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How to download a flipbook as a PDF (web or print quality)

Save a copy for offline reading or a press, and let your readers do the same

Overview

You can download any flipbook as a PDF from its Overview page in Flipsnack, published or not. Pick PDF for web for a smaller file to share online, or PDF for print for 300dpi and CMYK. You can also turn on a download button inside the player so your readers can save their own copy.

💡 Benefits of downloading your flipbook as a PDF
  • It attaches to an email: a PDF travels where a link cannot, through a procurement inbox or an offline reader.
  • A press can use it: PDF for print exports at 300dpi in CMYK, and you can add bleeds and crop marks for trimming.
  • Links keep working: the internal and external links you added in the Design Studio stay clickable in a PDF for web file.
  • Readers save it without leaving your flipbook: the download happens in the player, with no Flipsnack-branded page in between.
  • It is an archive: one file per issue, filed with the title of the flipbook it came from.

Requirements

  • Plan: every plan can download. A download from a Free workspace carries a small Created in Flipsnack badge in the bottom-right corner of every page. A download from a paid workspace carries no badge. Check your plan or compare plans
  • A flipbook in your workspace. It does not have to be published.

How do I download my own flipbook?

There are two places to start, and they open two different dialogs. Start from the Overview page if you want any format; start from the Design Studio if you are already editing and want a PDF or an image.

From the flipbook's Overview page

  • Open Content and click the flipbook to open its Overview page.
  • Click Download in the right-hand panel.
  • Open the format list and choose PDF for web or PDF for print.
  • Under Page selection, keep All pages or enter a page range.
  • Click Download.

The Download dialog open on a flipbook Overview page, with the format list showing PDF for web, PDF for print, HTML5, GIF, MP4, PNG and JPG

The same dialog opens from the three-dot menu beside the flipbook in Content, under Download. Seven formats are listed here: PDF for web, PDF for print, HTML5, GIF, MP4, PNG and JPG.

Note: on a Free workspace the dialog holds one extra row, a toggle reading Hide "Created in Flipsnack" badge. It controls the badge printed in the bottom-right corner of every page. A paid workspace has no badge to hide, so the row is not there.

From the Design Studio

  • Open the flipbook with Edit content.
  • Click the download icon in the top bar, between the edit and customize toggles and Preview. It carries no label.
  • Choose your format, set Page selection, then click Download.

The Design Studio top bar with the unlabelled download icon highlighted, sitting to the left of the Preview and Share buttons

The Design Studio Download dialog with its format list open, showing only PDF for web, PDF for print, PNG and JPG

Note: the Design Studio dialog offers four formats: the two PDFs, PNG and JPG. HTML5, GIF and MP4 are on the Overview page only. The File menu holds Save and nothing else, so there is no download in it.

How do I let readers download the PDF?

Readers get a download icon in the player's bottom bar once you turn the option on. It is off by default.

  • Open the flipbook's Customize page and select Controls.
  • Turn on Download PDF.
  • Two rows appear beneath it. Include interactive elements is on, and keeps links clickable in the file readers get. Allow custom page range is off, and letting readers pick a range turns it on.
  • Click Share, then Update in the Publish your flipbook window. Until you do, the live flipbook still has no download button.

The Controls panel on the Customize page with the Download PDF toggle highlighted and switched off

The Download PDF toggle switched on, revealing Include interactive elements and Allow custom page range, with a download icon now in the player bottom bar

Print flipbook is a separate toggle in the same panel. It lets readers print from the player without downloading a file first.

PDF for web or PDF for print?

PDF for web

Smaller file, sized for screens. Internal and external links added in the Design Studio stay clickable. This is the one to attach to an email or put behind a form.

PDF for print

300dpi images and CMYK colour, so a press reproduces the colours you designed. The file is larger. You can also enable bleeds and crop marks for trimming.

Note: a print PDF drops every interactive element. Links, buttons, videos and forms are removed, because a press cannot print them.

Additional tips / FAQs

  • What is the file named? The flipbook's title. Rename the flipbook before you download if you want a different filename.
  • Can I download a draft? Yes. Both dialogs work on an unpublished flipbook.
  • Do videos and animations come across? No. A PDF is static. Share the flipbook link if the motion matters.
  • Can I download only some pages? Yes. Set a range under Page selection in either dialog.
  • Where do readers find the button? In the player's bottom bar, beside the pages overview and share icons.

Troubleshooting

  • Readers see no download icon: Download PDF is off in Customize > Controls, or it is on and the change was never pushed live with Share, then Update.
  • No HTML5, GIF or MP4 in the dialog: you are in the Design Studio, which offers four formats. Go to the flipbook's Overview page instead.
  • Links do not work in the file: you downloaded PDF for print, which removes them. Download PDF for web, and open it in a reader that supports hyperlinks.
  • Readers cannot print: Print flipbook is a separate toggle from Download PDF. Turn it on too. Some mobile browsers block print dialogs regardless.
  • Every page carries a Created in Flipsnack badge: the workspace is on the Free plan. The badge does not appear on a download from a paid workspace.

Next steps

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