InDesign Print Booklet and the problem with distilling postscript files

Check out the last two resources located at the bottom of this page:

https://trainingonsite.com/useful-resources/adobe-indesign/indesign-2026-resources.html

One is the PPD. The other is missing joboptions for Acrobat on macOS.

This is a GREATLY OVERLOOKED issue. What is everyone using as a workaround?...Is there a script...

Also, as others have noted, imposition should be handled by the printer, but if you really need simple 2-up impositions that imitate InDesign’s Print Booklet, try this imposition script. The export can be to any PDF preset

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2wjwe13fsrw9iszebo15e/h?rlkey=nwt5o3uex31fgra7oj15qvs7z&e=1&dl=0

Hi ​@SCA LLC , You need to install the Adobe PDF 9.0 ppd in your InDesign Presets folder: 

Applications/Adobe InDesign 202X/Presets/PPDs/ADPDF9.PPD

(the PPDs folder is case sensitive)

You can get it here (unzip the .zip file):

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/fhnvventjc7vxpzzmft5f/AKwgMb_SlYYf5JUfSfpr2nk?rlkey=e7ruj0dh52vvwku98mqbmbqen&e=1&dl=0

Then set the Printer to Postscript File with the PPD set to Adobe PDF 9.0. This capture is from InDesign 2025, but it should also still work with 2026

Although imposition is the printer’s responsibility, I have worked with many print providers who have requested 2 page printer spreads and have complied.

As for Indesign’s print booklet lacking the ability to export directly to PDF, you can post a feature request.

There are some third party Acrobat Plugins that can make booklets saved as PDF, one is BookletCreator.

“Adobe quietly stopped supporting the stand-alone distiller app”

Prepress guy here….I can tell you that Distiller works just fine, and is updated along with Acrobat.

Regardless, any COMPETENT printer will want single page PDFs. Any that ask YOU to impose them should be a warning to their abilities. (Also, you should never send reader’s spreads for print … only do that for possible viewing purposes onscreen)

What exactly are the errors? Are you using the Adobe PDF 9.0.ppd? If not, what?

Here are the drawbacks to using the PS>Distill approach:

Postscript Level 3 (the latest) cannot handle transparency effects and color management that are written in PDF v17 code so all such incompatible effects are flattened. Although this isn’t necessarily bad, this can lead to output issues and errors in colour rendering, especially on RIPs that are tuned for dealing with pure PDF.

All that being said, there’s nothing wrong with using Booklet Printing as long as you are aware of the deficiencies involved. If you want me to review your exact process, I can give you some suggestions.

Ever since the Printers I’ve worked with switched from film separations to a fully-digital workflow, every one of them has asked for either individual PDFs or one PDF containing multiple pages, depending on which system they’re using. Generally, it’s a case of uploading the PDF(s) via their portal and then either assigning the individual PDFs to each page or assigning a multi-page PDF to its first page and letting the system flow the rest onto the subsequent pages.

There was a time, back in the day, that I larked about with imposition purely for the purpose of making proofs of smaller jobs (32pg max) internally, but it’s never been requested of me by external suppliers.

I’m curious to know the context in which you need to deal with imposition yourself, prior to supplying your PDFs to a Printer.

I agree with ​@BobLevine --imposition is best left to the printer.

However, if you are using InDesign, do you have the entire Creative Cloud? If so, Acrobat Pro still includes Distiller. Not as programmable as the stand-alone version but it works. (Unless you are referring to the server version discontinued on 2013.)

Workaround? Use a competent printer that knows how to impose pages.