in*die zine print instructions

Whilst future issues of in*die zine will have a print edition, this edition will not (for now). Instead, you can seize the punk aesthetic and Do It Yourself, in your own home (or at your workplace, which let’s face it, is much more punk).

There are three ways to achieve the desired effect, all of which require 13 pages of A4 or Letter-sized paper, depending on the settings of your printer. It can be Booklet, Automatic Double-Sided or Manual Double-Sided. This final option is explained, but the detail is very printer dependent, so your experience may vary.

Booklet Format

Most modern printers and PDF readers will have a print option for “booklet”. If so, it’s very easy. You’ll just need to make sure that you’re capturing all pages, both sides and that you’re binding on the left. If your office has a really snazzy printer it might even staple it for you. Otherwise, just print and staple the left edge and leave in your local library.

Automatic Double-Sided

If your printer has automatic double-sided printing, this option is fairly straightforward. Your PDF reader or printer software will usually let you do multiple pages per side, so make sure the right paper size is selected, and then choose the Multiple option. You’ll want 2 pages per sheet. Paper should be in landscape mode, with pages in portrait (check the preview to make sure this is right).

You’ll also need to make sure that you print on both sides, and flip on the short edge, not the long edge.

The order of pages is important, so wherever there’s a “page range” button, put this in. Usually, this is comma-separated, so you’ll need this order:

52,1,2,51,50,3,4,49,48,5,6,47,46,7,8,45,44,9,10,43,42,11,12,41,40,13,14,39,38,15,16,37,36,17,18,35,34,19,20,33,32,21,22,31,30,23,24,29,28,25,26,27

(This is taken from boooks.org page order calculator.)

Print this, fold each sheet down the middle, put them all together and staple the left edge. Remember to give a copy to your best friend at a protest.

Manual Double-Sided

This is more difficult to do as it depends on the way your printer feeds paper. Usually most printers will come with a guide to show you how to do this if you select the double-sided option in the printer dialogue. You’ll need to do 2 pages per sheet, which is usually a PDF viewer print option.

You’ll need the same page order as for automatic double-sided printing. Follow the instructions carefully as per your printer. Again, you’ll need to flip on the short edge to make sure you get the pages portrait on the sheets.

This is tricky to achieve but punk as hell, and very satisfying if you get it right. You can make it even more punk by hole-punching the left edge and tying it together with a shoelace. Remember to casually leave it at a con table the next time you’re in a game convention.

90s Zine Method

You can, of course, print out all the pages, glue them back-to-back and photocopy them at your local newsagents. If you do this, you are embracing the spirit of punk, and I have no further instructions for you