A saddle-stitch booklet folds one sheet into four pages. Divide the page count by four and round up to know how many sheets each booklet needs.
A 20-page booklet needs 5 sheets; a 22-page job rounds up to 6 (booklets pad to a multiple of four).
The example
Three booklets with their page counts and the sheets each needs.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booklet | Pages | Sheets / copy |
| 2 | Program | 20 | 5 |
| 3 | Catalog | 48 | 12 |
| 4 | Menu | 22 | 6 |
The formula
Four pages print on each folded sheet:
How it works
Saddle-stitch imposition is four-up:
B2is the number of pages in the booklet.- Dividing by 4 reflects two pages on each side of a folded sheet.
ROUNDUP(…,0)rounds to a whole sheet, which also pads the booklet to a multiple of four pages as binding requires.
Multiply sheets per copy by the quantity to get total sheets, then add make-ready waste for the press run.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the booklet's page count.
Variations
Total sheets for the run
Multiply by the quantity and add make-ready waste.
Pitfalls & errors
Saddle-stitch page counts must be a multiple of four. Rounding up sheets handles this, but plan the content to fill the pages.
This counts folded sheets, not impressions. A duplex sheet is two impressions — matter for click-charge pricing.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why divide by four?
My booklet is 22 pages. Is that a problem?
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