PRE-RELEASE DRAFT — not ready for sale. GatherPress is an implemented review build. Native browser startup, screen review, file selection, downloads, save/reopen and recovery acceptance remain pending. Final release packages and protected automatic delivery must pass before publication. No protected download is attached yet.
Turn a finished PDF into a deliberate booklet handoff.
GatherPress is an offline PDF booklet imposition and proof studio for independent publishers, zine makers, workshop organisers and small creative teams. Import a static PDF, arrange its reading order, choose paper and signatures, and generate actual imposed PDFs with a matching reading proof, print ticket and file manifest.
When a source changes, inspect the replacement before retaining its page-number sequence. When a blank is deliberate, insert it into the reading order. When the printer needs a different back-side orientation, test it on the original four-page calibration. The tool keeps these decisions connected to the files you deliver.
Four connected workspaces
- Source & pages: inspect the exact source fingerprint, visible page dimensions and preflight findings. Choose page numbers, ascending ranges, repeats and intentional blanks; see omitted and repeated source-page warnings. A candidate source replaces the working project only after inspection and an explicit choice.
- Sheet setup: use A4, Letter, Tabloid or custom landscape stock. Set margins, fold gutter, consecutive signature size, left/right binding, shrink-only or fit scaling, optional fold-edge marks, whole-back rotation and separate-backs order.
- Proof: inspect the sheet-order schematic and placement evidence, then generate and view the actual PDF artwork. Download it to your PDF reader if the embedded viewer is unavailable. Changes invalidate the earlier generated packet.
- Deliver & reuse: download interleaved duplex, fronts-only, backs-only, reading-proof and print-ticket PDFs, plus a manifest with exact output hashes. Save a portable project that includes the source PDF, sequence, settings and ticket labels. Browser recovery is an explicit best-effort local copy.
CropBox artwork is clipped to the valid MediaBox and quarter-turn source rotations are normalised upright. Static vectors and text are embedded into the output. Mixed page sizes are allowed with scale findings. Each signature pads at its end to a multiple of four; the reading proof shows deliberate reading positions before that automatic padding.
A complete original practice package
- A self-contained OPEN-GATHERPRESS.html launcher with its local PDF library and original built-in practice.
- A 12-page PDF guide with complete workflow, troubleshooting, exact practice sheet map and optional printable printer-test worksheet.
- Original fictional North Lantern Field Notes: 13-page source PDF and a revised edition for testing source changes.
- Original four-page calibration source and a default A4 imposed calibration PDF; the tool can generate calibration with the selected sheet settings.
- A reference print packet and portable project, start-here instructions, practice journey, version information, third-party notices, manifest and the selected license.
Choose the license for your work
Personal: one named user for their own projects, including their own business; client work is excluded. Commercial: one named user for own and client projects, including paid work. Extended: up to 25 named users within one organisation for its own and client projects. All tiers contain the same features.
Your supplied content keeps its existing ownership and rights. Permitted generated PDFs and job handoffs may be distributed within your tier’s scope. Every user of the functioning application needs license coverage. Extended adds seats, not rights to resell, publicly redistribute or host the application as a service. The original practice content and guides cannot be sold as a separate pack. Independent third-party library licenses remain in force. Read LICENSE.txt and THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt for the full terms.
Requirements and honest limits
Designed for a modern desktop browser with JavaScript, local file selection and file downloads. A PDF reader is needed to inspect downloaded output. Native browser versions and actual local startup/save/reopen behavior are still pending acceptance in this review build. Mobile, tablet and managed-browser compatibility have not been certified. Local processing has no required Aceplore subscription, server, account, CDN or runtime network call.
- One static PDF up to 20 MiB and 256 source pages; 1–256 chosen reading positions including blanks and repeats; portable project JSON up to 32 MiB.
- Landscape paper 100–700 mm wide and 100–500 mm high; margins 0–50 mm; total fold gutter 0–40 mm; positive remaining page slots required.
- Encrypted, malformed, interactive, annotated, attached-file or optional-layer PDFs and unsupported page scaling/boxes are rejected. Prepare a permitted static source first.
- No PDF/X certification, CMYK conversion, font audit, accessibility repair, text editing, bleed reconstruction, creep compensation or printer automation.
- Physical feed direction, printer margins, front/back orientation and folding require a calibration proof. Print imposed sheets at actual size with booklet and multiple-pages-per-sheet options disabled.
- Downloads must be confirmed on disk. Recovery may be unavailable or too small for a large source. Keep deliberate portable backups.
Digital files only. The cover is a labelled concept illustration. Other previews show actual generated PDFs with fictional original content; they are not application screenshots or evidence of physical print acceptance.
