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Zines represent a breather from mainstream media, whose content and format can sometimes feel staid and tired.

In the act of creation, zinesters take ownership of their interests and feelings, and express this in a tangible form—a precious little commodity in the fast-paced,

technologically-adept world we live in today, which can sometimes come across as transient and a little impersonal. Express yourself through zines—a small window of escapism and rebellion against inconsequential intangibility.

 

  

 
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Paper, scissors, penknife, ruler, things to make text with (computer/printer, typewriter, your own handwriting), adhesives.

  


Draw your own original images, or create collages. Many zinesters also often use images cut or scanned from old books, vintage photographs or found graphics within their zines. Avoid copyrighted artwork; take pride in originality.

  


Contents/zine topics are anything you want them to be. Cats, punk-feminism, a journal of heartache expressed wordlessly through Polaroid photography, vegan recipes, flash-fiction composed across lonely nights, twee pop reviews, Existential philosophy, doodles of zombies. A couple of things to consider might be: are you producing a one-off zine or a serial one? Are you crafting an image-heavy or text-centred zine?
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There are various methods and endless formats in which to layout your zine. You can work digitally or via cut-and-paste, or combine printed text, scribbled-in notes and graphics—creating a master copy of your work first, and then making more standardized photocopies for dissemination.

Whether you are creating your zine digitally or by hand, you will have to make sure that your total number of pages are divisible by four, absolutely essential if you are going to saddle-stitch/staple your zine. If you're having trouble visualizing the



 

concept of the page sequencing, try assembling a test booklet using scrap paper. For a 16 page booklet you need to take a stack of four pieces of paper and then fold the stack in half. Put a staple in the fold to keep the booklet together, and then number each page—beginning with the front cover as page 1. After you've finished, take the booklet apart and you will see how the printer spreads relate to each other—a task called 'imposing' in the professional bookbinding world.

If you want to print on full sheets of paper, the print options in most software will allow you to print only odd or even pages. Print out the odd pages, flip them over, and print the even pages on the back. If your printer automatically prints on both sides (called duplex printing), just tell it to do so. Most printers will require you to do two passes and flip the pages.

Microsoft Word also has a booklet printing setting which will allow you to impose your pages. You can

 

select between 4, 8, and 16 page imposing orders or choose to print your whole document as one booklet. If, for example, you choose to print a 30 page booklet with the 4 page setting, Word will impose the pages to print in a 4 page per sheet grouping and repeat the process every 4 pages. Word will also add 2 blank pages at the end to make the total page count even out (it must be a multiple of 4.) These 4 page signatures, when folded in half, will be in proper reading order. When all of the signatures are stacked in order, the pages will be in proper book order.
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JAPANESE SIDE STITCH

Machine sewing:
If your zine is thin enough, run it through the centre of a sewing machine.

  

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SADDLE-STITCH BINDING / STAPLING

If you don't have a long-arm stapler and your zine is thin enough, work around your regular stapler:
Materials/Tools:
-Regular stapler
-Eraser or corkboard

  

Open out your stapler.
Lay your unbound zine face-flat on the table. Clip your zine together so it does not move around.
Mark out the 2 points you want to staple, ie along the spine crease of the cover page.
Lay your zine on top of an eraser or corkboard, positioned exactly where you want to staple.
Slowly but firmly push down on the stapler until you have passed through all the pages.
Turn over the pages and pull off the eraser and then fold over the staple ends with a metal ruler or your thumbnail, being careful not to break it.
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PERFECT BINDING

Perfect binding is not a stitch binding at all, but a solely adhesive based binding. It is the easiest and least durable way to produce books, and is how most paperback books are bound. Single leafs are jogged to form a straight block, and the spine edge is glued together.

Materials/Tools:
-PVA glue (other alternatives: UHU glue or white glue)
-2 large binder clamps
-A heavy book or a brick
-Fine grade sandpaper
-To protect your text block: 2 thin boards made of plastic (such as old ring binder files) or thin wood, or 2 pieces of cardboard.
-For spreading the glue: A small, stiff, bristly brush, an ice cream stick, or a couple of cotton buds


  

1. Stack your pages together in order. If you want to make a book with pages smaller than 8 1/2 x 11 inches, you can fold the pages in half and then stack the folded pages together. Ensure that they are jogged straight together by rustling them till they are perfectly aligned against the table.

2. Clamp the pages together along the top and bottom of the spine edge, leaving about an inch between the clip and the spine. Place the cardboard under the binder clips' contact points with your text block. This will ensure an equal distribution of pressure from the binder clips, and keep them from marking up or denting the paper.

3. Sand the pages. Take a small piece of fine sand paper (200 or 300 grit should work) and rough up the paper along the spine edge. This will expose the fibers of the paper and allow the glue to bond firmly with the paper.

4. Line a table with newspaper and place your text block along the edge of the table. Leave an inch of the spine side hanging over the table. Place the heavy book or the brick on top of your text block.

5. Glue the edges of the paper together, fanning the spine in each direction. Press down on the inch over the table to slant that part of the text block and paint glue over the spine again, so that the glue will get into the little spaces between the very edge of the pages. Then, holding the text block, slant the spine pages upward. Finally, letting the text block return to its unslanted state, paint glue on again.
6. Glue the cover. When the spine has dried, it is time to glue on the cover. (Note how the glue has soaked into the edges of the paper to create a solid binding.) Remove the clamps. Fold the cover using the edge of a ruler (or come down and use our bone folder) so that it will wrap neatly around the pages. Then, apply more glue to the spine and place the cover. You may wish to clamp everything together again while the glue dries.

7. Finishing details. When the glue is dry, remove all clamps and trim the edges of the cover with a penknife, or come down to use our stack cutter.
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BOOK-BINDING PAMPHLET STITCH

Tools/Materials:
-Tapestry needle (or any large-eyed, blunt-ended needle)
-Depending on how thick your zine is: A push pin, or a metal nail and a small hammer, or an awl (you can make your own awl by sticking a large needle into a dowel)
-Tie material: Make sure your tie is about 3 ½ times the length of your pamphlet spine.
(Examples of tie materials: Narrow ribbon, yarn, waxed linen, thick thread, strong twisted paper cord).

  

Lay your unbound book face-flat on the table, open to the middle on the inside. With a push pin, punch 3 holes, nicely-spaced, through the spine.
Thread your needle (but do not tie a knot at the end of your thread).
From the outside, stick your needle through the middle hole. Leave a desired length of thread behind.
Then, stick your needle (now on the inside) through the top hole. Your needle should then be on the outside again.
Now, from the outside, stick it through the bottom hole.
Tighten the thread.
Finally, pull needle back through the middle hole and pull the last length of thread back out.
Tie the ends together in a bow, or in a tight knot, and cut off the ends.

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