Preview booklet printing

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to use the Preview and Summary areas to review printer spreads and verify settings before printing in Adobe InDesign.

The Print Booklet dialog box provides visual confirmation and detailed summaries of your imposition settings before you commit to printing. Use these tools to catch potential issues and verify that printer spreads, marks, and layout match your expectations.

These preview and summary functions help you verify the booklet setup without wasting paper or time. Use them after configuring your imposition settings in the Print Booklet dialog box, but before selecting Print. The Preview area shows actual printer spreads with applied marks. The Summary area lists all current settings and flags any conflicts.

Preview printer spreads visually

Choose File > Print Booklet.

Configure your imposition settings (Booklet Type, Page Range, Margins, and Creep) as needed.

Select Preview from the left side of the Print Booklet dialog box.

Review the color thumbnail of the current printer spread, including any printer's marks you specified in the Print dialog box. Areas indicated in red will not fit in the current paper size selection.

Use the scroll arrows below the preview to move forward or backward through printer spreads or drag the scroll box to jump to a specific spread.

Tip

If you modify settings by selecting the Print Settings button and changing options in the Print dialog box, the Preview area updates immediately to reflect those changes. Settings include printer paper size and crop marks.

View a summary of booklet settings

Choose File > Print Booklet.

Select Summary from the left side of the Print Booklet dialog box.

Review the list of current booklet settings, including booklet type, page range, signature size, margins, and printer configuration.

Check the bottom of the Summary area for any conflicting settings or warnings that could affect output quality. The Summary area consolidates settings from both the Print Booklet dialog box and the Print dialog box, giving you a complete view of how your document will be processed.