PUBLISHING YOUR OWN MAGAZINE

HOW TO GET STARTED

PAGE TEN

MAGAZINE PRINTING

Unless you are lucky to find someone willing to print your initial magazines for you free of charge in return for advertising space as I was fortunate to do, you will need to decide how you intend to get your magazine into print.

You have two options:

• Print your magazine yourself from home
  
• Have your magazine commercially printed

PRINTING FROM HOME

If you choose to begin printing your magazines yourself from home then your initial costs could be relatively low depending on the quantity involved, especially if you already have access to a laser printer or photocopying machine.

While almost everyone will undoubtedly have access to a home inkjet printer, the quality of reproduction from an inkjet, coupled with the speed at which they are able to operate, means they are not suitable for publishing even a relatively small quantity of newsletters or magazines.

A laser printer, on the other hand, produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper employing a process by which the image is produced by the direct scanning of a laser beam across the printer’s internal drum.

Laser printer’s reproduce a combination of text and graphics using toner, rather than ink, to print at high resolutions, much faster than would be possible with an inkjet, since the entire page is imaged at one time, whereas an inkjet typically prints a series of narrow strips.

Typical output from a laser printer can be anything from as low as four pages per minute with an inexpensive model up to in excess of 200 monochrome pages per minute with the more expensive models.

When considering purchasing a laser printer for publishing a newsletter or small magazine, it is important to ensure that it is capable of duplex printing, which means it is able to print on both sides of the paper. Many mid-range printers are now capable of duplex printing but the one disadvantage is a reduction in printing throughput due to the more complicated paper path.

There are two forms of duplex printing currently to be found on laser printers depending on their specifications – manual duplex and automatic duplex.

Manual duplex involves physically removing the paper once it has printed on one side of the page and reinserting it into the printer tray to complete the printing of the reverse side.

Automatic duplex as the name implies, prints on both sides of the paper automatically, one side after the other. One side of the page is printed and the page is partially ejected before being returned along a different delivery path for the reverse side of the page to be printed. The completed page is then deposited in the printers output tray.

Duplex printing saves you the time and trouble of collating your publication and as soon as finished copies are despatched from the printer they can be stapled or bound together.

A good quality printing paper can be obtained for a reasonable price especially if you purchase quantities in bulk through specialist stationery suppliers.

Decide on the number of pages for your magazine and estimate the quantity of paper required as well as the number of toner cartridges likely to be needed. Take into account any other items that may be required as drum units for laser printers normally allow approximately 20,000 page images before the print quality deteriorates, and the unit will then need to be replaced.

Drum units are expensive to replace and this must be borne in mind when choosing which model of printer will best suit your requirements.

In my ignorance, I assumed that once you had made the purchase of a laser printer that the only additional expense would be replacement toner cartridges. What I didn’t initially understand was that many also required a drum unit at regular intervals or that fusers had limited life expectancy – as also do the rollers and paper feed units! Before long you have a printer just a few months old but whose inner workings have more or less expired and the cost of replacing them amounts to substantially more than the initial cost of the printer. Perhaps it's better to discard it and purchase a new one! Not good for the environment but better on your pocket.

Toner cartridges generally print up to approximately 6,000 pages depending on the density of the page including the size and quantity of any images or other graphics.

It is possible to have your toner cartridges refilled which offers a saving of up to 50% on the price of a new cartridge and often the results are indiscernible from the originals. It is also possible for you to re-fill your own toner cartridges by purchasing supplies of toner which again offers cost savings that are important if you are to get your magazine off the ground with as little investment as possible.

In comparison to commercial printing the savings to be made by printing from home might be small if you have a sizeable quantity of magazines to print although for smaller quantities it will be the most cost-effective way to begin. By printing copies from home you can also print only the quantity that you know will be required and it would then be a simple matter to print additional copies only when there was a demand for them.

I began by publishing my magazines from home on a Brother HL-1850 laser printer with automatic duplex using plain A4 printing paper and only entered into commercial printing once I had developed a dedicated readership. When the decision was made to have my magazines commercially printed there was minimal risk involved as I had already established a ready market.

As with any type of publication, providing space for local business advertising is the best form of recouping the cost of publishing, however, unlike the majority of publications, my magazines are not dependant on advertising for their income. Comprising unique content and images, my own magazines are saleable in themselves and income generated from the sale of advertising space is an additional but welcomed bonus.

Not being totally dependant on advertising as a source of revenue means you are able to offer value very competitive rates although you will need to have a high circulation to attract any potential advertisers.

COMMERCIAL PRINTING

Having your magazine commercially printed has many advantages, which you must weigh up against the possible added expense of doing so.

Firstly it allows you more time to concentrate on other aspects of production and the time normally spent watching over your printer can be used to your advantage by going out and obtaining additional material for publication.

The quality of commercial printing cannot be equalled by anything you could produce yourself from home and instead of printing on plain white paper you can choose to have your magazine reproduced on glossy paper.

Glossy paper proves the ideal medium for the reproduction of photographs and once you have seen a few examples it will be difficult for you to choose any other option.

Your printer will also be able to print your magazine on A3 paper, which can then be folded and stitched as an A4 booklet, further enhancing the presentation of your magazine.

Contact several printers in your area and arrange an appointment to visit them. Obtain a number of quotes from several different print houses and ask all the questions you feel you need answering. It is vital to get it right from the start but don’t ever allow them to pressure you because there is one very important aspect in your favour.

If your magazines prove to be as successful as the ones I publish, or if you enjoy even greater success than I experienced, your regular custom will become a very substantial part of their business activities. Printing in excess of 3,000 monthly magazines yields a decent income and it is business they will be keen to hang on to – mark my words! Don’t be overawed.

As a guide to the cost of commercial printing, you should be able to obtain a quote for a 24-page, glossy, A4 monochrome magazine (produced on A3 paper, which is then folded and stapled along the centre to form an A4 booklet) for around 40-50p per copy if your order is for a minimum of 1,000 copies.

This cost is fully inclusive, except for delivery, which is why I recommend you obtain the services of a local printer so that you can call and collect them yourself.

Once your circulation exceeds 1,000 monthly copies you can negotiate a price with your printer for the additional copies which will generally work out at a substantial discount, as no additional work has to be performed.

By maintaining a good relationship with your printer you should be able to come up with a figure that is acceptable to both parties.

Michael Norfolk.