The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Use a print-oriented HTML template, render records in a worker, and control page parity explicitly. For each batch, validate the input, escape every value, render one record (front and back) into HTML, start each new record on the required odd or even page, write to a temporary PDF, then validate page count and record boundaries before publishing the file.
Dompdf, mPDF and TCPDF can all work, but they are not browser engines. Design for the CSS subset your selected library supports, isolate renderer instances, embed deterministic fonts and assets, and test with the exact PHP version and printer settings you will use.
The duplex-safe generation pipeline
- Load and validate rows. Reject missing IDs, malformed dates, unsupported characters or oversized fields before rendering.
- Render one logical record. Escape data and use local, deterministic images and fonts. Keep front and back sides self-contained.
- Apply print geometry. Set paper size, margins, bleed-safe areas and explicit page-break rules in CSS.
- Control parity. Track which physical page the next record must start on. Insert a conditional blank page when the previous record ends on the wrong side.
- Write atomically. Render to a temporary file, validate it, then rename it to the final path.
- Log reproducibility data. Store input IDs, template revision, PHP and renderer versions, page count and validation status.
Define the record contract
Decide whether one record is exactly two pages or may expand. If it must be two pages, make the front and back explicit elements and prevent content from flowing between them. If a record can legitimately use more pages, define whether the next record starts on an odd page, an even page or simply the next available page.
Choosing a PHP renderer
| Library | Layout and CSS | Duplex and pagination controls | Operational notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dompdf | Mostly CSS 2.1, with selected CSS3 features such as @import, @media and @page. |
Use explicit page-break rules and test every boundary; browser-only layout features are unsafe assumptions. | The project warns that one Dompdf instance should not render more than one HTML document because parsing and rendering artifacts can persist. Create a fresh instance per document or isolated batch unit. |
| mPDF | Generates PDFs from UTF-8 HTML and supports headers, footers, page numbering, tables of contents and barcodes. Its manual warns that it is dated and may require a template tailored to mPDF. | Conditional AddPage('E') or AddPage('O') inserts a page only when needed to make the current page match the requested parity. |
Convenient for print metadata and duplex rules, but measure memory on your own templates and fonts. |
| TCPDF / tc-lib-pdf | Renders a documented HTML/CSS subset without a browser engine. | addHTMLCell() handles automatic page and region breaks; getHTMLCell() returns operators for caller-controlled placement. Features include page-break controls, orphans, widows and print media. |
More manual placement may be needed when browser-like CSS is important. |
None of these choices has a universally valid throughput or memory number. Measure with your PHP version, template, fonts, image sizes, record count and hardware; do not copy a benchmark from a different workload.
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Design an HTML template for printing
Use explicit sides and supported CSS
Keep each side in a block with a known height. Avoid JavaScript, flexbox, grid, sticky positioning and generated content unless your chosen renderer documents support for them. Reserve space for headers, footers, barcodes and printer margins.
<style>
@page { size: A4; margin: 12mm 12mm 14mm 12mm; }
html, body { margin: 0; padding: 0; }
.side { min-height: 270mm; page-break-after: always; position: relative; }
.side:last-child { page-break-after: auto; }
.safe-area { padding: 4mm; }
.page-number { position: absolute; bottom: 0; right: 0; }
</style>
<section class='side front'>
<div class='safe-area'>Front artwork and fields</div>
</section>
<section class='side back'>
<div class='safe-area'>Back artwork and fields</div>
</section>Make duplex alignment deliberate
For short-edge or long-edge binding, front and back artwork may need different horizontal placement or mirroring. Do not assume the PDF viewer’s duplex option will correct artwork registration. Print a one-record test on the target stock, mark the top edge, and verify that the back-side coordinate system matches the printer’s binding edge.
Fonts, images and Unicode
Embed the exact font files required for the job and use stable local paths. Test accented characters, right-to-left text, barcodes and high-resolution images at final paper size. A browser preview is not proof that the PDF engine will shape or embed the same glyphs.
Complete PHP batch example with mPDF
The following worker creates one isolated mPDF instance for a bounded batch. It starts every record after the first on an odd page, so each front side begins on the intended face. Change 'O' to 'E' when your production rule requires an even starting page, and verify the result with a fixture.
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<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
use MpdfMpdf;
use MpdfOutputDestination;
function esc(mixed $value): string {
return htmlspecialchars((string) $value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_SUBSTITUTE, 'UTF-8');
}
function renderRecord(array $row): string {
$id = esc($row['id']);
$name = esc($row['name']);
$address = nl2br(esc($row['address']), false);
$code = esc($row['code']);
return "<style>
@page { size: A4; margin: 12mm 12mm 14mm 12mm; }
.side { min-height: 270mm; page-break-after: always; position: relative; }
.side:last-child { page-break-after: auto; }
.safe { padding: 4mm; }
.id { position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 0; font-size: 8pt; }
</style>
<section class='side'>
<div class='safe'>
<h1>Membership card</h1>
<p><strong>{$name}</strong></p>
<p>{$address}</p>
<p>Code: {$code}</p>
<span class='id'>Record {$id} — front</span>
</div>
</section>
<section class='side'>
<div class='safe'>
<h2>Terms and contact</h2>
<p>Keep this side aligned to the binding edge selected for your printer.</p>
<span class='id'>Record {$id} — back</span>
</div>
</section>";
}
$rows = json_decode(
file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/records.json'),
true,
512,
JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR
);
if (!is_array($rows) || $rows === []) {
throw new RuntimeException('No records supplied');
}
$mpdf = new Mpdf([
'format' => 'A4',
'margin_left' => 12,
'margin_right' => 12,
'margin_top' => 12,
'margin_bottom' => 14,
'tempDir' => __DIR__ . '/tmp/mpdf'
]);
$mpdf->SetTitle('Duplex batch');
foreach ($rows as $index => $row) {
foreach (['id', 'name', 'address', 'code'] as $required) {
if (!array_key_exists($required, $row) || trim((string) $row[$required]) === '') {
throw new InvalidArgumentException("Missing {$required} in row {$index}");
}
}
if ($index > 0) {
// Conditional break: add a page only if needed for an odd start.
$mpdf->AddPage('O');
}
$mpdf->WriteHTML(renderRecord($row));
}
$outDir = __DIR__ . '/out';
if (!is_dir($outDir) && !mkdir($outDir, 0775, true) && !is_dir($outDir)) {
throw new RuntimeException('Cannot create output directory');
}
$tmp = tempnam($outDir, 'duplex-');
$final = $outDir . '/cards.pdf';
$mpdf->Output($tmp, Destination::FILE);
if (!is_file($tmp) || filesize($tmp) === 0) {
@unlink($tmp);
throw new RuntimeException('Renderer produced an empty file');
}
if (!rename($tmp, $final)) {
@unlink($tmp);
throw new RuntimeException('Atomic rename failed');
}
echo "Wrote {$final}n";Install mPDF in the same deployment as the worker and make the temporary directory writable. The example escapes all record fields, uses a fixed page box, and writes atomically; adapt the template to the CSS subset your version supports.
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Parity, page breaks and blank pages
Choose the required starting face
For a front side that must begin on an odd page, call the renderer’s odd conditional break before each record after the first. For an even start, use the even variant. A conditional break may add no page when parity already matches, which is why it is preferable to blindly inserting a blank page.
When a record overflows
An unexpected third page changes the parity of every later record. Treat overflow as a validation failure when the contract is exactly two pages. Find the offending field, image or font metric, then adjust the template or reject the row; do not silently accept shifted backs.
Independent documents versus one batch
Dompdf explicitly advises against reusing one instance for multiple HTML documents. For Dompdf, create a new instance for each PDF or isolated batch unit. With any engine, bounded batches limit memory growth and make retries cheaper than rerendering an unbounded job.
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Validate before release
- Confirm the file opens and has a non-zero size.
- Count pages and compare with the expected two-pages-per-record total plus any intentional parity blanks.
- Check that every record starts on its required odd or even page.
- Verify no record crosses a forced boundary unexpectedly.
- Print a fixture and confirm front/back registration, orientation and binding edge.
- Check fonts, images, barcodes and Unicode text in the actual PDF.
For a simple automated smoke check on Linux, install the pdfinfo utility and inspect the rendered file:
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pages=$(pdfinfo out/cards.pdf | awk '/^Pages:/ {print $2}')
[ "$pages" -ge "$(( ${#rows[@]} * 2 ))" ] || exit 1Use a deterministic fixture with known IDs and boundary markers. Re-run it after changing PHP, the renderer, fonts, images or the template. Keep parity decisions and intentional blank pages in the job log so an operator can explain every page.
Scaling and reliability practices
Chunk work and retry safely
Queue bounded batches rather than one process for millions of rows. Give each job an idempotent input range, write to a unique temporary filename, and rename only after validation. A failed batch can then be retried without replacing a verified file.
Control memory and assets
Large raster images and embedded fonts dominate memory. Resize images to their print resolution, reuse local assets, and avoid loading remote URLs whose content can change between retries. Measure peak memory under production-sized batches; no general library number predicts your workload.
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Escape text and attributes, allow-list image and font paths, and never pass user-controlled HTML to a renderer with unrestricted filesystem or network access. Strip unexpected CSS that could read local files or trigger remote requests in your deployment model.
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Common failures and fixes
Back sides drift to the wrong sheet
Cause: a record overflowed, or parity was inferred from a page count that did not include a conditional blank. Fix: enforce a two-page record contract, use conditional odd/even breaks, and inspect the first failing record in a deterministic fixture.
Content is clipped at the bottom
Cause: the side is taller than the printable area after margins, headers or font substitution. Fix: reduce content, reserve space explicitly, embed the intended font and check the renderer’s page box.
CSS looks correct in Chrome but not in the PDF
Cause: the PHP engine supports a narrower HTML/CSS subset and does not execute browser JavaScript. Fix: replace unsupported layout with block/table structures documented for your engine and move data-dependent work into PHP.
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Cause: a renderer instance retained parsing or layout state. Fix: create a fresh Dompdf instance per document or isolate each batch, and avoid sharing mutable renderer configuration between jobs.
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Missing glyphs, barcodes or images
Cause: the asset path is unavailable to the worker, the font is not embedded, or the barcode/image resolution is insufficient. Fix: use local deterministic paths, register the exact fonts, verify file permissions and inspect the generated PDF rather than only the HTML.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I test parity without printing an entire batch?
Use a deterministic fixture containing one-, two- and overflow-prone records, then inspect page numbers and boundary markers in the PDF before running a full job.
Should front and back artwork use the same CSS coordinates?
Only if your printer’s duplex and binding settings preserve that coordinate system. Confirm with a marked test sheet; some short-edge and long-edge workflows require mirrored placement.
What should be stored for auditability?
Keep the input range or IDs, template revision, PHP and renderer versions, font revisions, page count, parity decisions and validation result alongside the output filename.
Quick Recap
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