Supported PDF input and output formats

A reference page covering what Zine Creator can take in, what it puts out, and what it deliberately does not handle. Useful when you are deciding whether your source PDF will work, or when you need to confirm a sheet size or output setting before printing.

Input

File format

• PDF, single file. Drop or browse to one PDF at a time; Zine Creator does not currently merge multiple inputs.
• Most PDF versions parse fine. Internally Zine Creator uses @cantoo/pdf-lib, which handles the PDF 1.4+ features you find in real-world documents (most exports from modern tools land here).
• Encrypted PDFs are not supported. If your file has a password or is otherwise encrypted, Zine Creator will return an error. Remove the encryption first (most PDF tools have a "Save unencrypted copy" option) and re-upload.
• Image-only PDFs (PDFs whose pages are just scanned bitmaps) work the same as text PDFs: each page is treated as a single opaque image, imposed onto the output. The text is not extracted, but the pages render normally.

Page sizes

Source pages can be any size. Zine Creator's layouts either scale each source page to fit its target slot (with Scale to fit on, the default), or place the page at its native size and let the surrounding white space absorb the difference (with Scale to fit off, useful when source and target already match).

Mixed page sizes within a single source PDF are handled per-page: each source page is fit to its slot independently.

CropBox handling

When a source page has a CropBox set (the visible region inside a larger MediaBox, common in PDFs exported with bleed for press), Zine Creator honours it. The slot on the output sheet shows the CropBox area; the surrounding bleed does not leak into the adjacent slot. This is the right behavior for most home-print workflows where you want what is on screen to match what comes out of the printer.

Output

File format

A single PDF, generated client-side via @cantoo/pdf-lib in a Web Worker. Nothing is uploaded. The output is laid out so that printing it duplex (and folding and stapling, for the half-fold layout) produces a finished zine.

Sheet sizes

Four target sheet sizes, configurable in Output settings on every layout:

• A4 (210 × 297 mm). Default. The common European home-printer size.
• A5 (148 × 210 mm). Useful for tiny zines, or as a half-fold target on an A6 source.
• A3 (297 × 420 mm). Letter-pad-sized sheets for larger zines, if you have a printer that takes A3.
• Letter (8.5 × 11 in). The North American equivalent of A4.

The half-fold and mini-zine layouts use the sheet in landscape orientation; the portrait and landscape passthrough layouts use it in the orientation their name implies. You do not need to rotate the source PDF for this; Zine Creator handles orientation.

Layouts

Four layouts. Each one is its own imposition module.

• Half-fold booklet (saddle-stitch). 4 source pages per sheet, two on each side. Stack the sheets, fold the stack in half along the long axis, staple along the fold. The imposition guide explains the page-order rule; the half-fold workflow guide walks the end-to-end print and assembly.
• Mini-zine (8-page single sheet). 8 source pages on one side of a single sheet, in a fixed cut-and-fold pattern. Print, make one cut across the middle, fold, and the booklet pops out without staples.
• Portrait. One source page per sheet, portrait orientation. Scaled to fit by default. No imposition, no fold. Useful for printing one page of something at a known sheet size with optional cut marks.
• Landscape. Same as Portrait but the sheet is landscape. Useful when the source is landscape and you want the output to match.

Per-output settings

Available settings depend on the chosen layout. The full set:

• Sheet size: A3, A4, A5, Letter.
• Page range: any start and end page in the source. The half-fold layout pads to a multiple of 4 if the range does not already match (optionally with a mirrored cover as the back page).
• Scale to fit: contain the source page inside its slot, centered. On by default.
• Margin (mm): blank space at the outer edge of each printed sheet. Useful for printers that cannot print borderless, and for leaving room for cut marks.
• Gutter (mm): blank space at the spine, for binding allowance on the half-fold layout.
• Edge flip: long-edge or short-edge. Determines whether back-side pages are pre-rotated 180° so the duplex flip lands content right-way-up. See the imposition guide's edge-flip section.
• X offset (mm): shift every output page left or right on the sheet. Compensates for borderless printers that pull the sheet in off-centre.
• Cut marks: corner ticks at the trim line. Useful if you will cut the open edge after binding.
• Fold marks: spine guides, either marks in the margin or lines across the content.
• Marks on pages: restrict cut and fold marks to one duplex side (avoid them doubling up when front and back both carry marks).
• Creep compensation: shift inner-sheet content toward the spine (or shift cover content toward the outer edge) to keep margins uniform after trimming a thicker booklet. The creep section of the imposition guide covers when this matters.

Not supported

Limits worth knowing about before you commit to a workflow:

• Other zine formats: accordion fold, French fold, perfect-bound, side-stapled. The imposition rules for these are different and would each need their own layout module; none are on the roadmap right now.
• PDF/X export for offset press. Zine Creator outputs standard PDF for home printing, not the colour-managed PDF/X variant a commercial press wants. For offset work, export your source from a layout tool that handles PDF/X directly and impose there.
• Multiple input files. One PDF at a time; no merging. Combine your sources in a PDF tool first.
• Non-PDF input. Image files, Word documents, EPUBs and the like are not accepted. Convert to PDF first (most word processors and image viewers can print to PDF).
• Encrypted or password-protected PDFs. Remove encryption first.
• Server-side processing of any kind. This is deliberate, not a missing feature: the privacy page covers the why.

Related guides

• How imposition works - the page-order rule that the half-fold and mini-zine layouts implement.
• How to make a half-fold zine from a PDF - the practical workflow from upload to stapled booklet.
• Printer settings for duplex zines - how to configure the print dialog so what comes out matches what Zine Creator produced.
• FAQ - symptom-first answers when something prints not quite right.