What does collate mean when printing? The process to properly align the papers before printing them. Collation can be of types: manual and printer based. Continue reading to learn more about it.
When you have a document that needs to be printed multiple times, but you want each copy in its entirety, you can collate the copies. The act of collating documents is to group them together in a specific order.
You might want to print multiple copies of a four-page document, with each copy having all four pages, rather than printing one copy that has the first page and then another copy that has the second page.
If you collate the copies, you will get all four pages of each copy before moving on to the next. For example, if you want to print ten copies of a 10-page document, you can either choose to collate them or not collate them.
What Does Collate Mean?
Collation means arranging in proper sequence. This word stems from the Latin collation, which means to compare, correspond, and contrast. When printing a document, you have two choices. The first option is to collate all the pages while printing, and the second is not to collate them.
What is the Difference Between Collated and Uncollated Printing?
If you are printing multiple pages of a document, it is important to know whether they will print “collated” or “not collated.” This article about “what does collate mean when printing” explains what each means and why you should choose one over the other.
Collated
Most jobs are printed Collated, which means that all copies of Page 1 are printed first, then Page 2, etc. A stack of 8.5 x 11″ pages containing a 10-page document printed on a sheet-fed press would look like this when printing the document in four copies. Ko
Not Collated
If your job is not Collated, it means that the document will print in “runs” or “impressions.” Each impression is offset from the previous one by one page. The result is that each copy contains pages in a different order.
How to Collate on your Printer?
Collation is the act of putting things together in a logical order. It could be as simple as putting your printed documents into the correct order before you hand them out to your colleagues or clients.
You may have experienced a problem when you have printed your documents, only to find that they are jumbled up with all the pages from one document mixed in with another. Thanks to the existence of collation, there is a solution for this.
Collating on a printer is the ability for the printer to print copies of your documents in order. It will take each copy of your document and print them in order before moving to the next copy. You will have all your copies collated (ordered) and ready to use without doing it manually.
It saves time, energy, and resources because you do not have to go through the laborious task of going through each copy and arranging it into the right order by hand. You can simply put all of your paper into the printer and let it do all the work for you, with no fuss.
Why Collate using a printer?
In Collated printing, the pages are printed in their correct order. In Non-Collated printing, the pages are printed sequentially. A great example is a 3-page document that needs to be printed on both sides of a sheet:
Collate Printing example: If you select Collated as your Print Style, copies 1 and 2 will print page 1 on the front and page 2 on the back of the first sheet, then page 3 on the front of the second sheet. The result is two sheets with pages correctly arranged in order (1-2-3).
If you select not Collated as your Print Style, copies 1 and 2 will each print page 1 on one sheet, page 2 on another sheet, and page 3 on a third sheet. The result is six sheets with pages out of order. So, it is better to collate pages manually.
What are the Drawbacks of Collate Printing?
Collate printing has some disadvantages, too. For one thing, it takes longer than non-collated printing. If you need a printout right away, you might have to wait a while for your pages to come out in order.
Another drawback is that collate printing tends to cost more than non-collated printing. If you are looking for a way to save money on your print jobs, you may want to stick with non-collated printing instead.
When Should you Perform Collate Printing?
Let’s say you want to print sets of pages of a document in the form of sets. You need to do collate printing if one of the following is true.
- Multiple copies are required.
- The document has multiple pages, and one needs to read it in sequence.
- There are more pages and more copies.
If all the above conditions are okay, then one must use collate printing. This feature is really helpful when you need to distribute notes or handouts in classrooms, where there is more than one page, and it is read in sequential order.
Additionally, it can be very helpful when you are distributing the same document to several recipients at the same time. Collate printing takes care of your work by presenting the final output in sets that too in the proper order. Collate printing can also be used for printing books, as well as for perfect binding.
Printing a large number of PDF documents is also possible with this option. The Collate Printing feature is available on every printer that we have seen to date, whether it is a home printer or an office printer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I collate when printing?
Using collated printing when printing more than 1 copy of a doc will ensure that you will receive pages and sheets of paper after pages of printed docs. When a document is too large for one copy to be printed, collated printing will enable you to print pages and sheets of paper after pages. Without changing the original order of the pages in the document, it executes without causing any errors.
Does collate mean double-sided?
Whenever you print more than 1 copy of a document, it will print all of the pages of each subsequent copy before printing the third. The document is sorted into a sequence that matches the order of the original documents. So if you print multiple copies, they are printed as sets of documents, not as individual pages.
How do I turn off printer collate?
To turn off Collate, you need to follow these steps:
- Select “Print” on the “File” menu.
- Select “Copies & Pages” in the pop-up menu
- Then clear the “Collate” checkbox.
Final Words
Collate is a printing word that means “to rearrange printed pieces so they are in the same order as presented to post-press.” It is an important part of the printing process. It helps ensure that everything will work fine when it goes through production and presses correctly. Hope this post on “what does collate mean when printing” has helped you a lot.