Zines

How to Make a Zine

There is no single way to make a zine. Just as they vary greatly in topic and subject matter, they vary greatly in design and size. These are some suggestions to get you started in brainstorming, but before you begin, you may want to think about the following:

  • Do you want to begin with a digital zine or a physical, handmade zine?
  • Do you want your zine to be in color (before and/or after distribution)?
  • What kind of supplies will you need?
  • What size (paper dimensions) and number of pages are you aiming for?
  • How are you going to make copies and/or distribute?

The rest of this guide is broken up by your answer to the first question, but keep them all in mind before you begin or while you are planning your zine.

Physical Zines

How to Make a Physical Zine

First, determine the size you'd like your zine to be. You can start with a full letter size paper, or you may want to fold that paper in half or to accommodate 8 zine pages (instructions on that below). 

Gather your supplies. A suggested list of supplies can be found below.

Get creative! Maybe you'd like your zine to have one cohesive style so all you'll need is a single marker or ballpoint pen. Maybe you'd like to create a collage-style zine or one where you draw and/or paint on pages. Maybe you'd like to do a bit of everything! Mix materials, cut out things, glue other things, do whatever you'd like to bring your vision and message to life.

Scan pages (this can be done before or after binding, dependent upon your preference). If you'd like to turn your zine into a digital format for distribution or printing, scan your pages.

Bind pages. A long reach stapler (can find at office supplies stores, craft and art stores and at some libraries) might be the easiest way to bind your pages. You can also glue, sew and thread, hole punch and hold together with string, or simply fold, dependent upon your preference.

 

Suggested Supplies

This list is a broad overview of any supplies you may need. Dependent upon your specific project and vision, you may only need one of these things or you may need all of them. Think about what you'd like your final product to be and what will inspire you or help you share your story, ideas or message the best.

  • Paper
    • Fail safe: plain white printer paper
    • Other: construction paper, cardstock, origami paper, etc.
  • Art/craft supplies
    • Paints & brushes: acrylic, watercolor, gouache, etc.
    • Pens: ballpoint, gel, glitter, various colors
    • Markers: permanent, dual brush, various thickness/colors
    • Stamps: various inks, designs, letters
    • Colors: crayons, colored pencils
    • Glue: bottle, glue stick
    • Tape: double sided, art/scrapbook tape, washi, scotch tape
    • Scissors, pencils, erasers, anything else!
  • Magazines & newspapers
    • Various genres: fashion, gardening, home, political, social issues, art/culture, travel, sports, nature, gossip, niche (cars, film, etc.)
    • Examples: Time, Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg, Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker, GQ, National Geographic
    • Places to look: Half Price Books, thrift stores, second hand shops, bookstores, grocery stores, public libraries, Facebook Marketplace, friends & family
  • Print out images
    • People, things, scenes, quotes, backgrounds, misc. text
  • Textured elements
    • Fabrics, ribbon, pressed flowers/leaves, stickers, etc.
  • Thrift store/yard sale finds, old: photographs, picture books, posters, maps, blueprints, graph paper, letters, notebook, books

How to Make a Zine

Digital Zines

How to Make a Digital Zine

First, determine if you want to distribute the zine digitally or if you plan to print it out and distribute physical copies.

You have tons of options to make your pages and design! Below are some to consider.

  • Canva: Canva offers a free tier where you can access pre-designed zine templates, create your own template using "grids" for the 8 page zine fold method, or simply pick letter size paper dimensions (8.5"x11") and start there! Your design can take up the full page or you can orient it to be landscape (11"x8.5") and divide the page in half to accommodate for printing and folding the page in half. I also made a zine layout template in Canva if you would like to use the 8 page method. Check the Canva layout tab of this box for instructions on how to access it and the pre-designed zine templates. 
  • Word (online or desktop application) or Google Docs
  • PowerPoint (online or desktop application) or Google slides
  • Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign (tutorial here))
  • Spectrolite (for Mac): free Mac desktop app with zine layout templates for printing, risograph tools and how-to resources
  • Procreate
  • Electric Zine Maker (free download): art tool for making and printing zines with the 8 page zine fold method in mind. Offers template to streamline zine making and many ways to customize, including a tool for glitch-art.  
  • zinesforever.com: very user friendly free website/tool for creating, downloading, printing and sharing zines, though please note: they will have "royalty-free, non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish and advertise the content without prior notice" per their terms.

Online Flipbook Options

To turn your digital product (made digitally or scanned physical pages) into a flipbook for online viewing, consider these methods:

  • Canva: if you made your design on Canva and each page on Canva is a full page of your zine, you can use their share link feature to create a view-only link that automatically turns your design into a flipbook (share > more > view only link)
  • Issuu: PDF to flipbook converter and electronic publishing platform (very popular with zinesters)
  • Heyzine: PDF to flipbook converter, 5 free books
  • Adobe: convert PDFs into flipbooks with InDesign or either view as a slideshow or print as a booklet on Acrobat
  • FlipHTML5: perhaps the easiest and most no-strings-attached free option of the bunch, this site allows you to create up to 5 free flipbooks a day and customize your flipbook as well, however, the link to your flipbook will contain ads.
  • Flipsnack: online flipbook maker, free 14 day trial. You can design a flipbook from scratch or convert an existing PDF into a flipbook.

Digital Zine Making Tips

If you plan on printing your zine, keep the physical zine you'll end up with in mind when designing digitally.

Account for the digital pages vs physical pages ratio: it's not a great idea to only make 5 digital pages because then you'll end up with blank pages when you print, fold and bind. Keep in mind that papers will be printed front and back!

Arrange digital pages to accommodate for the layout of physical pages.

Standard Zine: If you are making the single paper, 8 page zine, your digital pages should be arranged like the picture below. That way, when you fold and cut, they'll be in the correct order.

Another example: Another method is simply folding your paper in half. In this example, we have a 6 page zine, so you'll need 2 pieces of paper to print it on (front & back).

Arranging the pages

  • Via Adobe: click edit, then "Organize pages" and arrange as below. Page #1 in Adobe will be your back cover, followed by your front cover, then page 1 of your zine, page 6 of your zine, page 5 of your zine, page 2 of your zine, page 3 of your zine and page 4 of your zine. Image demonstrating the page layout below. Print, "multiple" with 2 pages per sheet and flip on short edge, double sided. Adobe also has a booklet printing option that you can try. 
  • Via site/program (like Canva): Choose your paper's dimensions (standard printer paper is 8.5"x11" but orient it as 11"x8.5" for landscape) and divide the page in half when creating. You can do this either mentally, just keep in mind that each page is 2 zine pages, or you can add a thin line down the middle of the page like in the images below to keep track of the space. This is since your papers will be folded in half when printed. More instructions on the next tab.

 

 

Using Zine Templates on Canva

Canva offers many free templates for a variety of things, including zines! Simply use the search bar at the top of the home page. Enter "zine," click "Canva Templates" and enter. You can click any zines and customize it from there or click "Create a blank Zine" and work from there. Just be sure to create the right number of digital pages, depending on how you plan to print and bind it, to avoid having blank physical pages. 

Using My Zine Layout Template on Canva

I have created a free zine layout template for anyone to use on Canva. This template will help you make a standard 8 page zine, printed on a single sheet of paper. Check the "Folding Methods" section in this same page to learn how to fold it!

Step 1: Create a free account in Canva, or log in if you already have one

Step 2: Click "Create a Design" and "Custom size." Enter the following - Width: 2.7, Height: 4.2, Units: in

Step 3: Create your 8 zine pages however you'd like!

Step 4: Save each page as an image file. To do this, click Share, Download, then choose either PNG or JPG. 

Step 5: Open the Zine Layout Template page (requires you to be signed in to your Canva account)

Step 6: Upload your zine pages. To do this, click Uploads (left hand side), Upload files, and then choose your 8 zine pages.

Step 7: Drag each of your zine page images to each box in the template in the order shown below. The image will automatically flip upside down once you drag it to the box (called a "Frame" in Canva).

Step 8: Save as a PDF file. To do this, click Share, Download, then choose PDF Print. Now you can print your zine, fold it and distribute!

Folding Methods

One popular method of zine making is to fold a single, letter sized paper to accommodate for 8 zine pages. You can use this method to fold your zine whether you begin with a handmade design or a digital design. The fold method also allows for the option for you to not have to reinforce the binding. 

However, there are tons of methods and options for you to fold your zine, including simply folding it in half, folding a page for 16 zine pages and many other methods!