JULY: A Mix & Match Zine #1: Serendipity

I think it would be great if we made an extra copy of our pages and sent them to one person who would co-ordinate putting together everyone's pages and then maybe other people in the group could buy a copy? It would be great to see what everyone did. And I would definately be interested in doing this again, maybe 4 times a year or something. I've never worked on a zine with other people. Can I suggest "Inspiration" for a future one? I would love to see what inspires everyone.

Yay, glad someone else is excited about a collaborative project! :-) I'd be happy to collate extra copies of zine pages to make a bumper group zine & would happily send them out to people in exchange for the cost of the postage or in trade for something else.

But first we need some more participants! It's a few months away yet, so I'll think about it again, nearer the time. 'Inspiration' would also make another great theme, but again, we'll have to see how popular this first swap is, first ;-)

Could you please give me actual inch measurements for the pages? Thanks!

4" x 6" would be a rough approximation of the right size. Just divide a letter-size or A4 sheet of paper into quarters, and that'll be close enough. :-)

4.25x5.5 is the exact measurement for a quarter size zine page.

I've got my eye on this swap...

Like I said, close enough :-). I just used a converter (because sorry, I think in metric) to work out that a quarter of A4 is approx. 4.1" x 5.8".

This sounds like a lot of fun and I really like the idea of swapping the finished product at a later swap. I am very near to zines but interested!

I thought this swap might be quite good for newbies-to-zines, as you only need to prepare a few pages - an opportunity to get your toes wet without the pressure of planning a whole zine...

Hi there - I'm joining in! But I do want to clarify, quickly, since I want to make certain I'm not confused.

For this swap I will take a 'letter' size (that's US american for A4) sheet of thin cardstock and cut it into fourths. Then I will decorate the front and back of two of those fourths according to the theme 'serendipity.' Then I will make 4 double-sided copies (do the copies need to be on cardstock?) for my partners.

Alternatively, I could cut two 'letter' size sheets of cardstock into fourths and decorate all eight pieces front and back, then send two to each of my partners.

Sometimes I need overclarification - but it's better than doing it wrong and finding out later!

If you send 2 double-sided fourths (to each partner), they should be printed on/made of thick paper or thin cardstock.

If you send 4 single-sided fourths (to each partner) the thickness of the paper is not so important.

There's a possibility the pages you send will be photocopied at a later date, so the idea is just to prevent the print/images on the reverse side showing through. (So if you send single-sided pages that isn't an issue!)

Did that help, or did it further confuse? :S

Nope - I've got it! Thanks!

In the past I've made copy-friendly 1/4-size zine pages by making 2 pages side by side on a half page, then folding them back to back after copying. The two outside edges are then on the binding side, and the folded edge is in the middle where you turn the page. The advantage is that if you want to copy them, you take out the binding and unfold them flat onto the copier, and the text doesn't show through when copying because there's nothing on the back of the page. It also eliminates all the hassle of trying to line up the edges, etc. since once they're copied, you trim them to half page size and fold and they match perfectly.

Oh yeah ... one more thing about my earlier comment ... another advantage is that you can design your four pages on a single letter-size sheet (2 on the top half, 2 on the bottom half), and then make single-sided copies, which is way easier than trying to line up stuff back to back with 2-sided copies. After copying, you cut the page in half (top half + bottom half), fold the halves to quarter-size and you're done. :)

Great idea pengrafyx!

Forgive me if I've missed this. (I reread but maybe I'm missing the note....) These are color copies, yes? Also is original photography welcome? Thank you.

Sorry for delay in response here - I always forget to check comments after assigning partners!

Thanks for the suggestions, @pengrafyx - I'm sure people will find that very helpful.

@fieldstudio31 - if you have worked in colour, yes, please copy in colour; but if you've worked in black & white, I guess it doesn't matter! As far as original photography goes: make your zine pages "using whatever medium, style etc you like" - so yes, photography is welcome. :)