Cheap Impostor overview
Cheap Impostor is a simple yet powerful alternative to fancy imposition software. If you want to use your computer to make a book or a magazine, the final step before printing is called imposition. Cheap Impostor doesn't offer all the features of high-end imposition software (which costs hundreds or thousands of dollars). Hence the name.
However, if you want to print and bind booklets, magazines, or even long books, this program might be all the imposition software you need.
What does it do? Let's say you want to make a magazine from a document you've written. You would like to have the magazine be the size of a sheet of paper folded in half. Without imposition software the simplest way to transform your document into a magazine would be to use a photo-copier to shrink and re-order the pages so two fit sideways on a sheet of paper, and so that when a stack of them is stapled and folded in half the pages appear in the correct order.
The short story is that Cheap Impostor lets you skip the photocopier step, and produce output from your printer that can directly be turned into a magazine. Further, Cheap Impostor has settings that let you create books with multiple signatures. It comes with a simple "How-to guide".
Feature overview:
- Takes 1-up PDF input and produces 2-up output PDF
- Reorders pages for magazines and books (sheets per signature can be varied from 1 to page-count / 4
- Supports automatic and manual duplex printers, with and without collation
- With shareware registration, supports:
- Variable output page sizes: letter, legal, ledger, A3, A4, custom
- Control over page zoom and horizontal and vertical offset of 2-up - accommodates variable input page sizes
What’s new in version 3.4
Updated on Dec 08 2021
- Universal (M1 / X86-64) application
Information
App requirements
- Intel 64
- Apple Silicon
- macOS 10.15 or later
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User Ratings
Feb 3 2016
Version: 3.3
Mecodegoodsomeday (Developer) Member Icon Dev +86
Mecodegoodsomeday (Developer) I need help with this app. I can't quite figure out how to enable the sliders.
Jan 14 2016
Version: 3.3
I tried downloading it and followed instructions to drag app to my Applications folder. I clicked on the app and it doesn't open. I have looked in all desktops, etc but can't find an open program but when i try to move the app to trash it says I can't because the app is open. I look in forced quit and the app shows up in the list as available to force quite.
i am on El Cap Mac pro w/8 gig and downloaded 3.3 as instructed.
Any suggestions?
D.
Nov 7 2015
Version: 3.3
As a very long term user I am extremely pleased with this excellent and reliable application, and do not understand the low ratings. It does everything it claims very well, and I am rating it 4.5 stars, but will hopefully (soon) be able to upgrade to 5 stars the the one minor problem is fixed; it needs a lateral adjustment in the final layout (or separate adjustments for RH and LH Inside offsets, to compensate for slight variations in printer page settings. With that (and a responsive creator) it will be a most comprehensive and easy to use app. v.3.3
Jun 12 2015
Version: 3.3
I like how simple this program is consider how confusing imposing can get. It works really really well with open source Scribus and a duplex printer.
May 10 2015
Version: 3.3
Excellent little program - does all it says and comes with amazing personal support from its creator. Look no further.
Oct 25 2013
Version: 3.3
I downloaded and tried using it. Download was quick and easy. There are three sliders that are supposed to center the document on the page, but two of them are greyed out, so I can't get the material centered to print it. Using OSX 10.6.8 Snow Leopard.
Sep 26 2013
Version: 3.3
I can not get the software to work on my IMac. My operating system is OX Lion.
Sep 26 2013
Version: 3.3
I can not get the software to work on my mac. My operating system is OX Lion. :(
Oct 31 2010
Version: 3.2.2
As this is a tip/hint, I won't go into details others already covered, but if you want to print 8.5 X 11 pages on a duplex printer (that prints 11X17 tabloid size), make sure to select the magazine setting. I'm not sure why Acrobat seems to not work on my machine when I try to use the booklet feature to do this, but this program makes everything work flawlessly. I am so grateful.
Sep 19 2010
Version: 3.2.2
Works flawlessly. The program inspired me to go and buy a duplexing printer, and wow--the freedom to easily make two-sided, folding booklets is great. I love to print out long PDFs this way. It's mentioned somewhere but worth emphasizing that the program lets you do signature--that is, consecutive booklets--that can be then bound together to form a full book. The instructions even include a nice simple tutorial on a basic binding system. I often will print out a long book this way (to many pages for a single, magazine-style booklet) and then just clip them together with a two big bulldog clips. It looks slick and professional while at the same time nerdy and crafty.
Feb 10 2010
Version: 3.2.2
This program is the most visually friendly and non-confounding imposition application available for the Mac.
Please, Dylan, add N-up settings to Cheap Imposter, or even produce "Expensive Imposter", and if it's anything like this application, a grateful community would be happy to throw money at you.
Nov 25 2009
Version: 3.2.1
i discovered that the latest version doesn't work under 10.4.11 (on my PPC machine)
so I emailed the developer, and to my surprise and delight he responded within hours with a link on the webpage to the last version for 10.4 - it's down on the bottom right
http://www.cheapimpostor.com/
Jun 19 2009
Version: 3.2
I've used Cheap Imposter for years, and it works just as advertised. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of other programs, you can't beat the price and performance.
Prior to Cheap Imposter, I used Quite Imposing, a very good, but very expensive program with very expensive upgrades. I've never looked back.
David
Apr 8 2008
Version: 3.1
There is also a free online service for making PDF booklets.
Nov 24 2005
Version: 2.4
As I only have simple imposition requirements and CocoaBooklet chokes on complex layouts - gave this a try (v2.4) and it does exactly what it says it will do.
Auto duplex printing with my Canon iP3000 doesn't rotate pages as needed by this printer but manual duplex is fine.
Jun 4 2004
Version: 2.1.2
Wow. Program works great. If you want simple imposition of pdf files, this is definitely worth a download.
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