Laying out a book for Tête-bêche binding

[droog655321]

I'm looking to create book like the old Ace Doubles Science Fiction paperbacks, where there are two front covers and each book is upside-down with pages in reverse order from the other. It's reversing the pages that's the problem. Can't do it automatically in Acrobat as they've removed the Reverse Pages optuion from their Action Wizard. Is there a way to do it in InDesign?

[Joel Cherney]

Well, this post sure brings back some fond memories! Haven't seen an Ace Double in a decade or three.

I can think of a few ways to pull this off. The easiest for you, I think, would be to use the Multipageimporter.jsx script. Take a look at the interface:

Seems to me that if you have two 100-page SF novellas, you'd typeset the first one as normal in its own InDesign file, then add one hundred blank pages. Then set up your second novella in a separate InDesign file. Then place the second novella on p101-200 of the first file, while reversing page order and rotating 180 degrees. 

If that doesn't work for you, I have two other options in mind that might work just as well, just with a bit more manual layout work. 

[droog655321]

Thanks for your reply. The easiest thing might be to layout both books separately, where one of them is reverse ordered then create two PDFs. In Acrobat take the reverse-ordered pdf and rotate 180 degrees, then merge the PDFs into one file. I have to admit that I know next to nothing about using scripts. I've been using InDesign for twenty years and do everything manually. Just used to doing that. Still, I would appreciate some instruction as to this script, installing it, etc., as I am a babe in the woods with this stuff, and it appears that this is the only way to accomplish my task. Thanks again!

[Joel Cherney]

The easiest thing might be to layout both books separately, where one of them is reverse ordered then create two PDFs.

Yep, you could do it that way. I'd make a reverse-ordered file by starting a right-to-left document, which I can do because I have the North African/Middle Eastern version of InDesign installed. If you don't, then it'd probably be equally as fast to teach you to install and use that script than it would be for you to install the Arabic version of InDesign (with English interface) for your backwards file. 

Other options exist... for example, if you'd rather do everything manually, then you could lay out both books normally in InDesign, and then your reversed-book could have each frame rotated by 180 degrees, and then when you went to export your PDF for merging in Acrobat, you could export your pages in reverse order:

That creates a backwards PDF for your merge in Acrobat. 

But, if you wanted to use the script, here are the basic steps:

1) Download that script from Github

2) In Indesign, open up your Scripts panel Window -> Utilities -> Scripts

3) In your Scripts panel, find you User scripts, then right-click and choose "Show in Explorer" (or I suppose "Finder" if you're on a Mac)

4) That will spawn a window. You can drag the .jsx file you downloaded and drop it into the Scripts Panel folder.

5) Then, you make your two normal novella-INDD-files and use the importer script to import one into the other, with page order reversed and 180 degree rotation.

[droog655321]

Joel, thanks for the instructions I was able to download and install the script smoothly. Using it is another matter. I tried the script but nothing happened. Pages remained blank. My version of InDesign is 18.5 and I'm on a Mac with Ventura, so I don't know if the script is too old and might be incompatible. What do you think?

[droog655321]

Joel, I figured it out. Thanks for all your help. The script worked like a charm. It just needed to be a separate document. So, I can still do two INDD files, two PDFs, then merge them and, voila!

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Two separate INDD files, then combining PDFs - either in InDesign or Acrobat. 

[droog655321]

Unfortunately, that appears to be PC only.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

If you are referring to ID-Tasker - yes, it's PC only. Unfortunately, JavaScript will never be able to offer such advanced functionality. Even plugins can't get much closer. 

[Julie22739175tz80]

I tried this (merging pdfs) but when i upload the combined to Blurb, it flips the now- upside down pages back upright. Maddening. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I haven't used Blurb but have used several other print vendors. They typically want only a linear page file, not facing pages, spreads, booklet-order or with any pages turned or inverted. In nearly all commercial printing, it's the printer (guy in a grimy hat, and machine) that do the imposition to page order for binding. Read their file submission guidelines carefully.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I lean towards your method of creating two files, then merging them. Doing it all in one ID file is... so convoluted.

You might want to find a printer or service bureau before committing too much work to these. Many, including KDP, won't accept or work with nonstandard layouts. I've seen many anguished wails from people who wanted to do it as a KDP paperback and were blocked.

But yeah, I'm with Joel... nothin' like the old Ace doubles. I have  few here. Dell 10-centers, too. 🙂

[droog655321]

James, I'll be working with IngramSpark, if I go this route. I've emailed asking them if they will do this. My worry is that their preflight AI will think it's an error and reject it. Assuming that's not the case, the other worry is that they will accidentally flip the covers when gluing them and I end up with both books having the wrong cover. We shall see.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Hopefully, if you speak to humans - they'll be able to override poorly configured A.I. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Ingram is not as bad as KDP — frankly, I don't think anything could be — but I have a collection of vague memories that this specific printing issue is verboten/just plain impossible/no you can't make us do it with most of the book services. It confuses their AI and their processes and they don't want the hassle or having to eat bad print copies.

I can't find any confirmation either way. Be sure you get an absolute YES from someone authorized to give it, and any special instructions such as how to handle the (usually mandatory) ISBN barcode on the "rear" cover. And good luck.

[droog655321]

You bring up another interesting point. Which title does that ISBN cover, as I don't think you can have two titles on one ISBN. Thus, you would have to have that ugly barcode on BOTH covers. Something the ACE Doubles didn't have to deal with.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Probably not a problem. Think of multi book collections; they can be issued under a single ISBN.