Your zine saves on this phone by itself. Save a copy to move it to another device.
Your print sheet
Get the files
Putting your pages together...
Print at 100% or Actual size, not "Fit to page".
Each page as its own file
PNG pictures at 300 dots per inch. Good for posting, sharing, or a print shop. Want just the cover? Save the cover.
Share what you made
Send your cover to a friend or post it anywhere. No hashtags, no tracking.
Print on demand (Lulu)
Lulu prints and ships for you. They want two PDFs: the inside pages one by one, and the cover as one spread (back cover + front cover). Both get 1/8 in extra edge (bleed) on every side so nothing white shows after they trim.
Keep words at least 1/2 in from the edges. Mini zines are too small for Lulu, use the booklet.
Cost: color digest booklets start around $4.30 a copy, plus shipping. About 3 to 5 business days to print. Your exact price depends on your page count, check it on Lulu's price calculator. Prices change.
Go to lulu.com booklets, make a free account and start a print book.
Pick 5.5 x 8.5 in (digest), saddle stitch, and color or black and white to match your zine.
Upload the inside pages PDF, then the cover PDF. Lulu checks them and tells you if anything needs fixing.
Order one copy for yourself first. Check it, then order more or share your Lulu link.
How to fold it
How to bind it
A mini zine holds itself together, no binding needed. Want it to stay shut in a pocket? Use the hair tie way below, or wrap a strip of tape around the spine.
Fold the stack and open it back up. Lay it face down, open flat, on a piece of cardboard or a folded towel.
Long reach stapler? Close the book over the arm, line the fold up under the head and staple. Done.
Regular stapler: open it all the way so it lies flat (most swing open). Push 2 staples straight down through the fold into the cardboard, about 1 in from the top and the bottom.
Peel it off the cardboard. Inside the book, press each staple leg flat toward the middle with the back of a spoon or a butter knife.
More than about 8 sheets? Staples may not reach. Use needle and thread instead.
You need: a stapler, cardboard. Usually free, it is already in a drawer.
Open the folded stack. Make 3 holes on the fold from the inside with a pushpin or a needle: one in the middle (B), one about 1 in from the top (A), one about 1 in from the bottom (C).
Thread a needle with thread about 3 times as long as the spine. Embroidery thread, dental floss or string all work. No knot.
From the inside, go out through the middle hole B. Leave a 3 in tail inside.
Outside, go back in through the top hole A.
Inside, skip past B and go out through the bottom hole C.
Outside, go back in through the middle hole B. Make sure the needle comes out on the other side of the long inside stitch from your tail.
Pull it snug, not tight. Tie the two ends in a double knot around the long inside stitch. Trim.
You need: a needle, thread, a pushpin. Works for thick zines that staples will not get through.
For taller zines. Make 5 evenly spaced holes on the fold: the middle (3), one near each end (1 and 5), one halfway between (2 and 4).
Thread a needle with thread about 4 times as long as the spine. No knot.
From the inside, go out through the middle hole 3. Leave a 3 in tail inside.
Outside, go in through 4. Inside, go out through 5.
Outside, go back in through 4. Inside, skip past 3 and go out through 2.
Outside, go in through 1. Inside, go out through 2 again.
Outside, go back in through the middle hole 3, on the other side of the long inside stitch from your tail.
Pull snug, tie the two ends in a double knot around the long inside stitch, trim. The whole spine is stitched on the outside.
Fold the stack. Open it to the middle page.
Lay a hair tie or a rubber band down the center fold.
Stretch it over the top and bottom edges of the spine and let it snap around the outside of the spine.
Close the book. The band holds every page. Take it off to read it flat or swap pages.
You need: a hair tie or a rubber band. Good for mini zines and thin booklets.