Printing your Adventure Journal as a booklet

Use these steps for a 24-page journal. Six sheets of Letter paper, printed on both sides and folded, make one 5.5 × 8.5-inch booklet.

No paid software is required. Free desktop Adobe Acrobat Reader includes Booklet printing.

1 Save and choose the right PDF

Download the files; if they arrive in a ZIP folder, extract them first. Choose one route below.

Scroll sideways to see the full diagram.

Choose one of two journal filesThe regular PDF has 24 pages in reading order. The Booklet PDF has 12 PDF pages, each already containing two arranged journal pages.123241Regular journal24 PDF pages in reading orderBooklet file12 PDF pages already arranged

Regular journal · 24 PDF pages

Choose Letter (8.5 × 11 in), Booklet, left binding and two-sided printing. Let Booklet arrange and scale the pages. Do not also enable booklet or 2-up in the printer.

Acrobat Reader: Print > Booklet > Both sides > Binding Left; select All.

Booklet file · 12 PDF pages

Don’t see Booklet, or cannot install a different reader? Use the supplied Booklet file. Already arranged: use normal printing, Letter, one PDF page per side, two-sided, and Fit to printable area. Never add Booklet or 2 pages per sheet in the viewer or printer/copier. Sideways content is intentional in the Preparation file.

2 Test one sheet

Regular PDF in Reader: keep All selected; set Sheets from 1 to 1. Booklet PDF: print PDF pages 1-2 double-sided. If your program has no sheet test, print one complete copy.

Fold the test sheet: the cover is outside, with the next journal page directly behind it. Both sides should be upright and uncropped. If the back is upside down, switch the long-/short-edge flip setting and retest. If clipped, check Letter paper and page fitting. Printer controls vary.

Scroll sideways to see the full diagram.

Test the outer sheet before printing a full bookletBoth sides of the same sheet are shown upright. On the outside, journal page position 24, the back page, is on the left and position 1, the cover, is on the right. On the inside, position 2, the contents, is on the left and position 23 is on the right. Dashed lines mark the center fold. These are journal page positions, not PDF page numbers; some journal pages are unnumbered.OutsideInside241223Back pageCoverContentsJournal pageSame outer sheet, shown upright · Dashed line = center fold
Preparation example. Journal page positions, not PDF page numbers; some pages are unnumbered.

3 Check one complete booklet

Restore the full print range and print all six sheets for one copy. Nest with the cover sheet outside and pages 12-13 at the center; fold together and staple along the center fold. Check all 24 journal pages in order before printing a class set.

Scroll sideways to see the full diagram.

Six sheets make one folded 24-page bookletNest six double-sided Letter sheets in order, fold together, and staple along the center fold. The finished 24-page booklet is 5.5 inches wide and 8.5 inches high.6 double-sided sheetsNest and fold24pages5.5 in wide8.5 in high

No automatic two-sided printing? Follow your printer’s manual duplex instructions. For the regular PDF’s Booklet route in Reader, print Front side only, reinsert as directed, then Back side only. Keep the same sheet range for both passes. A print shop can also use the regular PDF to make a Letter-paper booklet.

Adobe booklet printing instructions