pdfMB

Multiple pages per sheet

Put 2, 4, 6, 9 or 16 pages of a PDF on each sheet, to print handouts or save paper. Text stays sharp and searchable. Your file stays on this device.

  • No uploadYour file stays on this device.
  • Your original stays as it isYou download a new copy. Your file is never changed.
  • Free, no sign-upNo account and no daily limit.

What happens to your file

Everything below happens inside your browser, on your own device. The PDF is never uploaded, so nobody else, including us, can see it.

  1. pdfMB reads the size, the visible area and the rotation of every page.
  2. Each page is wrapped, as it is, into a reusable block of drawing instructions. Nothing is turned into a picture, so text, lines and fonts stay as sharp as in the original.
  3. pdfMB works out the sheet size, orientation and grid that make the pages as large as possible, unless you choose them yourself. Each page is scaled to fit its place without being stretched.
  4. Links are moved with their pages, and links and bookmarks that went to a page now go to the sheet that page is on.
  5. Comments and filled-in form fields are drawn onto the sheet as they look, because a form field can’t be shrunk with its page.
  6. The new file is saved, and the old pages and anything only they used are removed, so the file doesn’t carry a hidden copy.
In short
  1. Choose a PDF
  2. Pick how many pages per sheet
  3. Check the preview
  4. Download the new PDF

How to put several PDF pages on one sheet

  1. Choose a PDF or drop it on the box. pdfMB shows how the first sheet will look.
  2. Pick 2, 4, 6, 9 or 16 pages per sheet. The preview and the number of sheets change straight away.
  3. If you need to, choose the paper size, orientation, page order, the space around pages and lines around each page.
  4. Press the button and download the new PDF, then print it as usual at actual size.

When people use it

Lecture notes and handouts

Print slides 4, 6 or 9 to a page and keep room for notes.

Saving paper

A 40-page document printed 4 pages per sheet, on both sides, needs only 5 sheets of paper.

Reading on a big screen

See two pages side by side, like an open book.

Checking a long document

Look over the layout of many pages at once before printing all of them.

What it can’t do

  • Form fields can’t be filled in or changed any more. Fill in the form first, then arrange the pages.
  • Text gets smaller. At 9 or 16 pages per sheet, small text may be hard to read on paper.
  • Pages of different sizes are each scaled to fit their place, so they may end up at different scales.
  • Accessibility tags and page labels are not kept, because they describe the old page layout.
  • A digital signature in the file stops being valid, because the file changes.
  • Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first.

Questions about multiple pages per sheet

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. The pages are arranged inside your browser, and the file never leaves your device.

Will the text become blurry?

No. Pages are not turned into pictures. They keep their text and lines, so they stay sharp at any zoom and the text can still be searched and copied.

How does pdfMB choose the layout?

With “Best fit”, it tries portrait and landscape sheets and every grid for the number you chose, and picks the one where the pages are largest.

Can I put pages right to left?

Yes. Choose “Right to left, then down” for documents in Arabic, Hebrew and other right-to-left languages.

Do links and bookmarks still work?

Yes. Links move with their pages, and links and bookmarks that went to a page now open the sheet that page is on.

How do I print it?

Print the new PDF at actual size, or “fit to page”, with one page per sheet in the print settings. The pages are already arranged.