N-up PDF for More Pages on One Sheet
How many pages fit on one sheet, and how small do they get?
Place several PDF pages on a single sheet with a 2-up, 4-up, 6-up, 8-up, 9-up or 16-up layout. Choose the reading order and source pages to create compact handouts or contact sheets. Check the reduced text size at the intended paper size. Use Booklet for folded signatures, where pages need a different arrangement for binding.
Cost: Free to use. File size and usage limits apply.
- Input
- 8 PDF pages
- Setting
- 4 pages per sheet
- Output
- 2 sheets with 4 pages each
Check the page order and text size at the intended print scale before printing multiple copies.
How to create an N-up PDF
Add one PDF
Click Choose PDF or drop a file onto the preview. One PDF of up to 200 MB is processed per job. PDFs you already uploaded in other tools are listed under Uploads.
Choose how many pages go on a sheet
Set Pages per sheet to 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12 or 16. The default is 4.
Describe the paper you print on
Paper size and Orientation define the output sheet, not your source pages. Pages are scaled to fit and turned 90° when that gives them more room.
Fine-tune order, spacing and pages
Change Layout order if pages should fill columns or run right to left. Set Margin (pt) for more space around each page, and enter a range in Pages (optional) to use only part of the document.
Create, check, download
Click Create N-up PDF. The finished file replaces the preview, so you can check order and text size before you click Download N-up PDF. It also appears in Uploads for use in other PDF tools.
Grid and page size for each setting
Grids are given as columns × rows. Percentages are the approximate scale of A4 pages on an A4 sheet with the default margin. For portrait pages, 2, 3 and 8 stay upright on a Landscape sheet, while 4, 9, 12 and 16 stay upright on a Portrait sheet. Landscape pages such as slides behave the other way round.
- 2 per sheet
- Portrait sheet: 1 × 2, pages turned 90°. Landscape sheet: 2 × 1, upright. About 70%.
- 3 per sheet
- Portrait sheet: 1 × 3, turned. Landscape sheet: 3 × 1, upright. About 46%.
- 4 per sheet
- 2 × 2, upright on a Portrait sheet. About 49%.
- 8 per sheet
- Portrait sheet: 2 × 4, turned. Landscape sheet: 4 × 2, upright. About 34%.
- 9 per sheet
- 3 × 3, upright on a Portrait sheet. About 32%.
- 12 per sheet
- Portrait sheet: 3 × 4, upright. Landscape sheet: 4 × 3, turned. About 24%.
- 16 per sheet
- 4 × 4, upright on a Portrait sheet. About 24%.
Settings explained
- Pages per sheet
- More pages per sheet saves paper but makes the content smaller. For A4 portrait documents on A4 paper, 3 per sheet prints pages slightly smaller than 4, and 12 is barely larger than 16. Compare the grid shapes above and check whether your smallest text is still readable before choosing a dense layout.
- Paper size
- A4 (default), Letter, Legal, A3 or A5. This is the size of every output sheet, regardless of the size of your original pages. The grid stays the same on a larger sheet, so on A3 each page prints about 1.4 times larger than on A4.
- Orientation
- Portrait (default) or Landscape, applied to the output sheet. It decides whether the grid is taller or wider, and therefore whether your pages are placed upright or turned.
- Layout order
- Row down (default) fills each row from left to right, then moves down: 1 2 / 3 4. Down row fills each column from top to bottom, starting on the left: 1 3 / 2 4. Left down fills rows from right to left: 2 1 / 4 3. Down left fills columns from top to bottom, starting on the right: 3 1 / 4 2. The right-to-left options suit documents in right-to-left scripts.
- Margin (pt)
- Space around each page inside its cell, in points (1 pt = 1/72 inch, about 0.35 mm). Accepts 0 pt or more; the input arrows move in steps of 0.5 pt, and the server uses two decimal places. Leave it empty for the default of 3 pt, or enter
0for no extra space. Neighbouring pages are at least twice the margin value apart. Larger margins leave less room for content. Check the print preview against your printer's printable area; a 12 pt margin is about 4.2 mm. - Pages (optional)
- Single pages and ranges separated by commas, for example
1-3,5. Leave it empty to use all pages. Pages are always placed in their original document order, and a page listed twice is used once. To change the order first, use Reorder PDF.
Worked example: a 30-page handout
Take a 30-page A4 document set in 11 pt text, with Margin (pt) left empty. With Pages per sheet at 4 on a Portrait A4 sheet, you get 8 output pages: seven full ones and a last page with 2 source pages and 2 empty cells. The text prints at about 5.4 pt. Printed double-sided, that uses 4 physical sheets of paper.
If 5.4 pt is too small, choose 2 per sheet on a Landscape A4 sheet: 15 output pages, with text at about 7.7 pt. Or keep 4 per sheet and switch Paper size to A3: still 8 output pages, with text at about 7.7 pt. Check a sample page at the intended print size before printing the whole document.
16 per sheet fits all 30 pages on 2 output pages, but the text drops to about 2.6 pt. Use this for a visual overview of slides or layouts rather than a handout that people need to read.
Formats and limits
- Input format
- Output format
- One PDF with several source pages per output page. Existing text and vector graphics are reused; the pages are not converted to images.
- Maximum file size
- 200 MB
- Files per job
- 1 PDF
- Password-protected PDFs
- PDFs that only restrict editing or printing work. A PDF that asks for a password when opened must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.
- Document properties
- Title and author are kept; the Producer entry is updated.
- Processing
- On our servers with the pdfcpu PDF library. A job can run for up to 15 minutes. No external or AI service is involved.
- Watermark
- None. The only addition is a thin frame around each placed page.
- Storage
- Uploads and results are deleted automatically after 48 hours for guests and after 30 days for free accounts. Paid plans can keep files longer.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my pages turned sideways?
Each page is turned 90° when that lets it fill its cell better. Portrait pages are turned with 2, 3 or 8 per sheet on a Portrait sheet, and with 4, 9, 12 or 16 on a Landscape sheet. Switch Orientation to place them upright.
Can I put 6 pages on one sheet?
6 is not one of the N-up values. For a layout of 2 columns and 3 rows, use PDF Grid, where you enter the number of rows and columns yourself.
Will the file get bigger or lose quality?
The pages are not converted to images: existing vector content and text are reused at a smaller printed size. Text that was selectable remains text; text in a scan remains part of the image. Small print can become hard to read even though the underlying content is preserved. File size can increase or decrease when the PDF is rewritten, so fewer output pages do not guarantee fewer MB.
Why is there a thin line around every page?
Each placed page gets a 0.1 pt frame. It marks where one page ends and the next begins, and gives you a guide if you cut the sheet apart. Empty cells on the last sheet have no frame.
Is this the same as making a booklet?
No. N-up keeps the reading order on each side of the sheet. For a folded booklet, pages have to be rearranged so they read in order after folding and binding. Use PDF Booklet for that.