[Tex/LaTex] Two-sided document: reverse page margins for hardcopy

double-sidedkoma-scriptlyxmargins

Background

Wrote a manual in LyX. The PDF is two-sided. Using KOMA Script v2. The pages are 8.5" x 11".

Problem

The spacing on the margins is not printer-friendly, it is reversed:

Since this page is an even-numbered page (4), the print shop said that the extra space must be on the right-hand side. The extra space (for binding) is currently on the left-hand side (of even pages).

Question

How can the margins be swapped so that the larger space is on the right (for even page numbers) while maintaining the same total margin space?

Ideas

Tried adding a blank page to the beginning of the manual.
\KOMAoptions{BCOR=3cm}\recalctypearea

The latter results in the margins having been flipped around, but with different spacing.

Thank you!

Best Answer

It is normal that the outside margins are larger than the inside margins. However, KOMA-script/typearea supports the specification of a binding correction. That is, specifying how much space will be lost on the inside of the pages due to binding. The effect is that it shifts the text to the outside by that amount.

You specify the binding correction by passing the BCOR option to the documentclass: \documentclass[BCOR=3cm]{scrbook}. Alternatively, you can also add \KOMAoptions{BCOR=3cm}\recalctypearea to your preamble.

Edit: One way to switch margins is to add the following to your preamble:

\let\tmp\oddsidemargin
\let\oddsidemargin\evensidemargin
\let\evensidemargin\tmp
\reversemarginpar

This will exchange the margin sizes and print marginpars on the inside. I don't know whether that switching has any other unintended side-effects.

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Environment for text to run into margins

I would just use

\marginparmargin{outer}
\strictpagechecktrue
\newenvironment{widematter}{
  \begin{adjustwidth*}{0mm}{-\extrawidth}
    \mpjustification
  }
  {\end{adjustwidth*}}

And yes, adjustwidth* is not intended for things that cross a two pages. It is a simple environment made via list, mostly indented to enable users to make a local area (on a page) larger or smaller.

And next time please post something that actually compile, we waste a lot of time trying to find our crystal balls and figure out that people actually mean and which packages they have forgotten to include.

[Tex/LaTex] Defining page margins with \geometry for two-sided documents

Normally, one would simply use the left and right keys, because they are actually synonyms for inner and outer in twoside mode. (Alternatively, one could specify the textwidth and hmarginratio keys.) In case you want to disable the swapping of margins on alternate pages, add the asymmetric option.

\documentclass[twoside]{article}

\usepackage[top=2cm,bottom=4cm,left=1.5cm,right=3cm,asymmetric]{geometry}

\usepackage{lipsum}

\begin{document}

\lipsum[1-15]

\end{document}

EDIT: So far you've used the twoside option in your document class, but you want to do without this option? Well, use the twoside option of geometry instead.