Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Print Multiple PDF Pages on One Sheet in Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader (PC & Mac)

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This tutorial explains how to print multiple PDF pages on one sheet of paper in Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader. This process can be useful when printing handouts, presentation slides, or small blank forms.

We will also look at how to print the same page multiple times on one sheet of paper and return the print settings to only one page per sheet.

Do you prefer to follow along on paper? Download the free printable PDF of this tutorial.

Watch this tutorial in real-time on my YouTube channel:

Table of Contents

These steps apply to the current subscription versions of Adobe Acrobat and Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, on PC and Mac. Some options may vary depending on your system’s printer settings.

How to Print Multiple Pages on One Sheet

  1. Ensure your printer is turned on and connected to your computer. (If your printer is off, you may not see all the available options.)
  2. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
  3. Select the Print button in the global toolbar.
Pro Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + P on PC or Command + P on Mac to open the Print dialog box.
  1. Ensure your printer is selected in the Printer menu.
  2. Enter the number of copies in the Copies text box.
Pro Tip: This process can produce unexpected results. Therefore, consider printing one sample copy before printing multiple copies.
  1. Select All in the Pages to Print section to print the entire PDF. Alternatively, select Pages and enter the pages you want to print.

Enter consecutive page ranges with a dash (e.g., 1-4) and nonconsecutive pages with a comma (e.g., 1,3,5,7).

  1. Select the Multiple button in the Page Sizing & Handling section.
  2. Select the number of pages you want on each sheet from the Pages per sheet menu.

For example, select 2 to place two PDF pages on each sheet or 4 to place four PDF pages on each sheet.

Or, select Custom and enter your own layout up to 99 pages per sheet. (Obviously that would be quite difficult to read!)

  1. Select an option from the Page order menu:
    • Horizontal places the pages across each row from left to right.
    • Horizontal Reversed places the pages across each row from right to left.
    • Vertical places the pages down each column, starting with the left column.
    • Vertical Reversed places the pages down each column, starting with the right column.

Horizontal will be the best option for most documents.

  1. Select Portrait or Landscape in the Orientation section.

Landscape normally works best for two pages per sheet, and portrait normally works best for four or more pages per sheet.

Pro Tip: The Auto rotate pages within each sheet option usually provides the best results because it turns each page to match the space available on the sheet.
  1. (Optional) Select Print page border to add an outline around each PDF page on the sheet. (This option is helpful if you plan to cut out the individual pages.)
  2. Review the preview on the right side of the Print dialog box.

Note that the preview may not give you a completely accurate representation, hence the earlier suggestion to print one sample copy before printing multiple copies.

  1. Select the Print button.

Your selected pages should now print together on each sheet. If you choose to print a sample copy, and it printed correctly, you can now repeat the steps we just performed but increase the number of copies in the Print dialog box, as necessary.

Pro Tip: Save the Layout As a New PDF (PC Only)
PC users can save the multi-page layout as a new PDF instead of printing it on paper by selecting Adobe PDF in the Printer menu.

How to Print the Same Page Multiple Times on One Sheet

You can print the same page multiple times on one sheet of paper. However, this process only works if your PDF has more than one page.

  1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
  2. Select the Print button in the global toolbar.
  3. Ensure your printer is selected in the Printer menu.
  4. Enter the number of copies in the Copies text box.
Important Note: Copies is the number of sheets printed, not the number of times the page will appear on the sheet.
  1. Select Pages in the Pages to Print section.
  2. Enter the page number once for each repetition, separated by commas.

For example, enter 1,1,1,1 to print the first page four times. Enter 3,3,3,3 to print the third page four times.

  1. Select the Multiple button in the Page Sizing & Handling section.
  2. If the pages don’t repeat automatically, select the corresponding number from the Pages per sheet menu. For example, select 4 if you entered the page number four times.
  3. Select the Print button.

How to Return to One Page Per Sheet

Acrobat will continue to print multiple pages per sheet until you return the settings to one page per sheet.

  1. Select the Print button in the global toolbar.
  2. Select Size in the Page Size and Handling section.
  3. Select Fit or Actual size.

Related Resources

How to Switch PDFs to Legal Page Size in Adobe Acrobat

How to Rearrange and Delete Pages in PDFs in Adobe Acrobat