Printer Spread Layout

[mrbips]

In Publisher - How to make the layout show as printer spread for saddle stitched booklets?

ie.,

8,1

2, 7 

6, 3

4, 5

 

Thanks!

Edited June 21, 2019 by mrbips
Specifying Publisher App

[mrbips]

Example:

Display showing how it would actually print 

 

[walt.farrell]

You might try the Booklet layout option in the Print dialog.

[rah1861]

I tried the Booklet option and it doesn't work, as far as I can see. The question here is do you set up your spreads with "facing pages" inside the booklet, with single pages at the beginning and end? The tutorial shows it being done this way, but then never talks about printing such an arrangement:

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/publisher/desktop/video/337263766

I tried it this way, and tried the booklet print option and it came up terrible (in fact, the print preview box showed red previews on the inside pages). This really should be very easy. In the old PagePlus, you would use "impose pages" and it would happen automatically (the page arrangement in the original question). There must be an easy way to do this, I should think.

[rah1861]

I have watched the print tutorial and figured out that I was getting red preview because the paper size was incorrect (should be "Ledger"). Then the prview looks PERFECT (pages 4 and 1 on one side, pages 2 and 3 on the other). But printing to a PDF driver yields incorrect results - the poages are just incorrectly layed out, not what the prview showed. Export to PDF doesn't have the booklet option. I don't see how to get this to work to make a PDF. I thought I had it (based on the perfect preview), but not yet. Anyone can help??

[rah1861]

OK, I now have it working - my PDF driver was set incorrectly (it also needed 11x17 size). Now it works. But it brings up related question - I am using a PDF print driver as my printer here because I do not have PDF as an option in the AP print dialog. It shows it in the tutoral (a pull-down below the preview), but my print dialog does not have it (see attachment). Why is this? I really need it, because it would make it easier than using a separate PDF driver, and what about folks who do not have such a driver?

[NilsFinken]

Use File - Export, then choose PDF.

[rah1861]

I tried that, but there is no option in the Export PDF dialog to specify Booklet and the other options in the "Model" setting of the Print dialog. You cannot get the export to give you the unique page arrangement. It appears to me that they forgot to include these model options in the export dialog (I looked in the "Advanced" area of the PDF export and it isn't there either).

[thomaso]

7 minutes ago, rah1861 said:

I tried that, but there is no option in the Export PDF dialog to specify Booklet

That's true. Possibly a mistyping by NilsFinken.

Booklet output is only available yet via File > Print. But there you can use a Print to PDF option. On mac it is available by system in the pulldown menu at the lower left corner. On windows you might first need to install a driver for Print to PDF.

[rah1861]

19 minutes ago, thomaso said:

. On windows you might first need to install a driver for Print to PDF.

Yes, that is what I am doing - using a separate PDF print driver (seen in my screen snapshot above as the "PDF-xchange 5.0 for ABBYY"). But I would MUCH prefer to have this ability built-in to AP, instead of requiring getting a separate PDF print driver. It sounds like that is the case with Mac versions of AP, from what you said. That's probably why the tutorial video shows that very pull-down you mentioned on the Print dialog (not the Export dialog).

[thomaso]

Since the print options window appearance and content does vary, depending on a.) your OS and b.) your installed printer driver there is no simple step-by-step tutorial which works the same for everybody.

What do you get if you use the option "Print to File" in your screenshot at the end of the list starting with "Layout" highlighted?
Possibly it is not necessary to choose the PDF printer in the menu "Printer:" above? (as it does for me on mac: I don't have to switch my default Epson printer to be able to export a PDF via print.)
 

[rah1861]

No, Print to File is no good - it produces a .prn file. This is some old type of file that has been available for years in print drivers, but is absolutely not a PDF.  What is needed here is a PDF pulldown in the Print dialog on Windows versions, like you appear to have in the Mac version. Should I report this in the bug section? It seems like a missing piece.

[Rodi]

The best way is to make your document page 1-8 straight. I have found a great piece of software, Qoppa PDF Studio Pro 2019, it is a good general editor of PDFs (not so much graphic, more general) but it has a stunningly great imposition feature, and its $125.00 U.S. It's just as functional as more expensive imposition software. 

I am so excited about it I started a blog. I have no affiliation with Qoppa, but it's a great company and program.


https://letsimposethatpdf.blogspot.com/2019/06/lets-impose-that-pdf.html


PDF Studio completes the Affinity Suite for me!! 

[rah1861]

$125 seems like a lot to spend on a feature that is built-in to the old Serif PagePlus and I can produce with the $60 Affinity Publisher with a simple PDF print driver (and it SHOULD be built-in to AP, from what I am seeing in the tutorial). But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Rodi]

It's a fully featured imposition software, and when you see that other imposition software with the same features are 500 bucks and up (and you can buy the program for half price if you are paitent), it's a great deal.

[rah1861]

OK, sounds good if you have a need for an advanced version of this feature. :-)

[thomaso]

18 minutes ago, rah1861 said:

Should I report this in the bug section? It seems like a missing piece.

No, not as bug. It is a feature of macOS yet, not of Affinity. But how about posting this missing Windows feature at Microsoft ... or in this Affinity forum:

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/forum/52-feature-requests-feedback/

 

 

[Rodi]

I have acrobat driver on my machine, and microsoft drivers that allow you to make booklet. They work easy enough, but I am assuming no bleed, so if it bleeds, the page size is gonna change, etc etc...YMMV. 

[Rodi]

I have a cheap Ricoh printer and I used that PS driver, and with print to file, it makes a postscript file (ps not prn)... Certainly you can do it any number of ways, but man it gets old fast!! My brother b&w makes a prn...

[Rodi]

18 hours ago, NilsFinken said:

Use File - Export, then choose PDF.

Yes, but don't make facing pages, make the pages 1-12. When you make facing pages, to convert to a booklet is a lot of work. High end imposition (Preps, Impostrip) do this pretty quickly, but they are expensive, I mean really expensive. They have a way to go from readers to printer spreads... 

See my picture for making Affinity Publisher work this, it's pretty straight forward. 

I'll be honest though, I would rather make a PDF put it in an output folder and make an imposed PDF, I have a lot more control. But if it's a simple no bleed document or you don't mind white border,  this will do the trick.


 

[Rodi]

This may help some folks on Windows machines...

https://www.winhelponline.com/blog/reinstall-microsoft-print-to-pdf-delete-accidentally/

[rah1861]

Rodi, as I mentioned above: "Yes, that is what I am doing - using a separate PDF print driver (seen in my screen snapshot above as the "PDF-xchange 5.0 for ABBYY"). But I would MUCH prefer to have this ability built-in to AP, instead of requiring getting a separate PDF print driver. It sounds like that is the case with Mac versions of AP, from what you said. That's probably why the tutorial video shows that very pull-down you mentioned on the Print dialog (not the Export dialog)."

However, it is interesting that Windows 10 comes with a PDF driver, Yes, I see it in my list of printers, but have never tried it. So thanks for that info. I am wondering if this is WHY Affinity has not placed a PDF pull-down on the Windows Print Dialog - because Microsoft is supplying a PDF print driver. Hmmm. That's not common knowlege, I don't think, and it is kind of cumbersome (as opposed to having it built-in as with the Mac version.
 

[Rodi]

I think for most efficient work, make a PDF, let the page layout be what it is a page layout, asking it to do more (even if other operating systems do it) can be time consuming. I betcha that you do this all the time, the right tool will be much better, if it's once in a while, well, ya gotta live with it. I like working on page layouts more than impositions... so I have the right tool for the jobs, not just one type of job. I hope that make sense! 

[rah1861]

I'm not sure if you realize that in AP when you are using "facing" pages and page imposition when you create your final PDF, you still work on the pages in sequence the way you would always lay out pages. There is NO DIFFERENCE. While you work on your document, you just do the pages in order, regardless. There is no "time consuming" aspect with it. You don't even think about it. I mean, literally, there is no difference.

It's only at PRINT TIME that it becomes an issue. If you print it as a Booklet, you get page imposition. If you just print it (without booklet), you get the regular sequential order. This facing pages thing is just a print-time thing, which makes no difference during design.

[Jamesx1]

Just wondering whether there is a way to export printer spread PDFs now? Is there maybe a PDF preset buried in the settings somewhere that has been added since this discussion? Appreciate a yay or nay on this from someone who knows for sure....This feature would give great control.