Imposition scheme
16-page signature: Octavo (8vo)
A sheet printed with 8 pages per side and folded 3 times makes one 16-page signature — historically the Octavo (8vo) format.
Sheet layout
Folding sequence
Lay the sheet with side B facing up. Make a vertical fold (left over right), then a horizontal fold (top down), then a vertical fold (left over right). The last fold forms the spine on the left; the other folds are trimmed off at the head and fore-edge to free the pages.
Pages printed side by side across the spine fold always add up to 17 (for example 1 and 16) — a quick way to check any imposition.
Page positions
| Side | Top row | Bottom row |
|---|---|---|
| A (outer) | 9↓ · 8↓ · 5↓ · 12↓ | 16 · 1 · 4 · 13 |
| B (inner) | 11↓ · 6↓ · 7↓ · 10↓ | 14 · 3 · 2 · 15 |
↓ = printed upside down. Printers may use mirrored or rotated variants of this layout depending on press and folder.