🕮 PhotoBookBinder

Frustrated by overwhelmed copy shop employees, the high effort of manual processing, and software that wasn't suited for booklet signature imposition... so I decided to build it myself.. and this is the result :]

I enjoy binding photo books by hand, whether Coptic stitch or Japanese binding. Either way: you have multiple signatures, and the correct page order is everything. Currently designed for A6 format ... maybe I'll expand it later.

What it does

A browser-based photo book editor that arranges your photos and exports a print-ready PDF with correct booklet imposition. No installation, no backend, just open the HTML file and go.

My workflow:

Take photos → Edit photos → Arrange in PhotoBookBinder → Export PDF → Print double-sided A4 at the copy shop → Walk out happy

Note: if your print shop supports borderless printing, go for it. Otherwise the default 3mm margin is your friend.

Features

• Configurable signatures (1–20) and sheets per signature (2–8)
• Drag & drop image import from the file explorer directly onto pages, JPG, PNG, WEBP
• Page layouts: 1, 2, 4, or 6 images per page
• Double-page spread support with automatic image splitting across the fold
• Bleed modes: margins everywhere, outer margin only, or full bleed
• Built-in image editing: pan, zoom, crop with live preview
• Background color per spread
• Auto-fill to distribute photos across all pages
• Thumbnail navigation and signature overview panel

PDF Export

• A4 portrait, 4× A6 pages per sheet (2x2)
• Correct bookbinding imposition for all signature sizes
• Optional cut lines, crop marks, page numbers, sheet labels
• 300 DPI rendering using full-resolution source images

Printing & Binding

1. Print double-sided, flip on the long edge
2. Cut each A4 sheet horizontally along the cut line
3. Fold each strip vertically → one A6 double-sided sheet
4. Nest the folded sheets into signatures
5. Bind all signatures together

Print at exactly 100% / actual size --> no "fit to page"

Possible future improvements

• Save / load projects as JSON
• Text elements on pages
• Dedicated cover editor
• More page formats beyond A6

Notes

• Tested on desktop, not optimized for mobile
• Performance is fine with 100+ photos thanks to ImageBitmap caching and a single-canvas architecture

Photobooks I was thinking of...