Magazines have been around since the late 1600’s and have been a staple in culture, providing readers insight into just about any and every topic one could think of. Printed publications like magazines are still important today, because consumers feel a much deeper connection with a physically printed piece as opposed to scanning an article online.
If a person is truly interested in the subject matter, they are making the conscious effort to pick up the magazine, turn the page, absorb its contents, and more than likely will come back to it again if it sparks their interest. Thus, it is important to know how to create magazines.
If you are thinking about magazine publishing, there are a few steps to follow in learning how to create magazines. The first is figuring out what you would like your magazine to be about. There is literally a magazine for any subject matter.
Once you’ve determined what you want your magazine’s subject to be, you should then start gathering enriching content. If that means bringing in creative writers, photographers, and artists, so be it. If you hope to garner a readership, it is essential that your magazine looks good and is written well.
After you have collected all your visual elements in learning how to create magazines, it is then time to assemble them into what will be your final, printed magazine and ready them for magazine printing services. There are many great programs available to you depending on what your resources are.
For example, Adobe programs like Illustrator or InDesign both come equipped with magazine layout templates making it easy to import content into an already guidelined document. Other notable programs with similar layout options include: Scribus, PagePlus, Microsoft Word, or an online platform called Uninkd.
It is very difficult to assemble a magazine if it is not done digitally, as this is the current standard for magazine printing and production. Magazines traditionally come in two sizes: 8 3/8” x 10 7/8” or 5 3⁄8” x 8 3⁄8”. Magazines are typically created in page increments of 8 with a minimum of 16 pages.
Margins of the page at the bind site should be a minimum of ¾ of an inch. It is also important to remember that printing presses are unable to print to the exact edge of a page. Documents are always printed larger and then cut down to size. To be safe, set up 1/8 inch larger all the way around the page.
After you have designed your magazine, make sure your pages are all saved in CMYK color format and as PDFs. Images should also be saved at a very high resolution. The normal 72 dpi (dots per inch) of your computer screen would be very fuzzy if taken to print. Printers recommend a 300 dpi at minimum for best results.
Once you have taken all of these elements into account, it is then time to send it over to a company that provides magazine printing services. Publishing Xpress can then take your PDF, print it, trim it, and saddle stitch, perfect bind, or wire-o/plastic coil bind it, depending on your preference.
Magazine printing and creation requires a lot of time, creativity, and effort, but thanks to technology, everything from the design process to the final product is easier than ever. We hope this guide on how to create magazines has been helpful. Contact Publishing Xpress to learn more about magazine publishing and how to create magazines. And don’t forget our outstanding customer service and 100% satisfaction guarantee. Check out our numerous 5-star Google reviews.
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