Exporting PDF from A4 document to create A3 PDF in InDesign

Using a Mac (OSX 13.0.1) and InDesign v18 with an even set of A4 pages.

Open System Preferences and create an IP printer

• Address: localhost
• Use: Generic PCL Printer

Click past the errors, it should go green.

Restart InDesign to pickup the new printer.

Open your file.

Menu -> File -> Print Booklet

• Pages: All
• Booklet Type: 2-up Saddle Stitch

Press "Print Settings"

• Printer: PostScript File
• PPD: Generic PCL Laser Printer

     Select "Setup" in side menu

•        Paper Size: A3
•        Orientation: Landscape
•        Options: Scale to Fit

     Select "Ouput" in side menu

•      Color: Composite CMYK

  Press"OK"

  Select "Preview" in side menu to check

  Press "Print" to make the PS file.

Open the PS file using Acrobat Distiller, it will turn the PS file into a PDF file.

You can place InDesign documents the same way you can place an image. So you could make a new A3 doc, place the A4 doc’s page or pages, scale, and Export the A3 doc. If there are not many pages it would be fairly easy to do, otherwise it could be scripted

Or: You could export to PDF/X-4 with no downsampling image data.

Place and scale the exported PDF on a A3 page and export again.

If you need the same amout of bleed see that you increase the bleed in your A4 version of the InDesign document by the factor of 420/297.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

if you want to print an A4 document in A3 format you can do it simply from Acrobat

Print > Page Setup... (choose A3)> tick "Fit" > print

If you want to make A3 pdf from A4 you can do it from Acrobat pro

Tools > Print Production > Preflight > choose "resize pages to specified size" (perhaps in English it has a different name)

To make a PDF from InDesign you should never print, ever... only export. This, however, has no scaling option.