How to Print a Booklet in Word

To print a booklet in Word, go to Layout > Margins > Custom Margins, set Multiple pages to Book fold, click OK, then print on both sides of the paper and flip the pages on the short edge. Word then arranges the pages so the stack folds into a booklet that reads in order.

You want a small folded booklet, like a program or a zine, and Word keeps printing ordinary full pages. These steps cover desktop Word in Microsoft 365 on Windows, with Mac notes where they differ.

What Book Fold Does to Your Pages

A booklet is made from sheets of paper folded in half. Each sheet holds four booklet pages: two on the front and two on the back. When you fold a stack of those sheets and nest them, the pages have to land in a strange order on each flat sheet. On an 8-page booklet, for example, the outside of the first sheet carries page 8 next to page 1, and the inside carries page 2 next to page 7.

Book fold is the Word setting that works this order out for you. It turns each half of a landscape sheet into one booklet page, and when you print, it places every page on the right half of the right sheet. You keep writing and editing in normal reading order, and Word handles the arrangement. A flat printed sheet with page 8 beside page 1 is therefore correct; judge the order only after folding.

A few terms you will see along the way:

• Gutter: extra space added along the fold so text does not disappear into the crease.
• Duplex printing: printing on both sides of the paper. Some printers do it automatically, others need you to turn the stack over by hand.
• Short edge: the narrower side of the sheet, which is the edge you flip on for a booklet.

Microsoft recommends choosing the booklet layout before you write, because changing it later reflows everything you have already placed. If your document is finished, it still works, but plan a few minutes to check pictures and tables afterward.

Set Up Book Fold in Word

Open the document you want to turn into a booklet, or start a new blank one, and follow these steps. They match Microsoft’s booklet setup instructions for Word on Windows and Mac.

1. Click the Layout tab on the ribbon. (Older versions of Word call it Page Layout.)
2. Click Margins, then choose Custom Margins at the bottom of the list. The Page Setup window opens on its Margins tab.
3. Under Pages, open the dropdown next to Multiple pages and choose Book fold. The orientation switches to Landscape on its own. Leave it that way, since the landscape sheet is what gets folded into two portrait pages.
4. Look at Sheets per booklet, which appears once Book fold is on. Leave it on All to print one booklet. Choose a number only when a long document should be split into several smaller booklets that you bind separately.
5. Increase the Gutter value to leave room at the fold. Word treats each page’s inner edge as the fold side, so the margin boxes may be labeled Inside and Outside instead of Left and Right.

6. Click the Paper tab and check Paper size. This is the sheet that goes into the printer, not the finished page. The booklet ends up half the width of the paper, so Letter paper gives a half-letter booklet (5.5 by 8.5 inches), A4 gives A5, and Legal gives 7 by 8.5 inches.
7. If you want a border around each page, click the Layout tab inside the same Page Setup window, then Borders.
8. Click OK. Word reformats the document into smaller booklet pages.

After you click OK, scroll through the whole document. Text reflows into the narrower pages, so a heading may now sit alone at the bottom of a page, and Microsoft notes that pictures and tables may need adjusting by hand. Shrink wide tables, resize large images so they fit inside the margins, and set pictures to In Line with Text if they jump around.

How Big Should the Gutter Be?

Microsoft does not give a single number, and published suggestions vary, so treat the gutter as something you test. A thin booklet of two or three sheets folds almost flat and needs very little, often a quarter inch or less on top of a normal inside margin. A thicker booklet curves more at the spine, so text near the fold is harder to read and benefits from more room. Print one sheet, fold it, and look at whether the inner words are comfortable to read. Adjust and test again before printing the full run.

Margins in general work the same way as in any Word document. If you want a refresher on setting exact values, see how to set 1-inch margins in Word; the boxes are in the same Page Setup window.

Make the Page Count a Multiple of Four

Because every sheet carries four booklet pages, a booklet always has 4, 8, 12, 16 pages and so on. If your document has a different number, Word still prints it, but the empty slots come out blank. That is fine when a blank page lands at the very back, and annoying when you did not expect it.

Here is a worked example. Priya is making a spring program for a fictional garden club. Her document has 10 booklet pages after Book fold. The next multiple of four is 12, so she needs three sheets, and two pages will be blank. She has three choices:

• Add content to fill two pages, such as a notes page and a sponsor thank-you page.
• Trim content to reach 8 pages, which saves a sheet per copy.
• Insert deliberate blank pages (Insert > Blank Page) where she wants them, for example inside the back cover, so the blanks are not left to chance.

To count, check the page number in the status bar at the bottom of the Word window after Book fold is on. The count you want is booklet pages, not sheets.

Print the Booklet on Both Sides

Before you print a stack, run a short test. Microsoft suggests printing a few pages first, and a single sheet (four booklet pages) is enough to show whether the front and back line up. Fold it and read it. If page 2 sits behind page 1 and the right way up, the settings are correct.

If Your Printer Prints Both Sides Automatically

1. Click File > Print.
2. Choose your printer, then confirm the paper size in the Settings list matches the paper size you picked in Page Setup.
3. Open the sides dropdown, which says Print One Sided by default, and choose Print on Both Sides with Flip pages on short edge.

4. Set the number of copies and click Print.

The short-edge choice matters more than any other print setting. Flip on the long edge and every back page prints upside down relative to its front. Printer drivers word this differently, so if your printer’s own Properties window has a duplex setting, look for “short edge,” “flip up,” or “tablet” binding rather than “long edge” or “book.”

If Your Printer Only Prints One Side

You can still print a booklet by turning the paper over yourself. Word prints all the fronts first, then pauses.

1. Click File > Print and choose Manually Print on Both Sides from the sides dropdown.
2. Click Print. Word prints the first side of every sheet and shows a message asking you to reload the paper.

3. Take the printed stack out without shuffling it. Turn it over by flipping it on the short edge, following the paper-loading direction your printer’s manual describes.
4. Put the stack back in the tray and click OK on the message to print the second sides.

Every printer feeds paper differently: some print face up, some face down, some take the top sheet first. That is why the one-sheet test matters so much here. Mark the top edge of a test sheet with a pencil before you reload it, and you will see exactly how your printer turns the paper.

Saving a PDF First

Saving the booklet as a PDF (File > Save As, then choose PDF) freezes the layout, which helps when you print from another computer or send the file to a copy shop. If you print the PDF yourself, use the same both-sides, short-edge settings in your PDF reader. Some PDF readers also have their own booklet print mode; use it only when the Word document is not already set to Book fold, or the pages get rearranged twice. For more on exporting, see saving a Word document as a PDF.

Print a Booklet From Word for Mac

Microsoft’s booklet instructions use the same Layout > Margins > Custom Margins path and the same Book fold setting on Mac, so set up the document as described above. The print dialog is where the Mac differs, because it uses the macOS print window.

1. Click File > Print.
2. Open the Copies & Pages menu and choose Layout. (On newer macOS versions, Two-Sided is shown directly in the print dialog or in its Layout section.)
3. Next to Two-Sided, choose Short-Edge binding.
4. Click Print.

If your printer cannot print both sides, Microsoft’s Word for Mac printing instructions describe a manual method: in the Copies & Pages menu, choose Microsoft Word, print Odd pages only, turn the stack over and reload it, then print Even pages only.

Start From a Word Booklet Template Instead

If you have not written anything yet and like the idea of a ready-made design, a template is faster. Booklet templates come with the layout, fold and page sizes already set, so you only replace the sample text and pictures.

1. Click File > New.
2. Type booklet in the search box and press Enter.
3. Click a template to preview it, then click Create.
4. Save your booklet right away with File > Save a copy (Microsoft’s wording on the template page) or Save As, and give it a name you will recognize.
5. Replace the placeholder content, then print on both sides with the pages flipped on the short edge, or use the manual both-sides option on a single-sided printer.

Microsoft’s booklet template instructions apply to desktop Word on Windows and Mac. Choose a template when design matters more than control; choose Book fold on your own document when the content already exists or when you need a specific paper size.

Add Page Numbers That Work in a Booklet

In a booklet, left and right pages face each other, so a page number aligned to the right edge on every page ends up beside the fold on half of them. The cleanest fix is to center the numbers. Microsoft’s booklet page numbering tips describe it this way:

1. Add page numbers if you have not already (Insert > Page Number).
2. On an odd-numbered page, double-click the page number to open the footer, then press Ctrl+E to center it.

3. Repeat on an even-numbered page.

For a fuller footer, such as the program title on one side and the date on the other, go to Insert > Footer > Blank (Three Columns), replace the placeholders, and put the number in the middle with Page Number > Current Position > Plain Number on the Header & Footer tab. Again, do it on an odd page and then on an even page.

Fold, Staple and Trim

Keep the printed sheets in the order they came out of the printer. For a single booklet, the stack is already nested correctly: fold the whole stack in half together rather than folding each sheet on its own, then run a fingernail or a ruler edge along the crease.

• Staple along the fold. A long-reach stapler reaches the middle of the sheet. Open the booklet flat, face down, and put two staples in the crease, each about an inch in from the top and bottom.
• Trim the edge on thicker booklets. The inner sheets of a thick stack stick out a little past the outer ones when folded. A paper trimmer across the open edge squares it up. Leave enough outside margin that trimming does not touch text.
• Pick paper that folds well. Heavier paper looks more finished but resists folding as sheets add up. For a long booklet or a large run, a copy shop with a booklet maker may be easier than stapling by hand.

Fix Wrong Order, Upside-Down Backs and Other Problems

When a test sheet comes out wrong, work through these checks in order. The first ones are the most common.

1. Pages print full size, one per side. Book fold is not on. Open Layout > Margins > Custom Margins and check that Multiple pages says Book fold. If your document has several sections, set the Apply to box at the bottom of the Page Setup window to Whole document so the margins, orientation and paper size match in every section.
2. The back of each sheet is upside down. The printer flipped on the long edge. Change the print setting to Flip pages on short edge (or Short-Edge binding on a Mac). On a manual duplex, rotate the stack the other way when you reload it.
3. The backs are the right way up but belong to the wrong fronts. On manual duplex, the stack went back in reversed or facing the wrong way. Use the pencil-marked test sheet described above to see how your printer turns paper, then reload the same way.
4. Pages are tiny or doubly scrambled. Two booklet settings are fighting. Turn off any booklet or “pages per sheet” option in the printer’s Properties window and let Word’s Book fold do the arranging.
5. The page order runs backward or blanks appear in the middle. Check Sheets per booklet. A number there splits the document into several mini booklets, which looks like random order if you fold everything together. Set it to All for one booklet.
6. Orientation looks wrong on screen. If someone switched the orientation back to Portrait after choosing Book fold, the pages become tall, narrow slivers. Set Book fold again and leave Landscape alone. To use landscape for a single page in a normal document instead, see making only one page landscape in Word, which is a different feature.
7. Text disappears into the fold. Increase the gutter, or split a thick booklet into smaller ones with Sheets per booklet so each one folds flatter.
8. Everything prints smaller than expected. The paper size in the Print pane may not match the paper in the tray, so the printer scales the page to fit. Match the two. There is more on this in why a Word document prints small.

Booklet Printing Questions

Can I make a booklet in Word for the web?

Microsoft’s booklet instructions are written for the desktop Word app, and that is where the Book fold setting described here lives. If you only have the browser version, open the file in the desktop app to set it up.

How do I add a cover?

Make page 1 your front cover and the last page your back cover; Book fold puts them on the outside of the first sheet. If you want a cover on heavier card stock, print the cover sheet separately on that paper and wrap it around the inner pages before stapling.

How do I turn Book fold off?

Open Layout > Margins > Custom Margins, set Multiple pages back to Normal, and change the orientation to Portrait if you want full pages again. Check pictures and tables afterward, since the text reflows a second time.

Ready to go? Set Book fold, print one test sheet with the short-edge flip, fold it, and only then print the full run.