Pamphletize

Create an easy-to-print 8.5"×11" booklet (pamphlet) from a half-letter (8.5"×5.5") PDF.

This script automatically:

• 📄 Adds blank pages so the total page count is a multiple of 4
• 🔢 Reorders pages into proper booklet order (so they fold correctly)
• 🧩 Combines two half-sized pages into one landscape sheet
• 🔁 Optionally flips every second sheet by 180° for duplex printers that rotate the back side

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⛪ Purpose

The goal of this program is to enable local churches and individuals to easily print their own literature.

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🧰 Requirements

Install PyMuPDF (used for PDF layout and merging):

uv pip install pymupdf

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🚀 Usage

uv run pamphletize input.pdf output.pdf --flip-back

Positional arguments:

• input.pdf — Path to your original half-page PDF
• output.pdf — Path where the new booklet PDF will be saved

Optional flags:

• --flip-back — Rotates every second sheet 180° for duplex printers that flip the back page upside-down

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🖨️ Printing Instructions

Once the script produces your output.pdf:

1. Open it in your PDF viewer.

2. Set print settings as follows:

   • Double-sided: ✅ Enabled (Flip on short edge)
   • Orientation: Landscape
   • Scaling: Actual size (no scaling or fit-to-page)
   • Paper size: Letter (8.5" × 11")

3. Print, fold, and staple in the middle — you now have a perfect half-letter pamphlet.

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🧮 Example

For a 14-page input PDF (input.pdf):

• The script pads it to 16 pages (adding 2 blanks)
• Reorders pages into booklet sequence
• Merges pairs of half-pages into 8 full sheets
• Produces output.pdf, ready for duplex booklet printing

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🧩 Example Workflow

# Make a booklet without rotation
uv run pamphletize input.pdf booklet.pdf

# Make a booklet where every second sheet is rotated 180°
uv run pamphletize input.pdf booklet.pdf --flip-back

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✏️ Notes

• Each sheet (8.5"×11") contains two 8.5"×5.5" pages, side by side.
• The resulting PDF is already arranged for booklet printing — no need to select "2 pages per sheet" in your print dialog.
• The --flip-back option is useful for printers that feed pages differently when duplexing (you can try both ways to see which aligns correctly).

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🛠️ Example Output

uv run pamphletize "./assets/input.pdf" "./assets/output.pdf" --flip-back

Input	Output (Printed + Folded)

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🧠 Acknowledgements

• ChatGPT did a majority of the work.

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©️ Licensing

You can copy, translate, modify, and distribute this resource, without restriction, and without needing to ask permission.

This resource is freely given (Matt 10:8) for the sake of the gospel.