Printspiration! Wanna make a zine?!
When you think about printing what comes to mind? Business cards, letterhead, maybe posters? The number and diversity of projects we get here at WonderPress surprises even us some days! One of our favorites is the book market. We offer a lot of binding options. Binding is the way the book is put together after the loose sheets are printed. We bind paperback books with a method called perfect binding. Little booklets that are stapled together are saddle stitched. And those little books are what we're going to dive into today. Let's talk about ZINES!
Zines are often saddle stitched booklets created to showcase specific interests or creative endeavors. They started as “little magazines” in the early 1900s and evolved into “fan magazines” in the 1930s. They became much easier to produce with the advent of the copier. From political and social justice movements (the roots) to scifi fandom (the popularization) to niche baseball stats and even photos of cats zines have been an integral part of self expression for over 100 years!
Today, many artists use zines to create exhibition catalogs, experimental publishing/story telling, and comics! Many libraries hold ZineFests, including the Chattanooga Public Library, and those events help ensure the legacy of print material lives on from generation to generation!
Information about how you can make your own zine can be found be: visiting our website, coming in and looking at our plethora of samples, or looking at the beautiful zine work of our featured artist, Jacklyn Lewis, below!
(Originally was a Watkiss, then got purchased by Plockmatic, then got purchased by Morgana, isn’t that neat! Cy knows everything about this equipment!!)
The Morgana PowerSquare 160!
Sneak peak of this month’s featured artist, Jaclyn Lewis. The book and cover are loaded into this conveyer and assembled inside the big box above!
This machine is a behemoth! It may look large and foreboding but it can staple, fold, and face trim (cut the excess paper from the opening edge) 200 books per hour, vs 15-20 by hand with a long arm stapler and a bone folder without trimming the edges. Making zines by hand has its own charm, but that's not what we're talking about here! This booklet maker is in CONSANT use! It can staple a booklet as small as 5.5x5.5, or a book as large as 12”x12” (12”x24” when open!) That is a LARGE book!
We’ve had this machine since 2020 and it has already made over hundreds of thousands of booklets! Cy and Eric still have to hand stitch some of the more unique projects that come through, but this machine has cut down the labor of saddle stitching by a large margin! It is definitely paying for the square footage it’s taking up.
Jaclyn Lewis is an illustrator, graphic designer & zinester living in Chattanooga, TN. Her projects playfully explore themes of physicality, joy, DIY culture, and women’s history, including professional women’s wrestling, the WNBA, and most recently go-go dancing.
What got you into printed matter?
I’ve always been attracted to the tactility of printed matter. I worked as a librarian and archivist for over 15 years. Now, work as much as possible with print publications, hence my affiliation with zine fests.
How long have you working in your field? How long before that had you done art/design as a hobby? Is this your full time job?
My full-time job is in marketing and public relations, and I’ve only worked in that field for only the last four years. My passion has always been illustration and the visual arts, which is why I work as a freelancer whenever possible.
Do you have a favorite process or specialty we offer? If so, why?
Honestly, I love that WP approaches each job I’ve ever brought to them, regardless of size, with care and enthusiasm.
What sort of projects would you like to print in the future?
Die-cut stickers!
When you were starting out what is some advice you wish you would have had?
The possibilities of print are endless!
What is your favorite project you’ve made with us?
The last project I print is usually my favorite! My most recent work is MuthaKween, a 4-part illustrated history of go-go dancing. This series of zines analyzes how politics, feminism and current events shaped go-go dancing.
Project Type: Saddle Stitched Book
Paper Used:
Cover: 80# Accent Cover, this is a great paper for saddle stitched covers. 100# cover can feel too stiff even with the square fold off of our beloved PowerSquare. 80 still feels like a cover but has a little more give when flipping through the book.
Inside: Accent 70# Text. The lightest paper we recommend for heavy coverage, as it has minimal bleed through (seeing the image from the other side through the paper).
Color: Full Color (4/4) Cover and Insides
Specialty Process: None
As I referenced in the opening paragraph, we make a LOT of books for a large variety of customers and uses. We cater to some publishers, and a lot of individuals creating their own books to sell at bookstores and conventions around the country! Books come in so many shapes and sizes and we want to be able to help our customers create their dream book! From die-cut covers to saddleSEWING the spine with actual thread! Talk to us before you build your publication to make sure everything is fine tuned to our offerings and we can give you directions to put the best book out there!
This guide will help you make sure you’re setting up your saddle stitched project perfectly even if it’s your first time! The best time to start a new hobby is now!
...She ought not be. She was promptly moved and that page was rerun, but, look at her working hard~
