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Adjust creep settings in booklets
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn how to compensate for paper thickness in saddle-stitch and perfect-bound booklets by shifting pages incrementally from the spine in Adobe InDesign.
Creep adjustment keeps pages aligned in multi‑page booklets by compensating for paper thickness that causes inner pages to extend past outer pages after folding. InDesign shifts page content toward or away from the spine based on each sheet’s position in the signature. Use creep only for 2‑up Saddle Stitch and 2‑up Perfect Bound layouts. It's not available for Consecutive styles. InDesign calculates creep by distributing your specified value across all sheets, keeping either the outermost or the innermost sheet fixed, depending on whether you apply a positive or negative value.
Configure creep settings
Select 2-up Saddle Stitch or 2-up Perfect Bound from the Booklet Type drop-down menu.
In the Creep field, enter a value in points to specify the total distance pages shift from the spine. Enter a negative value to move inner pages toward the spine (outward creep), or a positive value to move outer pages away from the spine (inward creep).
Review the preview thumbnails on the left side of the dialog to verify page positioning adjustments.
Select Print to generate the booklet with creep applied, or Export to create a PDF.
Tip
For example, for a 16-page booklet (4 sheets), if you enter 24 points of negative creep, the creep increment is 8 points per sheet (24 ÷ 3). The innermost sheet moves 12 points per page (24 ÷ 2), the third sheet moves 8 points per page (16 ÷ 2), the second sheet moves 4 points per page (8 ÷ 2), and the outermost cover sheet remains stationary.
Understanding creep calculation
InDesign determines the creep increment by dividing your specified creep value by the total number of sheets minus one. A sheet represents two printer spreads—front and back.
- Positive creep: The centerfold (innermost spread) stays fixed while outer sheets move away from the spine. Use this when compensating for thick paper stocks that cause outer pages to extend.
- Negative creep: The cover (outermost spread) stays fixed while inner sheets move toward the spine. This is the most common scenario for booklet printing, creating a "push-in" effect that accounts for paper bulk.
The creep value distributes incrementally across sheets. Each page on a sheet moves half the sheet's total creep value, one-half toward each side of the spread.
Adjust spacing alongside creep
When working with Perfect Bound booklets, coordinate the Space Between Pages setting with your creep value to maintain consistent page gaps throughout the signature.
The minimum Space Between Pages value equals the absolute width of your negative creep value. For example, if you apply -12 points of creep, set Space Between Pages to at least 12 points to prevent pages from overlapping.
If you're manually creating signatures for documents with mixed paper stocks, use Space Between Pages to specify a starting creep offset for spreads in different signature groups.
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