Several PDF pages on one sheet
Printing slides as handouts, proofreading a long report on fewer sheets, or fitting a whole set of forms on one page for an overview: placing several pages on one sheet, often called 2-up or 4-up printing, saves paper and keeps related pages together. This tool writes a new PDF in which every sheet carries 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 or 16 of your pages, so you can print, send or archive the result like any other PDF.
- Sheet size: A4, US Letter, A3, Tabloid or the size of your own pages.
- Orientation: Auto picks portrait or landscape and the grid that shows the pages largest; you can also fix it.
- Order: across, then down, or down, then across.
- Margin and gap: space around the sheet edge and between the pages, in millimeters or inches.
- Booklet: two pages per side, reordered for printing on both sides and folding.
How large each page comes out
The table shows the scale with no margin and no gap, with the sheet in the orientation that Auto picks. Pages keep their proportions, so the smaller of the two scales (width or height) decides.
| Pages and sheet | Grid | Scale | Each page measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 A4 pages on A4 | 2 × 1, landscape | 70.7% | 148.5 × 210 mm |
| 4 A4 pages on A4 | 2 × 2, portrait | 50% | 105 × 148.5 mm |
| 6 A4 pages on A4 | 3 × 2, landscape | 35.4% | 74.2 × 105 mm |
| 8 A4 pages on A4 | 4 × 2, landscape | 35.4% | 74.2 × 105 mm |
| 9 A4 pages on A4 | 3 × 3, portrait | 33.3% | 70 × 99 mm |
| 16 A4 pages on A4 | 4 × 4, portrait | 25% | 52.5 × 74.3 mm |
| 2 Letter pages on Letter | 2 × 1, landscape | 64.7% | 5.50 × 7.12 in |
| 4 Letter pages on Letter | 2 × 2, portrait | 50% | 4.25 × 5.50 in |
| 2 A4 pages on A3 | 2 × 1, landscape | 100% | 210 × 297 mm |
| 2 Letter pages on Tabloid | 2 × 1, landscape | 100% | 8.5 × 11 in |
Two things stand out. On A4, 8 pages per sheet come out exactly as large as 6: both use two rows on a landscape sheet, and the row height is what limits the page size. So if 6 is readable, 8 is too. And an A3 sheet is two A4 pages side by side (297 × 420 mm against 210 × 297 mm), just as Tabloid is two Letter pages (11 × 17 in against 8.5 × 11 in), so 2 per sheet on the larger paper keeps every page at full size.
Worked example
A 10-page A4 report goes on A4 sheets, 4 per sheet, with a 10 mm margin and a 5 mm gap. Auto keeps the sheet portrait with a 2 × 2 grid. Each cell is (210 − 2 × 10 − 5) / 2 = 92.5 mm wide and (297 − 2 × 10 − 5) / 2 = 136 mm high. The page has to shrink to 92.5 / 210 = 44.0% to fit the width, and 136 / 297 = 45.8% would fit the height, so the smaller value wins: each page measures 92.5 × 130.8 mm and is centered in its cell. Ten pages need three sheets; the last one holds pages 9 and 10.
Making a booklet
For a booklet, the pages are not placed in reading order but so that a stack of sheets, printed on both sides and folded in the middle, reads from page 1 to the end. Every sheet of paper carries four pages, two on each side, so the page count is rounded up to a multiple of 4 with blank pages at the end. For an 8-page booklet:
| Sheet of paper | Front, left | right | Back, left | right |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (outside) | 8 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 (inside) | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The pages always sit side by side on a landscape sheet. With margin and gap at 0, an A4 document printed as a booklet on A4 folds to 148.5 × 210 mm, about the A5 size of 148 × 210 mm, with every page at 70.7%; on A3 the pages keep their full size. A Letter document on Letter paper folds to 5.5 × 8.5 inches, with every page at 64.7% (5.50 × 7.12 in); on Tabloid they keep their full size. Print with "flip on short edge" so the back of each sheet is not upside down.
Why the text stays sharp
Each page is placed on the sheet as a form XObject, the building block the PDF standard ISO 32000-1 (section 8.10) defines for content that can be drawn several times, at any position and scale. The text stays text and drawings stay vector graphics, so the new PDF prints as sharply as the original and its text can still be selected and searched. Pages stored sideways with a rotation setting are turned the way a reader shows them. Links, comments and form fields are separate objects on top of a page and are not carried over; flatten a filled form in Fill PDF Form first.
How to put several pages on one sheet
- 1Drop your PDF on the box or choose it from your device.
- 2Pick how many pages go on a sheet, or Booklet, and the sheet size.
- 3Adjust orientation, order, margin and gap. The preview shows each sheet as it will be saved.
- 4Press Save PDF, then print the new file at 100% or actual size.
To combine several files first, use Merge PDF, and to change which pages come first, Reorder PDF Pages. To make the result smaller for email, run it through Compress PDF.
Sources
- W3C: CSS Paged Media Module Level 3, page size keywords (A5, A4 and A3 as ISO sizes, letter and ledger as North American sizes)
- Printer Working Group: PWG 5101.1-2013, Media Standardized Names 2.0 (iso_a4_210x297mm, iso_a3_297x420mm, na_letter_8.5x11in, na_ledger_11x17in with the alias tabloid)
- ISO 32000-1:2008, Portable Document Format (copy published by Adobe): 8.10 form XObjects, 7.7.3.3 page objects (Rotate, Annots)
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the PDF, draws the preview and writes the new file on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.
Does the text stay sharp and searchable?
Yes. Each page is placed on the sheet as vector content, not as a picture, so text and drawings stay sharp at any zoom and the text can still be selected and searched. Only the size changes.
What is the difference between 2 per sheet and Booklet?
Two per sheet keeps the reading order: pages 1 and 2 on the first sheet, 3 and 4 on the next. Booklet reorders the pages so that a stack printed on both sides and folded in the middle reads like a little book: the first sheet carries pages 8 and 1 on the front and 2 and 7 on the back for an 8-page booklet.
How do I print the booklet?
Print the PDF on both sides of the paper and choose "flip on short edge" in the print dialog, at 100% or actual size. Then fold the whole stack in the middle and staple along the fold. If your printer cannot print on both sides, check its manual for manual two-sided printing.
Why are links and filled-in form fields missing?
Links, comments and form fields sit on top of a PDF page as separate objects, not in the page content itself, so they do not come along when the page is placed on a sheet. Flatten a filled form first, for example in Fill PDF Form, and the entries become part of the page.
Can I change the order on the sheet?
Yes. "Across, then down" fills each row from left to right, like reading text. "Down, then across" fills each column from top to bottom first, like newspaper columns. To change which pages come first, reorder the PDF pages before you put them on sheets.
What happens with pages of different sizes?
The grid is chosen for the size of page 1. Every page is then scaled to fit its own cell and centered in it, so nothing is cut off. Tick "Turn pages to fit" when the PDF mixes portrait and landscape pages, and pages that fit better on their side are turned a quarter turn.