B).

Unlike Reader Spreads, the pages shown in Printer Spreads are not in numerical order. Instead, they are placed in an arrangement that will allow them to end up in correct numerical order once the pages are folded and bound into a saddle-stitched booklet.

You can prove this to yourself by creating a simple mock-up of an 8-page booklet. First, place one sheet of paper directly on top of another sheet. Keeping the two sheets together, fold them in half. The folded crease will form the booklet's spine.

Position the mock-up so that the booklet's spine is on your left and the open edges of the pages are on your right. Starting with the very first page, use a pen or pencil to sequentially number each page of the booklet from 1 to 8.

Now, separate the two sheets and examine them. You will see that page 8 is paired with page 1, page 2 is paired with page 7, page 6 is paired with page 3, and page 4 is paired with page 5…just like in the Printer Spreads illustration.

At this point, you may be thinking that printers must prefer Printer Spreads. However, that is not always the case. Depending on the project, some printers may be okay working with your printer spreads. But the majority of printers will prefer something else entirely…

What Do Most Printers Prefer?

The layout spreads created by your design software may not be the same page arrangement that your printer will ultimately use to produce your booklets. This is especially true if your booklets will be a larger order that is produced on an offset printing press.

But regardless of the order size or production method, most printers will prefer that you do not submit a file that contains two-page spreads. Instead, it is recommended that you set up your file as individual pages, presented one after the other, in the exact order they will appear in the finished booklet (see Illustration C).

By the way, if your saddle-stitched book is 32 pages in length, create one file containing all 32 pages…don't submit 32 files with each file containing a single page. Also, be sure your file includes every page in the book. Even if some pages are completely blank, it is important that they appear in the file to ensure all of the pages get placed in the proper order.

Submitting your file as individual pages instead of two-page spreads gives your printer much more flexibility, making it easier for them to arrange your book's pages in the layout that will provide the most optimal production run.

In addition to amending the page arrangement so that it matches the available production equipment, your printer will also be able to adjust the margins, allow for page creep, and perform other tweaks as needed to ensure your finished booklet will look its best.

To adjust your page layout, your printer will likely use special software, called imposition software.

What is Imposition?

Imposition refers to the process of arranging a book's pages prior to printing so that once the printed sheets are folded, bound, and trimmed, the pages will appear in the correct order.

The pages of books are commonly printed on large sheets of paper, with multiple pages printed on each side of these sheets. Known as Signatures, these sheets will be folded and trimmed after they are printed. Printing multiple pages on large sheets speeds up the printing process, simplifies the binding operation, and reduces the amount of paper waste.

Illustration D shows an example of how a printer may impose the pages of an 8-page saddle-stitched booklet. Notice that the pages appear out of order, with some upside-down. However, this configuration will produce pages with the proper orientation, and in the correct sequence, once the booklet is printed, folded, bound, and trimmed.

In the example shown, four pages will print on the front of a master sheet and four pages will print on the back. After printing, the two-sided sheet will be folded in half horizontally (so that page 3 contacts page 2, and page 6 contacts page 7). Then the sheet is folded again vertically (so that page 4 meets page 5).

The booklet will be saddle-stitched (stapled) along the fold that forms its spine. After the pages (and cover) are joined with staples, all remaining folds are trimmed off to allow the pages to open freely.

Should the Booklet's Cover be sent as a Separate File?

Most saddle-stitched books have a cover that is made from a heavier weight of paper than the interior pages. If this is the case with your project, you have two choices. You can submit the cover layout as a separate file or you can include the cover in the same file as the pages. As long as the cover is clearly identified, either method will work.

That said, some saddle-stitched books are "self-cover" books, which means the paper for the cover is the exact same type and thickness as the paper used for the interior pages. If this describes your booklet, it will be better if you include the cover in the same file as the pages.

Also, whether your layout includes printing that will go on the inside of the booklet's cover or the inside cover will be left blank, be sure this is clearly communicated to those receiving your file(s). Finally, be sure to extend any bleed areas 1/8" past the finished page dimensions and to include crop marks. As far as the type of file to submit, a high-resolution PDF is generally preferred by most printers.

Have Additional Questions?

If you have an upcoming booklet project and need some guidance, give Formax Printing a call at 866-367-6221. Or, if you already know your specs and would like a quote, click here to access our quote request form. When it comes to creating a multi-page document, you will find that a saddle-stitched booklet is one of the most cost-effective options available. As always, we look forward to assisting you!

Take care! Rick

How do I rearrange my pages into a foldable booklet?

After making a publication you naturally want to print it, probably into the form of a magazine. If you have spreads that you want to print double-sided, then fold and staple down the middle, it makes sense that the first few pages and the last few pages of the document end up getting printed on opposite ends of the same piece of paper. (If you don't understand what this means try printing your publication normally and folding it, and you'll realize that the folding puts all the pages out of order.)

In earlier versions of InDesign there was no easy way to get around this. You could either manually rearrange your pages, thinking through the right order on paper, or you could just print two pages on a piece of paper, instead of two spreads (4 pages on a single sheet of paper).

In InDesign CS 2 and CS 3, however, there is an easy way to get around this frustrating problem. Here's how you do it:

When you have finished your publication and are ready to print, go to File, then select Print Booklet.

Choose which pages you want bookletized (probably All), then for Booklet Type choose 2-up Saddle-Stitch (search for printing booklet in the Adobe help system if you would like to know more about the other styles.)

Uncheck automatically adjust for marks and bleeds if you do not want them to appear on the final printed product (most likely the case).

In InDesign CS2

Now check Create New Document in the bottom left-hand corner and click OK. A new document should be made in which the pages are rearranged properly. Take a look and make sure it's correct. Your front and back cover should be next to each other on the first page.

Next export the entire document to PDF (make sure you click on 'spreads' when exporting), then print the new PDF document. Under the print settings when you click on print make sure you have selected double-sided printing, landscape (the binding is on the short edge of the paper).

Print your booklet from the PDF file, and try folding it to see if it worked, and while you are at it, check for errors or any problems in margin size, etc.

In InDesign CS3

Click on Printer Settings. A new window will appear with the standard printing options. Use the pulldown menu at the top to choose a different printer, and pick Adobe Pdf. This will save a PDF of your pages in booklet order to your desktop when you click on Print.

Open your PDF file, and print your booklet from the PDF file. Try folding it to see if it worked, and while you are at it, check for errors or any problems in margin size, etc.

Note: Try not to have graphics or frames span spreds. They do not arrange well when printing booklets.

Find the exact step-by-step process for printing your documents on the page of Printing Instructions .