I'm just beginning the PDF file generation code, so I've written to the IALLT Journal editors for some feedback on the design. As far as I remember, we've never addressed the issue of page size and layout for the PDFs. These are things we need to think about:

1. What page size are we producing? Letter (8 x 10) is probably the best choice, because most people will be printing the PDF on a regular printer, if they print it at all, but we can choose any size we like.
2. Do we want to go with separate layouts for recto and verso? When you're producing a print volume, you normally have slightly different margins for recto and verso pages, as well as a different running header, and the page numbers will typically be located in different places. However, when the target audience is likely to print the document off on their inkjet or laserjet printer, this is a bit pointless, because the pages are not bound in book form. On the other hand, more and more network printers have duplexing capabilities, so people may well be able to create a little booklet for themselves, or may put the pages into a binder, so perhaps we should allow for that.
3. Bearing in mind the factors above, where should the page numbers go -- top or bottom? Left (verso) and right (recto), or centred?
4. Again, bearing in mind the above, what should we use for the running title(s)? Each article already has a custom running title based on its title, but if we have separate recto and verso designs, we can have a second running title; that might be the author name(s), or the journal name/vol/issue, bearing in mind that a printout will be out of context of the site, so the journal name needs to be there somewhere. Alternatively, we could put the journal name in the gutter.

These decisions don't have to be set in stone; they'll just be encoded in a an XSLT file stored in the database, and can be modified easily, but it would be easier to start with a firm plan even if we change it later. My instincts say that we should design for a situation where people would print off the document in duplex and insert it into a binder, so:

• 8 x 10 paper, with a larger right margin on the recto and a larger left margin on the verso
• page numbers on the top left (verso) and top right (recto)
• running article title at the top of the verso, and author name(s) at the top of the recto
• journal name in the gutter of the verso, and volume/issue in the gutter of the recto

I'm waiting for feedback from the editors on this. Meanwhile, Greg and I have been looking at how to get FOP working (see next post).