Printing two pages side-by-side

[mwenz]

What I am trying to do is to print reader spreads for proofreading the material before publishing. So booklet just print side-by-side but not in readable form. Booklet is intended for folding, cuttings and binding. It's imposition. Something more like the attached.

I came close yesterday printing from Xara but the side-by-side pages are about 80% actual size and make it harder to proofread.

I'm going to play around with the settings some more today as soon as my brain is in gear.

Mike, long time no see.

To do a fold/cut booklet, you would need an imposition application. There are many/several available, but for the size needed, the free version of what I use may suffice:

https://www.montax-imposer.com

If ya don't like figuring out new applications, then take a pass. There may be enough overlap with the free and Pro versions I might be able to help, though. As well, you have my email address, I cold always do the imposition and return an imposed pdf.

Mike
p.s., I'm here every day (usually). Just lurking is all.

[Acorn]

Ray, when I try these settings it prints the same page twice on the sheet. What am I missing here?
Acrobat did the job but even with the Save Ink/Toner option it was very very slow.

Gary, I am with you on this.

My first approach would be to fit 2 pages per sheet in your PDF viewer.

Just for Proofing
If using just Xara, I would create a double width page, fit a text area to it and change to 2-columns with automatic page creation.
This allows you to tweak inner and outer guttering as well as individual page layout.

Page numbering is still the Xara failing in DTP.

Acorn

[gwpriester]

My first approach would be to fit 2 pages per sheet in your PDF viewer.

See post https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...975#post649975

I used Acrobat and printed the book in two page spreads which is exactly what I wanted for proofreading and seeing the spreads side-by-side.

[lex]

Let's say you want to an imposed pdf without any costly software. Your pages are Letter/A4 Portrait, and your printer supports only Letter/A4. Select a printer driver that supports Tabloid/A3 (e.g. Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing printer driver distributed with MS Publisher), select landscape and print two pages side-by-side to a PS file, and distill it using Adobe or some other (e.g. Ghostscript) distiller. The result is an imposed PDF with the right dimensions that you can even print to your Letter/A4 type printer (using Fit to paper).

[gwpriester]

Let's say you want to an imposed pdf without any costly software

Doesn't anybody read?

All I wanted was two facing pages on each sheet of paper. I am not printing a brochure or a booklet. I just need to generate reader's proofs for a book I am working on.

I solved the issue and was able to accomplish this via the new Acrobat Reader DC or my older version of Acrobat.

[Acorn]

@Gary and @others

I felt peculiar that side-by-side printing seems so off within Xara, where it proclaims it is a DTP solution.

Xara comes with an A4 double page spread Template. It can be described as two bits of paper taped together with no mention of crayons or pens. It is next to useless.

Here is an alternative:

1. Open the A4 1-Column Template.
2. In Options > Page Size:
   
   • Paper: tick Double-page.
   • Page: untick Show page shadow.
   
   
3. Clone the bottom bar.
   
   • Drag to the right-hand page and position as the first.
   • Set to repeat on all pages.
   
   
4. Select the right-hand bottom bar:
   
   • Insert > Page number - Centred / First page is 1.
   • On the left-hand page, delete the original '-1-'.
   
   
5. File > Save Template:
   
   • Pick A4 double page spread Template.

All this does not meet Gary's need of printing out his pages side-by-side.
What you get is a Preview of side-by-side.
If you think setting Web Properties > Export > Viewer options > PDF download will work then the PDF created is single A4 pages all the way down.

In some ways, it is better as you can see the side-by-side layout clearly if you have a reasonable monitor; I have a 2560px wide one so side-by-side A4 is well met.

Here is my Template: A4 double page spread.xar

To get the side-by-side printing working, these are the needed steps:

• Options > Page > Print/export: Whole page.
• Where you have an A3 printer, File > Print > Printer:
  
  • Click the Printer button:
    
    • Paper: pick A3 & Landscape.
  
  
• Xara's PDF download now works as well.

If you have this there is no need to print as PDF, you have Preview and Print download built-in.

Do note this Thread is about printing out Xara pages as PDF locally, not what a commercial printer-setter might do or use.
Discussion needs to meet the KISS principle.

Acorn