How to Collate When Printing & Why You Should

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Keep large documents in order by using collated printing

Co-authored by Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: July 8, 2024 Fact Checked

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What is collating?

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Benefits of Collating

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When to Collate

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How to Collate

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Tips

If you’ve ever used a printer, you might’ve seen the word “collate” and wondered what it meant. Collating documents allows multiple copies of multi-page documents (like presentations and instruction manuals) to print in sequential order so you don’t have to organize the pages manually. In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about collated printing, including what it is, the benefits of collating, when to collate documents, and how to set up collation on your printer.

What is collated printing?

Collating means that copies of multi-page documents will print in sequential order. Without collating, each copy of the first page would be printed, then the second, etc, so you’d have to organize each copy by hand. Collating keeps each copy’s pages together to make the printing process more accurate and convenient.

Section 1 of 4:

What does collate mean when printing?

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Collating prints copies of multiple-page documents in a specified order. Collating is often used when printing multiple copies of long documents (like reports and manuals) to ensure a single document has finished printing before the next one starts. It allows you to print in sequential order so you don’t have to reorganize the papers later.^{[1]
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- For example, if you’re printing 3 copies of a 10-page document, collating would ensure that all 10 pages of the document print in order. Without collating, the first page would print 3 times, then the second page would print 3 times, and so on.
- Collating works for both one-sided and double-sided documents.

Section 2 of 4:

Benefits of Collating Documents

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When collating, you don’t have to spend time sorting through the papers manually. This improves workflow and allows you to dedicate your time to more important tasks. Collating is especially convenient when you have to print several copies of long documents.^{[2]
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If you have to sort through all the pages on your own, there’s a chance pages could be misplaced or forgotten altogether. Collating helps ensure that each copy has every page of the document in the correct order.^{[3]
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Section 3 of 4:

When to Collate Documents

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If you’re printing multiple copies of documents for work or school, it’s important to know each page is in the right order. To save time and effort, collate when printing documents like print reports, presentations, manuals and guides, and invoices and billing documents.^{[4]
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When you plan to bind the pages If you’re already dedicating time to binding several copies together, you likely don’t want to spend even more time making sure your documents are in the correct order. Whether you’re binding manually or using a binding machine, collating your documents can help speed up the process.^{[5]
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- If the pages don’t need to be in a logical order, like if you’re printing multiple copies of different flyers or the pages of a booklet, it may be preferable to choose uncollated printing.
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If the printer’s ink or toner is running low If there’s a chance your printer could run out of ink, it’s better to collate so you’ll at least have some documents completed. If your pages are uncollated and the printer runs out, you won’t have any completed documents, as the later pages will still need to print.
- However, if you need to test the print quality or consistency, it’s better to print uncollated so you can check multiple copies of the same page against each other.

Section 4 of 4:

How to Collate When Printing

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Turn on the “collate” option in the printer menu. Usually, collating is the default option, but depending on your printer’s settings, it may or may not be toggled on when you first click “Print.” Each printer menu is different, so examine yours carefully to find the “collate” button. If it isn’t already on, click the box next to it to turn it on. Then, print your document like usual.^{[6]
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- If you have trouble locating the “collate” button, check your printer’s manual for more assistance.
- If you don’t want to collate your documents, simply uncheck the “collate” button. This uncollated option is sometimes referred to as “grouping.”
- Note that if you’re only printing one copy of a document, the collate option will not be available.

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Tips

If you’re printing documents on different types of paper, like some pages on printer paper and some on card stock, you’ll likely need to organize them by hand rather than collating on your printer.

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