Saddle-stitch imposition
36-page booklet page order
A 36-page booklet uses 9 sheets, each printed with two pages per side, nested and stapled through the fold.
9sheets
36pages
18page pairs
Printer spreads
| Sheet (outside first) | Front: left | right | Back: left | right |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet 1 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 35 |
| Sheet 2 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 33 |
| Sheet 3 | 32 | 5 | 6 | 31 |
| Sheet 4 | 30 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| Sheet 5 | 28 | 9 | 10 | 27 |
| Sheet 6 | 26 | 11 | 12 | 25 |
| Sheet 7 | 24 | 13 | 14 | 23 |
| Sheet 8 | 22 | 15 | 16 | 21 |
| Sheet 9 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
Each pair adds up to 37. Print front and back duplex, flipping on the short edge for most desktop printers.
Nested sheets
Creep and trimming
With 9 nested sheets the inner pages stick out at the fore-edge by roughly the combined thickness of the outer sheets. Professional imposition shifts inner pages toward the spine (creep compensation) and trims the fore-edge flush. Keep text at least 6 mm from the outside edge.
Need a different count? The booklet imposition calculator works for any page count and adds blanks as needed.