Send inside pages as single pages in reading order. The one exception is a perfect bound or hardback cover, which comes as one spread: back, spine, front.
Already exported spreads? Drop the PDF into our free Spread Splitter below and you’ll have single pages back in about a minute, with the 3mm bleed intact.
Split your spreads into single pages
Designed your booklet, zine or magazine as double-page spreads? Drop the PDF in and download single pages in reading order, every one keeping its 3mm bleed. It’s free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
- Nothing is uploaded. The split happens right here in your browser.
- Your artwork stays untouched. No resampling, no flattening, no re-saving.
- Reading order, sorted. Wrap-around cover on spread one? Tick a box and we handle it.
Password-protected PDFs need the password removing first. Big files can take a minute — the page will look busy, that’s normal.
Done — your single pages are ready
Next: keep the spreads file for your own records, and send us the single-page version with your order. Not sure about anything? Get in touch — we check every file before it prints.
Three steps, about a minute
- Drop in your spreads PDFExport it with 3mm bleed on the outside edges. An A4 booklet arrives as 426 × 303mm spreads (width × height).
- Check the previewWe show you exactly where the cut lands. If page 1 is your wrap-around cover, tick the box and the back cover goes last.
- Download and sendYou get one PDF of single pages with full bleed, 216 × 303mm for A4, ready to send with your order.
Why printers need single pages, not spreads
Our press software takes single pages in reading order (page 1, 2, 3…) and arranges them into printer’s pairs for you. A PDF of side-by-side spreads can’t be imposed that way, so we ask for it again as single pages.
- Every page keeps 3mm bleed on all four edges, so colour and images still run cleanly off the trimmed page.
- The middle strip is shared. 6mm down the centre of each spread stays on both new pages as inner bleed, so nothing is lost at the fold.
- Nothing else changes. Images, text and vectors stay exactly as you exported them. We only redraw the page boundaries.
| Finished page, W × H | Your spread with 3mm bleed | Each single page out |
|---|---|---|
| A6 · 105 × 148mm | 216 × 154mm | 111 × 154mm |
| A5 · 148 × 210mm | 302 × 216mm | 154 × 216mm |
| A4 · 210 × 297mm | 426 × 303mm | 216 × 303mm |
| Square · 210 × 210mm | 426 × 216mm | 216 × 216mm |
Three things worth a ten-second check
Fix: A perfect bound cover is the exception. We need back cover, spine and front cover as one piece so the artwork wraps around the book, and the same goes for a hardback cover. Only split the inside pages. Our cover file guide covers the cover.
Fix: The Splitter can’t invent bleed. If your spreads were exported at the finished size with no bleed, we’ll warn you, but we can’t create artwork that isn’t there. Re-export with 3mm bleed on the outside edges, then drop the new PDF in.
Fix: A protected PDF can’t be read in the browser, so the Splitter will stop and tell you. Remove the password, save a copy and try again.
Exporting again? Skip the spreads at source
Design in facing pages if that’s how you like to work. Seeing two pages side by side is the best way to judge a layout. You only need to change one setting when you export.
- File → Export → Adobe PDF (Print).
- Under Pages, choose Pages, not Spreads.
- Under Marks and Bleeds, tick Use Document Bleed Settings, with 3mm all round.
- File → Export → PDF.
- Set Area to All Pages rather than All Spreads.
- Tick Include bleed.
For stapled booklets and zines, page 1 of the PDF is your front cover and the last page is your back cover, with everything between in the order you’d read it. The full walkthrough is in our File Set Up Guide, and the Artwork Hub has the short video version.
Spread Splitter questions
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The split runs entirely in your browser, so your file never leaves your computer. We only see it when you choose to send it with your order.
Will splitting reduce the print quality?
No. Nothing is resampled, flattened or re-saved. The Splitter only redraws each page’s boundaries, so your images, text and vectors stay exactly as you exported them.
My first spread is the back and front cover. What do I do?
Tick “Page 1 is my wrap-around cover” before you split. The front cover becomes page 1 and the back cover moves to the very end, which is reading order for the press.
What if some of my pages are already single?
They’re left exactly as they are and kept in order. Only the double-width pages are split.
How big a file can it handle?
Anything your browser can open. We tested it on a real 28-spread, 20MB magazine and had 56 single pages back in seconds. Very large files can take a minute, and the page may look busy while it works. That’s normal.
Single pages sorted. Let’s get it printed.
Send the new PDF with your order and a real person checks it, free, before anything goes to press.
