How to Make an A5 Booklet in Word: Setup and Print

To make an A5 booklet in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, open Layout > Margins > Custom Margins, set Multiple pages to Book fold, and choose A4 as the paper size. Word arranges two A5 pages on each side of an A4 sheet; print the sheets double-sided, flip on the short edge, then fold and assemble them.

How Word’s booklet layout works

A finished A5 page measures about 148 × 210 mm. Two A5 pages fit side by side on an A4 sheet, which measures 210 × 297 mm. Word’s Book fold setting handles the layout: it places pages in the order needed for folding, rather than simply printing page 1 beside page 2. For instance, the first side of the outer sheet may contain the last page and the cover, while an inside sheet contains pages that belong together in the middle of the booklet.

This rearrangement is called imposition. You normally write and edit the document in its ordinary reading order—page 1, page 2, page 3—and let Word impose the pages for printing. Do not manually move the last page beside the cover in the document; that would make the on-screen reading order confusing and can cause the printed booklet to be wrong.

The intended result depends on the paper size you choose. For a standard A5 booklet printed on A4 sheets, select A4 in the paper-size settings. Choosing A5 instead would give the printer a smaller sheet to work with, so it would not produce the same full-size A5 pages.

Prepare the document before changing layout

It is easier to set up the booklet before adding lots of text and images. If you already have a document, save a separate copy before changing its page setup. Book fold changes page orientation and pagination, so existing page breaks, tables, headers, and images may move. A copy lets you compare the original if the reflow is difficult to undo.

Decide the physical format and how it will be bound. A simple folded booklet is usually stapled along the crease, while a thicker booklet may need more room at the inner edge so text does not disappear into the fold. Also confirm that the printer can handle A4 paper and double-sided printing, or decide whether you will print one side at a time.

Collect final text and images, and check that you have permission to use any material you did not create.
Decide whether the booklet needs a cover, contents page, page numbers, or intentionally blank pages.
Check whether the printer supports automatic duplex printing and whether it can print close enough to the paper edges for your design.

Set up Book fold in Word for Windows

Open the document and select the Layout tab.
Choose Margins > Custom Margins to open the Page Setup dialog box.
On the Margins tab, set Multiple pages to Book fold. Word changes the orientation to landscape because each sheet holds two pages side by side.
Set the paper size to A4 on the Paper tab. If you do not see A4, check the printer or document settings and choose the correct available paper size before printing.
Review the margins and Gutter setting. The gutter provides extra space near the fold or binding; increase it if text would otherwise sit too close to the inner edge.
Select OK, then inspect the pages and adjust the layout as needed.

The labels can vary slightly across Word releases and dialog layouts, but the key controls are Custom Margins, Multiple pages, Book fold, and the A4 paper size. In current Word for Mac, use Layout > Margins > Custom Margins and look for Book fold under the multiple-page options. The Page Setup dialog and printer controls may look different on a Mac, and the final duplex choices often appear in the macOS print dialog.

Choose margins and format the pages

Book fold sets up the two-page spread, but it does not design the contents for you. Use readable type, consistent headings, and enough space around the text. Keep important text and logos away from the fold and from the outer edges, where printer limitations or trimming can cut them off. The amount of safe space depends on the printer and how the booklet will be finished, so print a sample rather than relying on the on-screen view alone.

Use the Gutter control for binding room rather than making every margin extremely large. A thin folded sheet may need little extra space; a thick stack or a binding method that consumes space may need more. Word’s margins are not a guarantee that every printer can reproduce the whole page: many home printers have non-printable borders. If your design has color or images reaching the edge, check whether the printer supports borderless printing on the selected paper size.

Add page numbers using Insert > Page Number. Word will place them on the document pages and arrange those pages for booklet printing. Check that the number position makes sense on left- and right-hand pages; a centered footer is a straightforward choice for a basic booklet. For more polished layouts, use different odd and even page headers or footers if the design calls for them, then inspect the printed proof to confirm the result.

Plan page count and page order

A folded sheet contributes four booklet pages: two on the front and two on the back. For that reason, booklet page totals are naturally grouped in fours. A 12-page booklet uses three sheets; a 16-page booklet uses four. If your content ends on page 13, plan how the remaining positions should look. They might be blank, or you might use them for acknowledgments, contact details, or other appropriate material.

Word handles the page imposition when Book fold is active, so keep the content in normal reading order. Use a page break when a new section must start on a new page, rather than adding repeated blank lines to push text downward. Avoid adding blank pages without checking Print Preview: a blank page inserted in the wrong place changes the final page count and can shift which content appears together on a sheet.

Use File > Print to inspect the preview before producing the whole run. Look at the page pairs and confirm the cover, final page, and any planned blanks are where you expect. The preview is useful for spotting overflow and misplaced content, but it cannot fully show how a particular printer will feed and turn the paper.

Print and fold the booklet

When the preview is correct, load A4 paper and choose File > Print. Select the printer and confirm that the paper size is A4. If the printer supports automatic two-sided printing, choose the duplex option that flips on the short edge. Printer drivers use different wording, so check the preview or driver help if the choices are unclear. A wrong flip direction can make the back of the sheet upside down relative to the front.

Print one copy first. Fold the sheets in half and check whether the pages read in order, whether the front and back covers are correct, and whether the text is upright on both sides. If the printer does not have automatic duplex, use Word’s manual two-sided option if available, or print one side and then reinsert the sheets. Paper-feed direction differs by printer, so test a single sheet and mark one corner lightly before printing a full set.

After printing, keep the sheets in their output order, align their edges, and fold them together along the center. A thin booklet can often be stapled through the fold. For thicker booklets, the inner pages may extend slightly beyond the outer pages after folding; this is called creep. If the booklet needs accurate trimming or a professional finish, allow for that in the design and finishing process.

Common problems and how to fix them

The booklet prints at the wrong size: Confirm that the document and printer are set to A4 paper, and that the printer is not scaling the job to another paper size. The intended finished page is half the sheet, not a separate A5 sheet printed as-is.
The back side is upside down: Try the other duplex flip option after printing a marked test sheet. Booklet layouts typically need flip on short edge, but driver settings and feed direction can affect the result.
Pages appear out of order: Do not manually rearrange the document. Confirm Book fold is still selected, then inspect File > Print. If printing through a separate PDF or printer application, make sure you have not also enabled a second booklet or imposition setting.
Text is too close to the fold: Increase the gutter or adjust the layout, then review the affected pages. A larger gutter can reduce the width available for text, so check for lines or tables that reflow.
Images or text are clipped: Move important content inward and print another proof. Many printers cannot print to the edge, even when the Word page itself has no margin.
Blank pages appear: Check for extra page breaks, section breaks, or a page count that leaves unused positions in the final folded sheet. Some blank positions are expected; decide whether to leave them empty or use them intentionally.

When to use another workflow

Word’s Book fold option is convenient for a short, straightforward booklet that you will print yourself. It is not always the best tool for a complex publication with many pages, mixed paper sizes, precise bleed, special binding, or professional print-shop requirements. In those cases, ask the printer what file format and imposition they need. Often you should send a normal, single-page-per-page PDF and let the print provider impose it, rather than submitting already imposed spreads.

If Word is not available, you can create an A5 document and export it as a PDF, but putting two pages on each sheet is a separate print-layout task. The print dialog or a PDF application may offer booklet printing, though the exact controls depend on the software and printer. Do not apply booklet printing both in Word and again in the PDF or printer software, because double imposition can produce incorrectly ordered or reduced pages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make an A5 booklet from A4 paper in Word?
Yes. Set Book fold in Custom Margins and choose A4 as the sheet size. Word lays out two A5-sized pages on each side of the sheet, which you fold to make the booklet.

Do I need to rearrange the pages manually?
No. Keep pages in normal reading order and let Book fold impose them for printing. Manually moving pages into sheet order is a common cause of an out-of-sequence booklet.

How many pages should an A5 booklet have?
Each folded sheet provides four page positions, so totals divisible by four fit naturally. If the content does not fill the last positions, you can leave them blank or plan suitable extra material.

Which way should I flip the paper for double-sided printing?
For a typical landscape booklet sheet, choose flip on short edge. Printer drivers differ, so print and fold one test sheet to confirm that both sides are upright and correctly oriented.

Can I print an A5 booklet on a printer without duplex?
Usually, yes, by printing one side at a time and reinserting the paper, but the correct feed direction depends on the printer. Test a single marked sheet before printing the whole booklet.

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