My PDF hell

[Verkitso]

Hello!

I'm a magazine journalist, and after growing bored of photocopying pages from different publications each time I want to send them to commissioning editors to show what kind of work I do, I've decided that it'll be easier (and look more professional) if I scan them in as PDFs and email them instead.

All fairly straightforward. But. Before I invest in a scanner, I'd like to know if there's any software out there that allows me to join two single page PDFs side-by-side to recreate how the pages would have looked in the original magazine. I've had a look round on VersionTracker and other sites, but the all the software I've found only allows you to arrange PDFs as a list.

If anyone could help this techologically illiterate Mac user, I'd be very grateful!

 

[IJ Reilly]

You'd probably have to use an image editor, like Photoshop, to join the two scans into a single page before converting them to PDF. I can't think of another way.

 

[mmmcheese]

You could use Acrobat to put 2 images in facing pages. They wouldn't be on the same page, but the default view when opening the pdf would put them side by side (assuming you set the document properties to do that). Someone could then print them off on a normal printer if they liked and have it on 2 sheets.

It'd save messing around with a photo editor.

 

[balamw]

Another cheap and sleazy way to join files in the way you desire is to "print" them to PDF "two up" on a page size twice the original scan's size. e.g. go from 8.5x11 to 11x17 or A4 to A3.

B

 

[gauchogolfer]

I'm not sure how high-end you're talking about for your scanner, but at my place of work we have a copier/scanner/printer that can scan directly to pdf, and you can layout how you want it on the 'page' right at the scanner. It even emails to your address book from the machine. Pretty nice. It's a Konica c450, I think, one of the 'bizhub' machines.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Another cheap and sleazy way to join files in the way you desire is to "print" them to PDF "two up" on a page size twice the original scan's size. e.g. go from 8.5x11 to 11x17 or A4 to A3.

B

Good suggestion! I like cheap and sleazy!

 

[iBS23]

I like cheap and sleazy!

Heh. Don't we all!