Jujube/selected-statuses-production-notes

Once the idea was cemented, the production cycle of the zine took about a week.

I decided to produce a pamphlet with a simple 3-hold stitch binding. For this run I made 20 copies, which ended up a sizable work load. Although I made most decisions based on the small, defined scope for an estimated quick turnaround, I ran into some problems in the process. First, I spent two days of trial-and-error, ordering the A5 pages to fit correctly on double-sided A4. Second, I found that the actual cutting and folding did not match the precision of the registration mark. I had to cut and fold the paper, again and repetitively, after I used an industrial paper cutter at the Publication Station. Third, I used an old inkless pen and regular sewing needles to stitch the pamphlet, and they proved themselves to be the less-than-ideal tools.

For future zines, I'd like to improve my knowledge in efficient binding methods (with the right tools). Binding comes first: and then the content can fall into places. Learning about some inDesign shortcuts (linking pages, e.g.) will also be useful. I am likely to explore the use of riso printing rather than taking the laser printers readily available for granted.

Material costs

roll of kraft paper	1.6
needle and threads	1
laser printing (double-sided B&W A4)	0.02 * 300 = 15**
total	17.6**

• • The actual cost did not include printing cost because of the student perk. (Free printing was a deciding fact for me to print on A4, the most ubiquitous paper size. I was conscious about the material usage — if I were to produce complex designs, I would not exploit these printers for a large run.)

Breakdown of the timeline

d1	selection of text from FB (Pages)
d2	editing order of text (Pages)
d3	decision of printing method --> text design (inDesign)
d4	decision of binding --> reorder, style, copywriting (inDesign)
d5	prototype copy
d6	decision of cover, printing, paper cutting
d7	paper cutting, stitching