pdfsquash

Tool(s) to transform PDFs for printing multiple pages on a sheet.

Usage

pdfsquash -o <output-pdf> <input-pdf-1> <input-pdf-2> ...

For more options, see

pdfsquash -h

Examples

Following PDF files are used as sample inputs:

• 1.pdf
• 2.pdf
• 3.pdf
• 4.pdf

Default options

pdfsquash -o samples/1-4-default.pdf \
    samples/1.pdf samples/2.pdf samples/3.pdf samples/4.pdf

Here is how result will look: 1-4-default.pdf

Change spacing between minipages

Default spacing is 0. To chang it to 10pt use this command:

pdfsquash -o samples/1-4-spacing.pdf \
    -s 10 \
    samples/1.pdf samples/2.pdf samples/3.pdf samples/4.pdf

Here is how result will look: 1-4-default.pdf

Change page margin

Default page margin is 20pt. To change it to 0pt use this command:

pdfsquash -o samples/1-4-margin.pdf \
    -m 0 \
    samples/1.pdf samples/2.pdf samples/3.pdf samples/4.pdf

Here is how result will look: 1-4-default.pdf

Keep aspect ratio of the original

By default, original mini-pages will be shrinked and stretched to fit the target sheet location, independently in X and Y direction*. If you want to preserve original aspect, do this:

pdfsquash -o samples/1-4-keep-aspect.pdf \
    -m 0 \
    -k \
    samples/1.pdf samples/2.pdf samples/3.pdf samples/4.pdf

Here is how result will look: 1-4-keep-aspect.pdf

TODO

1. Support other paper sizes (currently hardcoded to US Letter)
2. Support other number of mini-pages per paper sheet (2, 6, 8). Currently do only 4 mini-pages per paper sheet.
3. Support page re-ordering. Currently mini-pages are placed in a fixed order (left-to-right, top-to-bottom).

License

MIT