CorelDRAW Help | Imposition layouts

Imposition layouts

Working with imposition layouts lets you print more than one page of a document on each sheet of paper. You can choose a preset imposition layout to create documents such as magazines and books to print on a commercial printing press; produce documents that involve cutting or folding, such as mailing labels, business cards, pamphlets, or greeting cards; or print multiple thumbnails of a document on one page. You can also edit a preset imposition layout to create your own layout.

You can select a binding method by choosing from three preset binding methods, or you can customize a binding method. When you choose a preset binding method, all but the first signature are automatically arranged.

You can arrange pages on a signature manually or automatically. When you arrange the pages automatically, you can choose the angle of the image. If you have more than one page across or down, you can specify the size of gutters between pages; for example, you can choose the automatic gutter spacing option, which sizes gutters so that the document’s pages fill the entire available space in the layout.

When printing on a desktop printer, you can adjust the margins to accommodate the non-printable area of a page. If the margin is smaller than the non-printable area, the edges of some pages or some printers’ marks may be clipped by your printer.

To choose a preset imposition layout

1 Click File

Imposition Tools.

2 Click the Imposition tab.

3 Choose an imposition layout from the Presets list box.

The layout you choose does not affect the original document, only the way it is printed.

To edit an imposition layout

1 Click File

Imposition Tools.

2 Click the Imposition tab.

3 Choose an imposition layout from the Presets list box.

4 Edit any imposition layout settings.

5 Choose Save Current Settings as Preset from the Presets list box.

6 Click OK.

To select a binding method

1 Click File

Imposition Tools.

2 Click the Imposition tab.

3 Choose General Settings from list box below the Presets list box.

4 Type values in the Pages Across and Pages Down boxes.

If you want the page to be double-sided, enable the Double-sided check box.

5 Choose one of the following binding methods from the Binding list box:

• Perfect binding — cuts apart individual pages and glues them at the spine

• Saddle stitch — folds pages and inserts them into one another

• Collate and cut — collates and stacks all signatures together

• Custom binding — lets you arrange the pages that are printed in each signature

If you choose either Saddle stitch or Custom binding, type a value in the corresponding box.

To arrange pages

1 Click File

Imposition Tools.

2 Click the Imposition tab.

3 Choose Page Placement from list box below the Presets list box.

4 Choose one of the following from the Order list box:

• Automatic — automatically arranges the pages on a signature

• Sequential — arranges the pages from left to right and top to bottom

• Cloned — places the working page in each frame of the printable page

• Manual — lets you manually place the pages

If you want to arrange the page numbering manually, click on the page and specify the page number in the sequence number box.

5 Choose an angle from the Rotate list box.

To edit gutters

1 Click File

Imposition Tools.

2 Click the Imposition tab.

3 Choose Gutters and Finishing from list box below the Presets list box.

4 Choose one of the following from the Gutters list box.

• Automatic — sizes gutters so that the document’s pages fill the entire available space in the layout

• Equal — lets you set equal horizontal and vertical gutters

• Manual — lets you manually adjust gutters in the print preview window

5 Choose one of the following from the Finish list box.

• Cut — places cut marks between pages

• Fold — places fold marks between pages

If you choose the Equal gutter option, you must specify a value in the Size box.

You can edit the gutters only if you’ve selected an imposition layout with two or more pages across and down.

To adjust margins

1 Click File

Imposition Tools.

2 Click the Imposition tab.

3 Choose Margins from list box below the Presets list box.

4 Choose one of the following from the Type list box.

• Automatic — sets the margins automatically

• Equal — lets you make the right margin equal to the left one, and the bottom margin equal to the top one

• Manual — lets you manually adjust margins in the print preview window

If you click the Equal margins button, you must specify values in the Top/left margin boxes.

If you choose the Equal margins option, you must specify values in the Top and Left boxes. If you choose the Manual margins option, you must specify values in the Top, Bottom, Right, and Left boxes.

When preparing a job for a commercial press, the print service provider may request minimum margin sizes, such as for page grippers and printers’ marks.