Printing your publication

Getting started

You do not need to be a print expert to make a great magazine. Start with your readers, make a few practical choices and bring a printer into the conversation early.

Printing a product you have designed involves preparing the artwork, selecting suitable materials and finishes, and checking a proof before production. The exact process may vary depending on the product, printer and intended use, but the following provides a practical overview.

Plan from the finished copy backwards

When planning, it is often worth trying to plan back to front: what do you want to hold, feel and touch once your project has been printed? This will enable you to work correctly from the start of the design and make production easier throughout the process without having to backtrack at any point.

If you know what you want as your end product and you want physical printed copies, you can plan this early and contact printing companies so you can gain quotes and assess your budget. Most printing companies will now quote for you using the most cost-effective technology, whether that be digital or litho print. The printer should be able to advise if you are not sure of your exact specification.

More information:

• WTTB: stitched booklet printing
• WTTB: perfect-bound book printing

Choose your paper

Choose the material on which the product will be printed, such as paper or card. Consider the product’s purpose, the feel you want it to have and the conditions it will be exposed to.

Materials for brochures, newsletters and magazines tend to be one of either gloss paper, silk paper or uncoated paper. Gloss and silk are more traditional for corporate brochures and will usually have a heavier cover. Uncoated is considered a little more “designery” and has a slightly rougher finish but is a little more tactile. Fashion and home titles often use this to give that fabric kind of look.

What does ‘gsm’ mean?
Grams per square metre measures paper weight, not its exact thickness. Two stocks with the same gsm can have different bulk, opacity and feel.

Add a finish with purpose

Depending on your choice of printer, you may need to speak with them about how to supply that part of the artwork, but usually if it’s a foil it would be supplied as a separate layer named ‘Gold foil’.

Make one detail count
If the budget allows, use a finish on the title or a simple cover shape. Ask for the supplier’s artwork template before building the effect.

Spend where readers will notice
Prioritise readable pages, good images, proofreading and a physical proof before spending on decorative finishes

Binding and page count

Binding affects your page count, how the magazine opens and how you build the cover. There are two main options: stitched (folded and stapled) and perfect bound (glued at the spine). ‘PUR’ binding, described below, is a type of perfect binding.

Try to plan your page count if you can. For stapled booklets it needs to be in multiples of 4. These are made from sections of folded sheets, which will nearly always have four printed pages (4pp), and generally suit smaller page counts, maybe up to 50 pages.

Perfect-bound booklets (like magazines) need to be in multiples of 2 and are generally for larger page counts, probably over 50 pages.

Saddle stitched booklets are folded, nested and usually fastened with two wire staples through the fold. It is a practical option for shorter magazines and opens relatively freely. There is no square spine for a printed spine title.

PUR bound. The page block is glued into a wraparound cover using polyurethane reactive adhesive. It produces a square spine and suits a thicker publication. It needs enough spine thickness and does not open flat like a centre spread in a stitched magazine.

• Choose with your printer
  Maximum stitched thickness and minimum PUR thickness depend on paper and equipment. PUR is a type of adhesive binding; it does not mean that pages are sewn.
• Build a paper dummy
  Fold a few sheets and number every side. Map out the cover, contents, features and final page.
• Deliberate blanks are fine; accidental blanks waste space
  Supply reading order, not printer-imposed pairs such as 32 + 1.

Four layouts to try

Jon proposes four wireframes as starting points, but use your own photography, illustration and editorial voice.

• 01: Feature opener
  One strong image, a clear headline and a short introduction. Let the story breathe.
• 02: News page
  A consistent two-column grid, short stories, captions and clear separation.
• 03: Interview
  A portrait alongside questions and answers. Pull out one memorable quote.
• 04: Photo essay
  A simple image grid with captions. Vary the scale to create a focal point.

For more on design principles, see our layout and design guidance

Make two pages work as one

A spread is a pair of facing pages. The centre join is the gutter.

Keep the important bit away from the join. Wide landscapes, textures and illustrations can cross a spread beautifully. Avoid putting a face, a word, a logo or a fine vertical line on the centre join: small shifts or hidden image area will be obvious.

Allow for the binding. The centre spread of a stitched magazine is the easiest place for a continuous image. Other spreads can shift slightly. PUR hides some image area near the spine, so allow a generous gutter and request the printer’s guidance on crossover compensation.

Design with facing pages, then normally export the interior as single pages in reading order. Do not manually duplicate or offset artwork at the spine without the printer’s instructions.

Export the print file

Export the finished artwork in the file format requested by the printer. A print-ready PDF is commonly used and is the industry standard, although other formats may be accepted.

Follow the printer’s specification and template before any generic advice.

1. Check the document
   Confirm trim size, binding, page count, cover stock and final content. Resolve missing images, missing fonts, low-resolution warnings and overset text.
2. Export a print-quality PDF
   Use the requested preset, often PDF/X-4. Retain suitable image resolution and embed fonts. Include the agreed bleed; add crop marks only if requested. Avoid web or smallest-file-size presets.
3. Separate the cover when needed
   Normally send interior pages as single pages in reading order. For PUR, use a separate cover file built to the supplied template: back cover + confirmed spine + front cover, with inner cover artwork if needed. Follow glue and hinge clearances.
4. Open the exported file
   Inspect every page at a readable size and zoom into images and small type. Check the first and last pages, blank pages, bleed, page boxes and colour separations. Ask the printer to preflight anything your software cannot verify.

Proofs and placing the order

Depending on who you are using to print your product, you may be able to request a proof. Usually this would be a PDF that may look just the same as the PDF you sent to the printer, but they would have checked it for suitability for print and hopefully will flag any issues with the file, such as low-quality images. Some online companies offer this and some don’t.

It is really important you check your file very carefully before sending it to the printer. Even if they provide a proof, they may charge for any amendments that need to be made.

Approve a proof. Print a folded dummy for sequence and reading. Ask what a supplier’s proof checks: a PDF proof is not a paper or colour proof. Have a second person check it, then agree final approval with your teacher.

Confirm the production details:
Provide the printer with the approved artwork and confirm the quantity, material, size, finish, packaging, delivery address and required date. Clarify any questions about the quotation, setup charges or production times before authorising the order.

What to tell your printer:

“We are producing an A4 school magazine: 28pp text plus a 4pp cover, 130gsm silk inside, saddle stitched. Please quote for our quantities and advise on cover stock, bleed, PDF settings, proof options and delivery.”

When your copies arrive

When the printed products arrive, check them carefully to make sure they are what you expected and the quality is good. Check the print quality, colour consistency, trimming, folding, finishing and overall appearance.

Report any issues to the printer promptly and keep the approved proof and final artwork for future reference.