How to Export an InDesign File for Booklet Printing

For a professional printer, set up your document with a page count divisible by 4, add 3mm bleed, then go to File, Export, and choose Adobe PDF (Print). Export as Pages, not Spreads, unless your printer asks for spreads. For an office printer, use File, Print Booklet, and choose 2-up Saddle Stitch.

InDesign gives you more control over a booklet than any other tool. It also gives you more ways to get it wrong. Pages get exported as spreads when the printer wanted singles. Bleed goes missing. Fonts change. The file comes back with a polite email asking you to fix it.

This guide covers the full process, from setting up the document to exporting a clean PDF, so your booklet goes through first time.

Start with the right document setup

Most export problems begin at the very first step, when the new document is created. Get this part right and the rest is easy.

Create the document

Go to File, New, Document and set these options:

• Intent: Print
• Number of pages: A multiple of 4 (for example 8, 12, 16, 20 or 24)
• Facing Pages: Turned on. This gives you left and right pages, just like a real booklet.
• Page size: Your finished size, such as A5 (148 x 210mm)
• Margins: About 10 to 15mm, with a wider inside margin to keep text away from the spine
• Bleed: 3mm on all sides

If you are unsure which size to pick, see our guide to standard booklet sizes in the UK.

Plan your pages and cover

The first page in InDesign sits on its own as the front cover. The last page is the back cover. Everything in between appears as spreads. This matches how a real booklet opens, so you can design across a spread and see how it will feel.

If your booklet has a thicker cover, which printers call a plus-cover, the cover is four pages of its own: front cover, inside front, inside back and back cover. Ask your printer whether they want it in the same file or a separate one. Our guide on booklet page counts explains how the count changes.

Use parent pages and automatic page numbers

Set up your headers, footers and page numbers on the Parent pages (they used to be called Master pages). Use the automatic page number marker so the numbers update if you add or remove pages. Remember to turn off the parent on the cover, because most booklets do not show a page number there.

Check your design before you export

Spend five minutes on this and you will save hours later.

• Bleed: Any image or colour that touches the edge should run all the way out to the red bleed line.
• Safe zone: Keep text at least 5mm inside the trim, and more on the side facing the spine.
• Image resolution: Open the Links panel and check that your images are around 300 ppi at the size you are using them. Images under 150 ppi will look soft.
• Colour mode: For professional printing, use CMYK. RGB images can look duller once converted.
• Fonts: Make sure every font is installed and no “missing font” warnings show up.
• Overset text: Look for a small red plus sign at the end of text frames. It means text is hidden.

Then open the Preflight panel (Window, Output, Preflight) and fix any errors it flags.

How to export a PDF for a print shop

Here are the steps most printers want.

1. Go to File, Export.
2. Choose Adobe PDF (Print) as the format and give the file a clear name, like Company-Handbook-A5-16pp.pdf.
3. In the Export dialog, pick the [PDF/X-4:2008] preset, or [High Quality Print] if your printer has not asked for anything specific.
4. Under Pages, select All and choose Pages, not Spreads.
5. Under Marks and Bleeds, turn on Use Document Bleed Settings. Add crop marks if the printer asks for them.
6. Under Compression, keep image resolution at around 300 ppi.
7. Under Output, set the colour conversion to CMYK unless you were told otherwise.
8. Click Export, then open the PDF and flick through it.

Why “Pages” and not “Spreads”?

This is the question we get asked most often. When you export as Pages, every page is its own page in the PDF: page 1, page 2, page 3, and so on, in normal reading order. This is what most printers want, because they impose the pages on their own equipment to match their folding and binding setup.

When you export as Spreads, InDesign puts two pages side by side on each PDF page. This can be useful for a client proof or a reader-friendly PDF, but it can confuse a printer’s imposition software and cause pages to appear in the wrong place.

The rule is simple: send single pages unless the printer asks for something else. If you are not sure, send them a quick message. A one-line reply can save a re-print.

For more about page order and why this matters, read our pillar guide on how to arrange pages for booklet printing.

How to print a booklet from InDesign yourself

If you are printing at the office or at home, use the built-in booklet tool instead.

1. Go to File, Print Booklet.
2. On the Setup tab, set Booklet Type to 2-up Saddle Stitch. This is the right choice for stapled booklets.
3. Set Space Between Pages to 0 unless you want a gap.
4. If your booklet has many pages, adjust the Creep setting. This pushes the inner pages slightly so they are not trimmed unevenly after folding. For short booklets, you can leave it at 0.
5. On the Print Settings button, choose your printer and a paper size twice as big as your page. For an A5 booklet, use A4. Turn on duplex printing and set it to flip on the short edge.
6. Click Print.

If the pages come out wrong, the issue is often in the printer settings. Read why your booklet is printing upside down for a quick fix.

What is creep, and do you need to care?

When paper is folded and nested, the inner sheets stick out slightly further than the outer ones. After trimming, the inner pages end up with slightly narrower margins. This effect is called creep. For a short booklet of 8 to 16 pages on normal paper, it is tiny. For a long booklet on thick paper, it becomes visible. Professional printers adjust for it during imposition, so you do not need to do anything if you are sending the file to a print shop.

Common InDesign export mistakes

• Missing bleed: Not ticking “Use Document Bleed Settings” leaves a white edge after trimming.
• Spreads when singles were needed: Causes wrong page order.
• RGB images in a CMYK job: Colours shift and look flatter.
• Wrong page count: A page count that does not divide by 4 adds blank pages.
• Text too close to the spine: Words disappear into the fold.
• Linked images missing: InDesign warns you about this before export, so do not ignore the warning.
• Low-resolution images: They look fine on screen and soft on paper.

Frequently asked questions

How do I export an InDesign booklet for printing?

Go to File, Export, choose Adobe PDF (Print), use PDF/X-4 or High Quality Print, export as Pages, and include bleed.

How do I set up an InDesign file for booklet printing?

Create a document with Facing Pages on, a page count divisible by 4, your finished page size and 3mm bleed.

Should I export InDesign booklet pages as spreads?

Usually no. Single pages are what most printers want. Spreads are only for proofs or when your printer asks for them.

Can InDesign arrange pages for booklet printing?

Yes. Print Booklet rearranges your pages for folding. This is meant for office printing, not for files sent to a print shop.

Send us your InDesign file

Not sure whether your file is ready? We will take a look before we print. Check our booklet printing options, or use the quote form to get a price.