My situation - privacy issue

[Erin H]

I am thinking of writing a new zine. I haven't written one in over 7 years, and I'm starting to get back into the zine groove. I want to write about my relationship with my fiance, my disability, our disabilities, and how we deal with the problems/stereotypes we face because of them. Since I'm disabled, I need someone to help me cut/paste/fold/staple/copy my zine. I used to just type everything on my computer, print it out, and have one of my nurses or my dad help me put it together. I would direct them what to cut and where to put everything. This led me to censor a lot of what I wanted to say, and I feel like my past zines weren't as good because of that. With my new zine, I definitely want to write about things that I would NOT want my nurses or parents to see.

I have been thinking about doing everything on the computer (text/formatting/layout), but I am not sure how to do that. I have Microsoft Word and Photoshop.

Then, after I finish putting everything together, how will I get it copied? Folded? Stapled?

Any ideas would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

[NicoleIntrovert]

Have you thought about letting one of your local zine pals help you out with the actual copy/fold/staple? I only say local because of the fact that it would be more costly to have someone far away do it and then mail you all of the zines.

I know that if i lived closer i would LOVE to help you lay out your zine and do your copy/fold/staple bit. i really wouldn't mind doing it from a distance if you do lay it out in Word so i wouldn't have to worry about messing up a cut & paste bit.

Please do let me know if you want me to assist.. i would honestly be more than happy. I definitely think that you getting your words out there is so important to the community.

[Dan 10things]

For the software, if you're doing the full layout on a computer, I'd suggest looking into getting a program made for layout, it would be much easier than doing it in Word, unless you want really basic layout. InDesign or Pagemaker would be ideal, but Publisher is decent. There is probably some free open source software, akin to Gimp being a pretty close free open source clone of Photoshop, someone else might have a suggestion there.

For assembly... at least you have choices! If it's a small print run, you may be able to find a volunteer here. Hell, I'd put together 50-100 for someone in need. But a local printer could do it too, they do this kinda stuff all the time, you submit the file electronically and they'll print, collate, fold and staple it. Hell, they probably have a machine that will do most if not all of that. Or, you could talk with a publisher like Microcosm, they handle the publishing/printing end for some of the chapbooks and zines they distro.

Regardless which path you take, realize there are lots of choices out there, the assembly/distribution challenges you face, while somewhat unique, are fairly easy to overcome and shouldn't stop you from jumping back into publishing! Sounds like it would be a good read!

[Erin H]

Thanks for all the info. I downloaded an open source program that is supposed to be just like pagemaker - it's called Scribe. I've never used any program like this (although I do use Word, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop) so I'm not so sure yet how to set up a quarter-size zine. It gives me options like A4, A8, etc, but I'm don't know which one is for quarter-sized. Do you?

And would I do all the designing in the program? Even writing the text?

Thank you! You were a great help.

Oh, and my friend told me about kinkos and how they can put together your publication for you. If that's too expensive, I'll be sure to ask around here.

Dan 10things said:

For the software, if you're doing the full layout on a computer, I'd suggest looking into getting a program made for layout, it would be much easier than doing it in Word, unless you want really basic layout. InDesign or Pagemaker would be ideal, but Publisher is decent. There is probably some free open source software, akin to Gimp being a pretty close free open source clone of Photoshop, someone else might have a suggestion there....

[Print Pope]

Kinko's is terrible, stocked with angry, underpaid employees who will screw up your stuff and charge you for it out of spite. I should know -- I used to work at one. Your zine sounds interesting and I might be able to help you out, at least with the copying, folding and stapling, but I can't post the details here. If you're interested, drop me a line at [e-mail].

[betrayedzine]

if you have photoshop skills already i'd avoid scribe and just lay it out in photoshop. here's what i'd do:

type it up in word

start a new photoshop doc (8.5" x 11")

move sections of text and images around til it looks right

[Stephanos]

quarter size is roughly A6

bibliophile83 said:

Thanks for all the info. I downloaded an open source program that is supposed to be just like pagemaker - it's called Scribe. I've never used any program like this (although I do use Word, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop) so I'm not so sure yet how to set up a quarter-size zine. It gives me options like A4, A8, etc, but I'm don't know which one is for quarter-sized. Do you?

And would I do all the designing in the program? Even writing the text?

Thank you! You were a great help.

Oh, and my friend told me about kinkos and how they can put together your publication for you. If that's too expensive, I'll be sure to ask around here.

Dan 10things said:

For the software, if you're doing the full layout on a computer, I'd suggest looking into getting a program made for layout, it would be much easier than doing it in Word, unless you want really basic layout. InDesign or Pagemaker would be ideal, but Publisher is decent. There is probably some free open source software, akin to Gimp being a pretty close free open source clone of Photoshop, someone else might have a suggestion there....

[Laura]

A4 is a full page.. then the numbers go up as it halves.. soooo..

A5 is half size
A6 is quarter size..
A7 is half a A6...

works the same going up so.. A3 is the same size as two A4 sheets together..

hope that isn't confusing

[Erin H]

Thanks for the help everyone! My dad is getting InDesign for me at his work (he has connections!) and I plan to start working on it soon. I'll post a message when I'm ready to copy it and such. Thanks again.

[Dan 10things]

betrayedzine said:

if you have photoshop skills already i'd avoid scribe and just lay it out in photoshop. here's what i'd do:

type it up in word

start a new photoshop doc (8.5" x 11")

move sections of text and images around til it looks right

Text looks horrible in Photoshop, it's just not meant to handle solid lines, so the edges get pixilated from the get go, and more and more if you work with it. I can't imagine reading a full-size page of text at like an Arial size 12 font that's been layed out in Photoshop, the pixilation would give me a headache. I'll edit all my photos in it first, but then use a design program for the layout. What do you do in Photoshop if you have an article that runs 3 or 4 pages and you keep messing with the layout? It can't adjust automatically across those pages like it would in Pagemaker or InDesign.

[Erin H]

Yeah, those were the problems I had when I tried to use Photoshop for a layout.

Dan 10things said:

betrayedzine said:

if you have photoshop skills already i'd avoid scribe and just lay it out in photoshop. here's what i'd do:

type it up in word

start a new photoshop doc (8.5" x 11")

move sections of text and images around til it looks right

Text looks horrible in Photoshop, it's just not meant to handle solid lines, so the edges get pixilated from the get go, and more and more if you work with it. I can't imagine reading a full-size page of text at like an Arial size 12 font that's been layed out in Photoshop, the pixilation would give me a headache. I'll edit all my photos in it first, but then use a design program for the layout. What do you do in Photoshop if you have an article that runs 3 or 4 pages and you keep messing with the layout? It can't adjust automatically across those pages like it would in Pagemaker or InDesign.

[ciaraxyerra]

most any copy shop will cut, collate, & staple for you. but it will cost you. & you can't guarantee that they won't fuck it up. if you can swing it financially, you can go with a local shop & explain to them exactly what they want. they should do a sample copy start to finish & show it to you for approval. they should be willing to make any changes you think ought to be made & keep showing you samples until you are satisfied. then they'll do the job for you. you can even have them deliver it to your house. however! they might still fuck it up. i once made a zine & didn't have time to copy it before i moved to a different state. i took it to a shop & explained that i wanted 500 copies of each master page, some of them on a specific color of paper. i specified which ones should be on the colored paper. they did a sample for me & i was happy. i gave them my address & off i went to move. a week or two later, my copies arrived. half the colored copies were on the right paper, & the rest were on another, similarly-colored paper that wasn't what i had asked for. i had specifically told them not to substitute colors & to call if there were any problems. they didn't all & they substituted & it looked awful. they had made the specified 500 copies of some sheets, & 530 of other, & 470 of still others, so i didn't have all the pages i needed to collate everything. ugh, it was a mess. so be careful!

of course, the cheapest method, & the method that will probably give you the most quality control, would be enlisting a zine friend to help you out. good luck.

[Rebecca]

I could possibly help you if we have a zine slumber party. I know I'm flaky though. Can your cousin help you out, or would that be weird? I don't know if this would work for zines, but my friend had to print out all this stuff for her class, like making booklets and she just did all the layout on her mac, and emailed it to Staples to have them print out. I don't know how it turned out though, and don't know how costly it is, but it's something to look into.