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Author Topic: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing  (Read 7084 times)

Andrew Seltz

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Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« on: October 13, 2009, 12:30:30 PM »
I put this little video together to show how I use a program called CutePDF to convert PDF ebooks into the proper format and order for printing (a process technically known as imposition.)

My typical approach is to create the book as a sequence of 4 page (one sheet) booklets. Then, I fold each sheet in half and stack them up to create my book block.

Some people would cut the sheets in half instead of folding - either approach is fine.

Create Booklets From PDF Files

There are other ways to get this done, but this works for me. If you are creating original books, you can often impose the pages from within your page layout program or word processor (look for the 'booklet printing' settings.)

Andrew
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Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« on: October 13, 2009, 12:30:30 PM »

AveaJene

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2009, 01:07:27 PM »
Good demo, thank you.  
I'm wondering why cutePDF Pro is your favorite software for this application.  Do you have an opinion about Adobe Acrobat 9 Extended?

Thank you for your time,
AveaJene
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Andrew Seltz

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2009, 10:32:06 PM »
Quote from: AveaJene on October 14, 2009, 01:07:27 PM
Good demo, thank you.  
I'm wondering why cutePDF Pro is your favorite software for this application.  Do you have an opinion about Adobe Acrobat 9 Extended?

Thank you for your time,
AveaJene

I've never worked with Acrobat 9 Extended, so I can't comment on how well it works. But, I can say that it is over $600 more expensive than CutePDF.

CutePDF does everything I need and can be had for $50 US. They also have a free version that adds a relatively small watermark to the modified documents.

www.CutePDF.com

Andrew
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Writerman

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2010, 04:55:45 AM »
Hello,

I have printed one book using CutePDF. I made up the writing in Writer of Open Office, then created a PDF of it using PDF Creator.

The PDF i opened in CutePDF and did the set the parameters as you said. I did choose binding type BOOK with sheets per fold 1.

I do want to ask wheter it is possible the edit the left-right, up-down margins with CutePDF ?

Bye.
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Andrew Seltz

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2010, 09:57:31 AM »
Quote from: Writerman on January 18, 2010, 04:55:45 AM
...I do want to ask wheter it is possible the edit the left-right, up-down margins with CutePDF ?

Writerman,

In the booklet conversion settings there is a section at the top where you can adjust the margins.

I usually leave them alone, for the most part, but you can experiment with different settings. The primary one I change is the gutter (that controls the space between the spine and the inside edge of the printing.

Most times when there is a problem with a print job, for me, it is due to the text printing too close to the spine. So, increasing the gutter takes care of the problem.

If your problem is margins that are too large, you will need to go back the source document and shrink them down a bit and re-generate the PDF.

Andrew
« Last Edit: January 18, 2010, 10:03:34 AM by Andrew Seltz »
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Writerman

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2010, 04:21:24 PM »
Quote from: Andrew Seltz on January 18, 2010, 09:57:31 AM


If your problem is margins that are too large, you will need to go back the source document and shrink them down a bit and re-generate the PDF.

Andrew

That is exactly what i did, i went back to my OpenOffice document and adjusted the margins and re-generated the PDF (did this a few times before i had finally correct margins appearing on cutePDF)

BTW The watermark of the trial version of cutePDF does not come on my page, because it falls just outside the printable area...

cutePDF is really superb with the booklet function, it was exactly where i was looking for since i want to print mostly as ''1 sheet per fold'' (though i must say that the folding work is tiresome job...)

Which other software can you recommend beside cute PDF ?

Greetings.
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Andrew Seltz

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2010, 05:21:17 PM »
Quote from: Writerman on January 20, 2010, 04:21:24 PM
...cutePDF is really superb with the booklet function, it was exactly where i was looking for since i want to print mostly as ''1 sheet per fold'' (though i must say that the folding work is tiresome job...)

Which other software can you recommend beside cute PDF ?

Greetings.


In all honesty, I stopped looking for alternatives once I found CutePDF. It does everything I want and it's cheap (I paid for the full version.)

But, a friend of mine recommended an online service that will handle the task of re-ordering your PDF pages into booklet format. It is:

http://www.BookletCreator.com

I've not tried it out myself, so I don't know how flexible it is with things like margins. If you try it, start a new thread and give it a review.

Andrew
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Writerman

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2010, 08:17:39 PM »
Quote from: Andrew Seltz on January 20, 2010, 05:21:17 PM


But, a friend of mine recommended an online service that will handle the task of re-ordering your PDF pages into booklet format. It is:

http://www.BookletCreator.com

I've not tried it out myself, so I don't know how flexible it is with things like margins. If you try it, start a new thread and give it a review.

Andrew

I just did give it a try with the margin ready PDF i had from the book i recent printed using cutePDF. I choosed 4 pages per booklet and it did gave me the same rendered PDF as cutePDF did. There is no much to say about since it does only has 2 options (pages per booklet & result sheet size)

Seems if we want to adjust the margins of a ready PDF, we have to convert it back to WORD then adjust it, then render a PDF of it, then use cutePDF to order the pages.

Do you only print from PDF files or also from Word/Open Office files directly ?
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Andrew Seltz

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2010, 09:40:18 AM »
Quote from: Writerman on January 20, 2010, 08:17:39 PM
...Do you only print from PDF files or also from Word/Open Office files directly ?

Most of the books I print come from other sources and I only have the PDF (I purchase a fair number of e-books online.)

I have printed booklets directly from Word when working with my own original content, but find the booklet function in OpenOffice VERY convoluted.

OpenOffice is my wordprocessor of choice (the print-to-PDF function is excellent and I love the price), so I tend to print to PDF and then use CutePDF to impose the pages.

If you are working in Word, I recommend using the built-in booklet function. It's excellent and saves a step. Plus, the print settings are saved in the document.

Andrew
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Writerman

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2010, 01:52:01 PM »
Quote from: Andrew Seltz on January 21, 2010, 09:40:18 AM


Most of the books I print come from other sources and I only have the PDF (I purchase a fair number of e-books online.)

I have printed booklets directly from Word when working with my own original content, but find the booklet function in OpenOffice VERY convoluted.

OpenOffice is my wordprocessor of choice (the print-to-PDF function is excellent and I love the price), so I tend to print to PDF and then use CutePDF to impose the pages.

If you are working in Word, I recommend using the built-in booklet function. It's excellent and saves a step. Plus, the print settings are saved in the document.

Andrew

Andrew,

I have tried both the booklet options of Word and OpenOffice, i can manage that it does print 2 pages on each side of a A4 (the standard format we use in Holland, similar to USA LETTER format) but i can't get it set that it will print it like 1 sheet per fold (Thus page 4&1 on one side and on the other 2&3)

Why does the booklet functions in Word and OpenOffice order the pages different ? I guess it prints in such manner that you have to fold the pages and then slide it in together, or either you have to cut it in halfs ?

I have tried it via the printer menu by giving the page numbers manually in but then it will get scaled automatically with the result that the margins and lettertypes are distorted. About the same as the booklet function in the printer menu of a PDF.

I prefer to print as 1 sheet per fold so that after printing i only have to fold every page seperately (unless the pages are to much, then cut it in halfs) and stack them up (as your typical approach), can you tell how this can be done with Word or OpenOffice ?
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Andrew Seltz

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2010, 05:30:02 PM »
Quote from: Writerman on January 21, 2010, 01:52:01 PM
...Why does the booklet functions in Word and OpenOffice order the pages different ? I guess it prints in such manner that you have to fold the pages and then slide it in together, or either you have to cut it in halfs ?

I have tried it via the printer menu by giving the page numbers manually in but then it will get scaled automatically with the result that the margins and lettertypes are distorted. About the same as the booklet function in the printer menu of a PDF.

I prefer to print as 1 sheet per fold so that after printing i only have to fold every page seperately (unless the pages are to much, then cut it in halfs) and stack them up (as your typical approach), can you tell how this can be done with Word or OpenOffice ?

I have know idea why the booklet function works the way it does in OpenOffice, just that it frustrated me some much I quit before I figured it out - too much trouble.

It has been a while since I used Word, so I can't remember exactly what I did to setup the pages. I seem to remember there being a way to set the number of sheets per fold, but could be mistaken. Since I don't have a copy of Word right now, I can't experiment with it to find out.

For me, exporting a PDF from Open Office and imposing the pages with CutePDF is extremely efficient and effective.

Andrew
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Beesbooks

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2010, 06:50:29 AM »
Hi Waterman,
I`m just starting to compile a small A5 book, which I want to print,text and pictures, fold into signatures, and bind myself. I found word and Ms publisher confusing and am using Serif PagePlus. Serif SE  is free, but I recently upgraded to PagePlus X3 for £10 and it suports PDF alough you have to upgrade to X4 to get it to be word compatiable I`m told. it might be worth a look ( some cheap copies can be found on ebay)
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mikiwhb

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2010, 09:33:27 AM »
Hi! I was wondering if the CutePDF prgram allow you to arrange the book pages so that they could be read from right to left?  i have some chinese e books that i want to print but the way the pages are is you open the book from the left and read the pages from the right side first...  i hope this makes sense... its the total opposite of the american books!!
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Andrew Seltz

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #13 on: August 26, 2010, 10:22:38 AM »
mikiwhb,

I don't think there is a built-in function for reverse printing of pages in CUTE PDF, but here is a workaround you might try:

Open the file you are planning to print and print it out to PDF in reverse page order. This should result in a new PDF file that starts with the last page and ends with the first (in western style - that is.)

Next, convert the new PDF into booklet form and print.

I've not tried this, but I would expect the resulting book to open from left to right.

Andrew
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mikiwhb

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Re: Video Demo: Converting PDF Documents for Printing
« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2010, 10:39:14 AM »
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely give this a try!!  :D
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