PDF Export of a magazine with upside down pages

Just to clarify the incorrect nomenclature that I gave earlier. While I'd always known the product as a "verso" book, this is the incorrect term (verso is a different printing term that refers to the left hand page of a book in western culture) and I believe the correct term is called tête-bêche (fr - head to tail).

Source: ABC-CLIO > ODLIS > odlis_T

I've thought of another way. It involves having three InDesign documents - one for "book one", and one for "book two" set out as regular facing page documents, and the last document is the one that becomes the "verso" book.

In the last document, you will need to have the following script: https://indesignsecrets.com/zanelli-releases-multipageimporter-for-importing-both-pdf-and-indd-files.php  - run it once and import the first indesign file using the script:

Then, when importing the second document that needs to be in reverse order and rotated, run the script again and import the second indesign file with the following settings:

I've started on page 25 because the previous import was 24pp. If your first document is a lower page count, adjust this figure accordingly.

After running the script a second time, you will now have an indesign file that has the two indesign files placed into it in the correct order for a "verso" book.

Can you tell us about the page numbering? If it’s 1-12 right side up and again 1-12 upside down as these things usually are, that would account for the out-of-sequence. Can we see your Pages panel and can you tell us how you numbered the pages?

I'd take Rob Day's approach, but have two InDesign documents - one for "book one", and one for "book two" set out as regular facing page documents, and then make PDFs of both titles.

On only one of the PDFs, the page order needs to be reversed and the pages rotated 180 degrees. The rotation part can be done in Acrobat as it ships, but easily reversing the page order (in my case) is done using a free add-in to Acrobat that adds two functions to the edit menu - collate and reverse. It can be found here - Re: How can I merge even and odd pages of a PDF?  (it is post 8).

From here, use the combine PDFs feature in Acrobat to combine both PDFs together.

My work calls these kinds of books "verso" books, though I'm sure there is a proper term for this kind of book. I've used this technique to create several "verso" books successfully.

Is this going to be commercially printed and have you talked to the printer? Normally the rotation can be done in the imposition/binding process and you shouldn't have to do anything.

I’m guessing this isn’t actually anything to do with imposition, but rather “two magazines in one” where the reader can flip over the printed magazine and get a  ew front cover and (half) contents. Like the old “Ace Doubles” paperbacks.

I see see no obstacle to doing this (except neck ache), making up a 24 page design with pages 13-24 upside down In InDesign and on screen. This should work, and export as you wish. since it doesn’t work for you, please tell us

- your InDesign version

- how the work is prepared in Indesign (what you have at the time of export)

- how you export, with settings

Why not build the upside down pages as a separate PDF and merge the pages together in Acrobat. Or else give special handling instructions to the commercial printer.