pdfbook2
creates printable booklets from PDF files by rearranging pages into printer
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
pdfbook2 [options] file.pdf
DESCRIPTION
pdfbook2 creates printable booklets from PDF files by rearranging pages into printer spreads. The output is designed for double-sided printing in landscape mode with long-edge flipping, resulting in a booklet that can be folded and bound.For larger documents, the signature option divides the booklet into smaller sections (signatures) that can be nested and bound together. Each signature must contain a number of pages divisible by 4.
PARAMETERS
-p, --paper size
Set paper size (a4paper, letterpaper, etc.)-s, --short-edge
Use short-edge binding (default is long-edge)-n, --no-crop
Do not crop pages before reassembling-o, --outer-margin pixels
Set outer margin (default: 40)-i, --inner-margin pixels
Set inner margin (default: 150)-t, --top-margin pixels
Set top margin (default: 30)-b, --bottom-margin pixels
Set bottom margin (default: 30)--signature num
Number of pages per signature (must be divisible by 4)--signature\* num
Same as --signature but allow incomplete last signature-h, --help
Display help message
CAVEATS
Print in landscape mode with long-edge flip for correct results. Signature values must be divisible by 4. Default margins may need adjustment depending on printer capabilities. Requires pdflatex and the pdfpages LaTeX package.
HISTORY
Written as a Python wrapper around pdfpages and pdflatex to simplify booklet creation. Replaces manual LaTeX workflows for creating print-ready booklets from existing PDF documents. Common in the self-publishing and zine-making communities.
