# Add Margins to PDF - Binding Gutter, Mirrored Duplex, Vector

> Add margins and a binding gutter to PDF pages: per side in mm, in or pt, mirrored for duplex, enlarge page or shrink content, background color, cut lines.

- URL: https://qilingtools.com/en/pdf/margin
- Category: PDF Tools (https://qilingtools.com/en/pdf)
- Tags: [PDF](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/pdf), [Printing](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/print)
- Last updated: 2026-10-26
- Price: Free, no sign-up
- Privacy: Runs locally in the browser; files are never uploaded

When pages are going to be bound or hole-punched, or you want room to write notes, a PDF’s own margins are often too small — some exported files even run right to the edge and get clipped when printed. This tool adds margins to every page: the same on all sides or separately for top, bottom, left and right, in millimetres, inches or points, plus a binding gutter added on the inside. Turn on mirrored margins for duplex printing and odd pages bind on the left while even pages bind on the right, so front and back line up. There are two ways to make room: enlarge the page (content keeps its size and the page grows outward) or keep the page size (content shrinks proportionally to fit inside the margins, ideal when printing on the same paper). The added area can be filled with a background colour, and you can draw a dashed frame or corner crop marks as a cutting guide. Content is placed as vectors, so text stays selectable and sharp, and existing page rotation and crop boxes are handled correctly. A sketch of the first two pages previews the result. Everything runs in your browser; files are never uploaded.

## How to use

1. Upload a PDF, choose a unit and enter the margins (all sides or each side) and gutter
2. Optionally mirror for duplex, choose enlarge page or keep page size, and set background colour and cut lines
3. Check the sketch of the first two pages and click Add margins & download

## Features

- Uniform or per-side margins in mm, in or pt
- Binding gutter on the inside
- Mirrored margins for duplex (odd/even swap)
- Enlarge the page or keep its size by scaling content
- Background colour for the added area
- Dashed frame or corner crop marks
- Vector placement, searchable text; rotation and crop boxes handled
- Runs locally, nothing uploaded

## FAQ

### What’s the difference between Enlarge the page and Keep page size?

Enlarge keeps the content at its original size and grows the page outward — an A4 page with 10 mm margins becomes 230 × 317 mm, good for screen reading or scaling at print time. Keep page size leaves the sheet at A4 and shrinks the content proportionally into the area inside the margins, ready to print on the same paper.

### How do the gutter and mirrored margins work?

The gutter is extra width on the binding side. For single-sided printing bound on the left, it’s added to the left of every page. In duplex printing the front (odd) pages bind on the left and the back (even) pages on the right; with mirrored margins on, the tool swaps left and right margins on even pages — gutter included — so both sides line up.

### Does adding margins reduce quality? Is the text still searchable?

No. Each original page is embedded as vectors rather than turned into an image, so text, lines and pictures stay exactly as they were and remain selectable, copyable and searchable. Even with Keep page size the content is only scaled as a whole, never blurred.

### What are cut lines for, and are rotated or cropped pages handled?

If you’ll trim the margins off later — say they’re only there to give the printer something to grip — a dashed frame or corner crop marks show where to cut. Existing page rotation (/Rotate) and crop boxes (CropBox) are respected: margins are added in reading orientation and only the visible area inside the crop box is kept. Everything is processed in your browser and nothing is uploaded.

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