RandoziBooklet Signature Planner
A thick booklet is easier to fold and bind as several small stacks than as one. Enter the number of pages and the most sheets you want in one stack. You get the page range of each signature, its sheets and blank pages, and the total sheets and printed sides for your copies.
Signatures
3
5 sheets per copy · 0 blank pages added at the end
| Signature | Pages | Sheets | Blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–8 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | 9–16 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 17–20 | 1 | 0 |
1 copy: 5 sheets, 10 printed sides
One sheet printed on both sides and folded in half makes 4 pages. Blank pages go at the end of the last signature. Test the folding and the flip direction on one copy: it depends on your printer.
How it works
- Enter the number of pages of your document.
- Enter the largest number of sheets you want in one signature (one sheet makes 4 pages).
- Optionally enter how many copies you will print.
- Read the page range, sheets and blank pages of each signature, then copy the plan.
What people use it for
A thick zine or notebook
Cut a 96-page book into signatures of 4 sheets instead of folding one bulky stack.
Sewn or glued binding
Know how many folded stacks you will sew, and which pages fall in each.
Buying paper for a run
Get the sheets and the printed sides for 25 copies before you order the paper.
Questions
- How are the signatures cut?
- A signature of m sheets holds 4 × m pages. The pages are taken in order, so every signature but the last is full. The last one holds the remaining pages rounded up to a multiple of 4; the difference is blank pages. For 20 pages and at most 2 sheets per signature you get 8, 8 and 4 pages.
- How are the sheets and sides counted?
- Sheets per copy = the sum of the sheets of the signatures, which is always the page count divided by 4, rounded up. Printed sides = 2 × sheets, because each sheet is printed on both sides. Totals multiply by the number of copies. Spare paper for test prints or mistakes is for you to add.
- Does it give the order of the pages on each sheet?
- No. This page only splits the document. For the order of the pages on the front and back of a sheet, use the booklet page order calculator on each signature, taking the pages from its range.
- Will the folding and the double-sided printing work?
- Test it on one copy first. Which way a sheet must be flipped, and how the pages line up, depends on your printer and your software. The page does not know either.