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[Basement Media Dispatch #6:]Are E-Zines Returning to Their Paper Roots?by Gareth Branwyn[This article originally appeared on MSNBC's The Site in 1997. Links have been updated, but otherwise, it's presented in all of its dated glory.] In this era of home pages, e-zines, streaming audio and video, it's easy to forget the relatively low-tech world of "dead tree" publishing. Sure, digital technologies have revolutionized many aspects of publishing and communications, but we'd be foolish to forget that most of the world still runs on paper. Many of the e-zines you might discover online have print versions: Factsheet Five [cobweb site], Bust, Tiki News and Gajoob, to name just a few. While cranking out both a print and online edition isn't easy or cheap--most mortals are probably not up to the task--it is increasingly being done (the few, the proud, the massively over-extended). While most basement medianauts who publish both on- and offline started out in print before venturing into cyberspace, there appears to be a small but growing number who are moving in the opposite direction. I could only scare up a half a dozen, but Seth Friedman of Factsheet Five claims there are more. "People don't necessarily announce it, but it does happen," he says. "We've seen a significant growth in print zines recently and I think one of the reasons is that people are tired of just doing an e-zine. They want to do something more tangible. When you get a print zine in the mail, you know you're really getting something." Which raises a common complaint about electronic publications: with all the obvious advantages of electronic publishing, there are many things it cannot (and some it never will) provide: the sensual, tactile experience of reading (hey, don't laugh), the ability to read in bed and on the john, the freedom to read "off the grid." No matter how much work goes into a website, you can't really get a sense of that effort when you arrive on its front page. A massive site with thousands of pages doesn't feel much different from one with only a dozen. When that 64-page zine comes sailing through the mail slot and flops onto your living room floor, you instantly get an idea of what's in store, even before you pick it up. As the artist Beatkit (a.k.a. Shawn Wolfe) once observed: as electronic media becomes more dominant, the special "artifactual quality" of print will only increase. And then there's the romantic allure of putting together a print zine, or as Bonnie Burton of grrl puts it: "Somehow along the way, I craved sitting in the middle of my living room surrounded by clip art, scissors, papers and rubber stamps. It felt more DIY to do it offline. I work with computers all day, so it was nice to be a luddite in a way and do my zine in print-only format from that point." I got a number of responses to my queries about e-zines moving offline (or adding print editions) from e-zines that are currently planning print versions. Ovi's World of the Bizarre, which has built a big following online, is now working on a print version. Ovi's is a weekly e-zine of weird-but-true news collected from various sources. They're now collecting exclusive material for a print edition. Jeff Potter, publisher of Out Your Backdoor: Magazine of Cheap Adventure and DIY Culture wants to go one step further and print his zine himself: "I'm getting seriously tempted and attracted by the tools of the printing trade...I look longingly at... cutters, binders, a press. I've been doing a website and paper version for years, but now I feel the urge to go even further up the food chain. Publishing takes you strange places." Even if you wouldn't think of printing a regular zine to accompany your Web publication, knowing the ins and outs of small print publishing can still be useful. You might consider doing a one-shot mini-comic, an annual special print edition of your zine, stickers or other swag. In my amateur media efforts, I've always tried to mix media as much as possible: cassette with zine, "bagazine" (misc. stuff in a ziplock bag), zine with mini-comic and stickers, etc. The Web is obviously great for this (w/ text, graphics, video, sound), but why stop there? If you're interested in building a sense of community among your readers, and doing something unique and fun, a print project might just be the ticket.
A Zine Co-OpObviously, one of the biggest drawbacks to print publishing is the expense. One group of zinesters has formed a Co-Op and claims that they've dramatically cut their printing costs as a result. It all started several years ago when Scott McIntire was doing a fishing zine called Mullet Wrapper. As his circulation increased, he needed to find a decent but cheap printer. One day he realized that his print costs would be a lot cheaper if he could "gang" his print job with other peoples'. (Ganging is where you print more than one print job at a time on a large sheet-fed or web press). He started recruiting other publications and the Small Publishers Co-Op was born. The Co-Op has rapidly grown to over 270 members who print all manner of publications, from zines and underground comics to local community newsletters. "In the printing business, volume is king," say McIntire. "Most commercial printers won't even touch a small publisher's print run without charging outrageous rates." McIntire claims that members save more than 70% on their print bill by working through the Co-Op. All the work is done on web presses and printed on newsprint or a higher-quality white paper. "Besides the printing costs, the other expense and bottleneck is in pre-press (camera work, stripping up the film negatives, etc.) and post-press (stitching, cutting binding). We save Co-Op members money by doing lots of this in-house," says McIntire. Some members have even traveled to the Co-Op's shop in Sarasota, Florida to work on the production of their own zine (saving even more money and getting hands-on experience in the pre- and post-printing process). The Co-Op recently published a 16-page catalog of some of their members' zines and information about joining. If the response (in both new Co-Op members and in zine sales) is good, McIntire says they'll produce more. Membership in the Co-Op is a one-time fee of $19.If you want to get your job printed locally, ask other zinesters in your area for recommendations. You can also post a notice on the alt.zines newsgroup asking for advice. PrinterSpace (DEFUNCT), an online directory of printers throughout the US, is also a good place to start looking. If your print run is going to be small (under 250 copies), you can probably get by with photocopying. And, for really small jobs, you can always use your laser printer. I've seen really great looking digest-size zines (5 1/2" x 8 1/2") done entirely on a laser printer. Then there's always the ol' "xerox subsidy" (copying your zine at work). Mark and Carla of bOING bOING started their zine on a xerox subsidy, with Mark working the copy machine while Carla acted as look-out. Zine knowbot Jerod Pore claims that the zine publishing explosion of the mid-80s was largely made possible by such xerox subsidies.
Tips for Dealing with PrintersOK, so you're thinking of getting physical with some paper and a glue stick, now what? I've been involved in the print world as both the operator of a small print shop and as a zine publisher. Here's a few things I've learned over the years:* The first thing you need to do is outline exactly what you want. Printers can't give you an accurate quote unless they know what it is you're printing. Take a sample copy with you if possible (made from a laser print-out or a photocopy of your layouts). Or, if you have a previous issue, take that. Outline all of the requirements: paper stock, paper and ink colors, photos you'll need screened and stripped in, special printing (e.g. screens, ink "bleeding" off any of the sides, die cutting, etc.). If you're unsure about any of this (such as what paper to use), ask the printer. He or she can show you samples and discuss relative costs. * Don't just settle on the first printer you find. Get several quotes over the phone, and when you've decided on who to go with, get the quote in writing. Also ask your printer to call you during production if it looks like the job is going to exceed the quoted amount. * Assume printers are idiots. Now you printers out there, don't get all testy with me, I didn't say printers are idiots, but if you assume that they are, and are annoyingly explicit with all of the instructions, you'll be much happier with your job. Get a non-reproducing blue pen (available at office and art supply stores) and mark up special instructions directly on your layouts. * Make sure that your layouts are clean, neat and organized. Printers are often very careless with artwork, so make sure you tape paper overlays on each layout to protect it from the abuse of the print shop. * Printers usually print at least 10% overage to account for copies lost in the post-printing phases (folding, cutting, binding, etc.). Make sure you ask them to print extra copies of your cover page so that you can put together more zines with the overage from the inside pages. * If you think your job includes something difficult for the printer to handle (e.g. lots of black areas, closely printed multiple colors (called "tight registration") or a fancy fold, ask them to call you when they're working on that part of the job so that you can inspect the job in person. * If you have some special paper you want to use, you can buy the paper yourself and bring it to your printer. Usually it's cheaper for them to buy the paper, but there are discount paper warehouses where you can buy odd lots of paper super cheap. I used to shop at such a place and saved big bucks. Using your own paper is also a common practice if you're doing photocopying. Mail-order houses like PaperDirect offer small lots (at premium prices) of some really beautiful paper stocks that can be either laser printed or photocopied. * If your job involves folding, binding and cutting (and most do), don't forget to get a quote on these. If you can afford it, it's much less of a hassle in the long run to have them do all of this post-print work. If you can't afford it, the next best thing to do is to throw a zine party and make all of your friends do the work. You'll have to provide pizza and beer, but this is a great way to get your zine stapled, folded, addressed and stamped. When I did a zine years ago I'd hold such parties. Besides the pizza and beer, I'd also put out all of the latest zines and mail art I'd received (and we'd play all the weird new basement music and tedious "audio art" I'd received). It was all great fun. Not TOO much beer though, or everything will get cut and stapled crooked! * Consider the mailing costs of whatever you're printing. Mailing costs are the other big drawback to print. Once you know how big your zine's going to be, and you know what paper you'll be using, get a "dummy" copy of the zine from the printer. Make sure it's exactly the way it will be at mailing time (stapled, labeled, stamped, etc.) and then weigh it for postage. If your mailing is small (in both number of pieces and weight/piece), you'll likely mail it first class. If your mailing is over 200 pieces, you can consider the cheaper bulk mail rate (currently $.246). To do bulk, you'll need a bulk rate permit ($85) and you'll need to sort the mailing by zipcode. If you go this route, two things: 1) For heaven's sake, print the bulk rate indicia on the zine itself, otherwise it'll take days of stamping (I learned this one the hard way), 2) Organize that zine party! You don't wanna do a bulk rate mailing by yourself. Bulk rate doesn't make sense for a periodic or one-shot publication, but if you get serious about zine publishing, and are on a regular publishing schedule, bulk rate can save you money. * If you have a small print run (up to say 200 copies), you might consider doing hand work on the covers. I've seen (and made) zines with color xeroxed stickers, pasted on color xerox or color laser printed covers, hand coloring, air brushing, objects pasted onto covers, covers riddled with bullet holes...you get the idea. Again, having friends help makes this sort of approach possible.
ResourcesHere are a few resources to get you started in the ink-smudged world of print. Which brings up another argument for print: Ink smells awesome! There's something really amazing about the smell of your zine fresh off the presses, second only to the smell of fresh ground coffee (but I degress).Zine Printing and Publishing Info
Factsheet 5 Web Edition
Chip Rowe's Book of Zines Website
Kill Zinsters (DEFUNCT)
The Quick and Dirty Guide to Fanzine Publishing (DEFUNCT) Zine-Friendly Printers
Small Publishers Co-Op
Market Hill Printers
PrinterSpace (DEFUNCT)
Alt.zines printer discussion (DEFUNCT) Misc.
PaperDirect Online
Crap Hound (c) 2001. Gareth Branwyn.
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