Flip on short edge or long edge?
The edge to flip on is the edge the pages are bound on. Pick what you are printing.
Flip on: short edge. The fold runs across the middle of the sheet, parallel to its short edges, so the sheet turns over about a short edge.
All five cases
| What you are printing | Flip on | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An A5 booklet on A4: two pages side by side on a sheet turned sideways | Short edge | The fold runs across the middle of the sheet, parallel to its short edges, so the sheet turns over about a short edge. |
| Upright pages that turn like a book, bound down the left | Long edge | The binding is the long left-hand edge, so the sheet turns over about a long edge. |
| Upright pages that turn like a notepad or wall calendar, bound at the top | Short edge | The binding is the short top edge. |
| Sideways pages, such as slides, that turn like a book, bound at the left | Short edge | On a sideways page the left-hand edge is a short edge. |
| Sideways pages bound along the top | Long edge | On a sideways page the top edge is a long edge. |
What the software makers say
- Microsoft, on booklets in Word: “To avoid pages from printing upside down, flip the sheets on the short edge of the paper according to your printer’s instructions.” (Microsoft Support, “Create a booklet or book in Word”, read 10 November 2026).
- LibreOffice, on its brochure printing: “If your printer prints duplex, and because brochures always print in landscape mode, you should use the "duplex - short edge" setting in your printer setup dialogue box.” (LibreOffice Help, “Printing a Brochure”, read 10 November 2026).
- Apple, on the Mac print dialog: “Choose On from the Double-sided pop-up menu, or choose On (Short Edge) to set up binding at the top of the page.” (Apple Support, “Choose print options before you print on Mac”, read 10 November 2026). Binding at the top of an upright page is the notepad case in the table.
The table follows from one fact: the sheet turns over about the bound edge. Printer menus use different names for the same two choices, among them short-edge binding, long-edge binding, flip up and flip over. We have not tested individual printers, so print one sheet first.
Check it on paper
The booklet printer test page is a set of numbered sheets: if the numbers on the back are upside down, the flip is on the wrong edge. Where to find the setting: Word, LibreOffice and Mac. The whole job: printing an A5 booklet on A4.
Questions
- Should I flip on the short edge or the long edge for a booklet?
- Short edge. An A5 booklet prints on A4 turned sideways, and the sheet has to turn over about one of its short edges for the back to be the right way up.
- What does flip on long edge mean?
- The printer turns the sheet over about its long edge, as you turn the page of an ordinary upright book. It is the usual setting for a normal document.
- Why is every other page upside down?
- The sheet was flipped on the wrong edge for the way the pages are bound. Switch from long edge to short edge, or the other way, and print one sheet again.
The builder’s home-printing file is laid out for flip on short edge, and says so beside the download.
Open the builder