Zine Machine

I had a bunch of orders today, and I realized that I was out of #5 and #6. So I had some already printed, and I started making a bunch. Then I realized I haven't shared my zine-making technique that I promised to share a while back. So I pulled out my cheap Fancy-Phone and took pics.

This is how I make the physical zines.

I do things factory style, which means I don't make each zine one at a time, I systematically do all the steps in batches. It's faster, it becomes mindless work, so you can watch TV, even read, or think about other things while you crank out a zillion zines.

1. First I collate everything, so I have covers and pages all in the right order.

2. Staple. Staple first! It keeps the pages straight. I staple them all, and put them all in a pile.

3. Fold using my Zine-Fold-o-Matic(tm) (see below.) It's easier than eye-balling, and it gets a basic fold in pretty much the right spot, and it's not going to cause carpal tunnel syndrome from folding, pressing. Again, stack them all.

Zine fits between the flaps. Not exactly, but close. You need some play.

I bow it like this to make sure it's centered. This is the most important part.

Fold! I use my whole hand so I don't get cramps or RSI.

4. Hard fold with something that's hard, that doesn't stain or scratch. A bone-tool is nice, I guess. I use a little shot-glass. Done.

Shot Glass for a harder edge

The Zine-Fold-0-matic is a piece of corrugated plastic that I stole off the street. I hate those signs, they're all over my neighborhood. Most are taking advantage of the low income folks and those on the brink of foreclosure, vultures I tell you. I steal them all, and use them for other projects. I took this one, cut it in half, lengthwise. I measured out a zine, and scored where they'd fold side so it folds easily.

Rule for scale, I used a physical zine for the measurements. Four scores. There will be a gap between the edges of the zine and the plastic-folder-thing. This is OK.

This is to show the scores. I cut through one side, and only one side. You don't want to make the flaps too big, or it won't fold. Or too small, it'll kinks the pages. 

That's it! Let me know if you have any questions.

P.S. #7 is in layout. 

Bonus Tips: Get a stamp for your return address and use address labels for the recipient. Writing out addresses separately sucks. I did hand label a few, but if there is more than 1 or 2, I always cut and paste their address into a template, and print.