Zine Production

==Early Zine Production==
Zine production is inextricably entwined with advances in office and information technology. In the beginning, just about the only requirements for aspiring fanzine editors was access to a typewriter, and either a mimeograph duplicator or later a photocopier.
==Roles in Zine Production==
* Zined
* Tribber
* Zine Publisher
* Collator
* Proofreader
* Agent
Most zine editors also act as zine publishers and distributors for their zines. Boldly Writing notes that in Forum #12, the zine published by the various "presses" outnumbered those put out by individuals not calling themselves a "press."
Some fanzine editors mainly take the role of publishers, accepting all submissions to the zine and requiring camera-ready copy. However, most fanzine editors are more selective in accepting fanworks and take an active role in editing and proofreading the stories they publish.
There were also how-to zines published to help with production such as A to Zine.
Zine agents sell zines, either in person or by mail, for the original press or editor. Because of frequent problems with overseas mail, US presses often had Australian and British fans agent their zines; Australian and British presses often had US agents for theirs. Zines tend to sell better at conventions where people don't have to worry about mailing issues, and they can see what they're getting, so fans that go to many conventions often agent for fans who don't travel so much. In some cases, going to cons and agenting zines for other fans became an actual business.
Notable fanzine agents include: Agent With Style, Bill and Ann Hupe, and Kathy Resch.
==Common Parts of a Zine==
Fanzines have many commonalities in content and often contain a mixture of the following:
* an editorial
* disclaimer
* fiction
* art
* poems
* filks and songs
* Flyers
* articles about fannish topics, science, art, meta
* Tie-in book reviews
* movie and television show reviews
* reviews of other zines
* games, puzzles and triva
* ads for fannish goods
* a bulletin board
* graffiti
* change of address notices for fans
* pen pal opportunities
* episode guides
* cartoons
* LoCs
* commentary
* contests
* You are Receiving this Zine Because
==The Hardware: Production Materials==
The hardware required to produce a fanzine mirrored the technology being used by small press publishers across the world.
A brief chronological overview of some of the hardware used to produce a fanzine.
Hardware used to produce the text
* typewriter - 1960s-1980s
* desktop computers -1990s-present
* word processing software -1990s-present
Hardware used to store/transfer the text
* floppy discs, then later CD discs -1990s-present
Hardware used to make copies
* mimeograph/stencil machine (see also Gestetner) - 1960s-1970s
* ditto machine (also called a 'spirit duplicator')- 1960s-1970s
* photocopier - 1980s-present
* desktop printers - 1990s-present
Hardware used to bind the copies. 
* staplers - 1930s -present
* comb binders and comb binding machine - 1960s-present
* spiral binders - 1930s - present
For a detailed overview of how the hardware listed above was actually used to produce a zine see Leslie's Essay on Zine Production and Producing a Fanzine in the Before-Time.
===Reminiscences===
Some examples of how the hardware was put in use as drawn from fan memories:
==Methods of Printing Zines==
Overview: Spirit Duplication, Mimeo, Offset and That Newfangled Xerox:
In 1982, in issue 33/34 of the S&H letterzine, Barbara Green Deer described the various printing methods in her article: "Zine Publishing: Choice of Medium." In issue #35 she discussed "Offset Printing.''
Spirit Duplication - Two Methods - See "Spirit Duplication"
Mimeo: See "Mimeography"
Offset Printing: See "Offset"
Xerox the new marvel: See "Xerox"
===Mimeo vs. Offset: The Arguments===
==Choosing the Paper, Creating the Cover...The Art of the Deal==
Some print zines contained no art and had plain covers. Other zines were more elaborate. Later, as photo-printing became affordable and the quality of such prints improved, glossy print or photo card-print covers were made, and photo-manips became a feature of zines.for example Longing to Belong and Damage, both NCIS zines
A zine's cover might have special significance, in the case of plain card/parchment covered zines. A reviewer expresses their annoyance at the lavender cover joke in the zine Gunther's Revenge:
One zined, Deb Walsh, remembers:
The editor of Interphase comments:
A reviewer comments on the cover of Strange Justice:
The neoprene cover of I, Mutoid drew comments from reviewers:
==Slash and the Challenges of Finding a Print Shop==
See Explicit Zines, and Print Shop Adventures.
==How Many to Print?==
Good question!
Some anecdotes:
In 1999, a fan/zine publisher/writer named [R] remembers the: 
Over-printing, for a variety of reasons, was always a danger. [R] remembers writers miscalculating appeal as one: 
Some zine publishers purposely published a limited run. There were a number of reasons for this, one being increased value: 
==How Much Did/Does it Cost to Make a Zine?==
Also see Fanzines and the Internet or "Whither Thou Goest, Orion Press?" (1998) for much detailed discussion about costs.
Doing the math shows how close these editors came with money. In 1980, a Starsky and Hutch letterzine had roughly 120 subscribers. Each issue was $1.25. When the editors explained they were going to have to cut the art or limit the letters, due to expenses, one writer said she'd prefer to have them raise the price, or "charge enough to at least make a little profit for yourselves, and may give the front cover artists a free issue... " The editors' reply: "We appreciate and understand this reasoning, however, our budget simply doesn't allow contributor's copies." (from the June 1980 issue of S and H)
Other Anecdotes:
From "How to Do a Zine" by Mary Urhausen and Cheree Cargill in a 1991 Southern Enclave:
From The Fantastically Fundamentally Functional Guide to Fandom:
A zine ed asks about cushioning the price of the zine:
Regarding a very, hefty letterzine with sparse black and white art in 1984 (Southern Enclave):
From The Halkan Council #20/21: a zined takes on two earlier letters in issue #19 that complain about the high price of zines:
From a 1991 Southern Enclave:
From Southern Enclave: 
From Southern Enclave: 
From S and H #4 (1979), a zine publisher asks for donations toward the purchase of an Electro-stencil cutter, a machine that cuts art stencils for mimeo-zines: 
From a publisher in 1997:
A fan in 1999 remembers:
From The Halkan Council #20/21, a letter by Connie Faddis:
A Beauty and the Beast zined lays it out:
==Pre-Pay==
For insight into the practice of funding fanzine production costs with upfront deposits, see Fanzine Deposits by Susan Garrett.
==The 1980s and Technology==
For more information, see: Xerography.
Joan Verba in Boldly Writing remembers: "Personal computers became available, and, as the 1980s progressed, fanzine formats changed from typed to dot-matrix to laser printer quality. Also, inexpensive photocopying became accessible. From this year [1980] on, it would be difficult to distinguish a good photocopied fanzine from an offset fanzine..." Joan Verba also notes that "Mimeographs... became harder and harder to find. Fewer and fewer office supply stores carried mimeo supplies, such as ink, stencils, and special paper." Boldly Writing
A long-time fanzine publisher, Devra Langsam, writes of the cusp of changing technology in the editorial of Masiform D #11: 
One zine editor extolls Kinkos: 
Randall Landers explains the glories of the new 1980s technology:
There was a downside to the new xeroxing technology: first, it led many zine publishers to stop printing art, or at least colored art. As a result, when fanfic began appearing for free on the Internet, fanzines lost one of their major competitive advantages (see Zines and the Internet). Second, it led many fans to question to the value of the zines they were buying. As one fan explained: 
From a fan, Liz S., in 1984: 
==The Next Wave in Print Publishing==
After offset printing came word processors and emailed submissions, and zine production changed again.
==Zines and the Internet==
See: Zines and the Internet
==Ezines==
Not much here now regarding the production of ezines, but background info is under Ezine.
==Langley's Essay on Early Zine Production==
In 2003, K.S. Langley wrote an essay on technology's effects on fandom through the years, including a detailed description of how early zines were created:
==Resource Zines About Zine Publishing==
* A to Zine: The 'How-To' of Fan Publishing (1982)
* Blue Pencil Star Trek newsletter about zine production (1985-1986)
* Communication the Hard Way (1975)
* The Fantastically, Fundamentally Functional Guide to Fanzines (1989, 1990)
* Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines, sampler zine that used mimeo, offset and ditto to demonstrate the techniques (1975)
* The Protocols, booklet on etiquette for fanzine publishers, contributors & consumers by The Star Trek Welcommittee (1980)
* The Quick and Dirty Guide to Fanzine Publishing (1991)
* Stylus (1980-1982) (letterzine, predecessor to Blue Pencil)
==Meta/Further Reading==
* (unknown author, unknown date)
* 'Fanzines' break out of mimeograph mold by Paul McGrath, The Globe and Mail, Feb 28, 1981
* The Perils of Publishing by L.C. Wells (1983-4) 
* Ethics and Etiquette: A Proposal for the Buying and Selling of Fanzines by Mary Urhausen (1989)
* ; at Archive of Our Own by Judith Proctor (1993)
* An Evolution Overlooked (1994)
* by Nick Cooper (1997)
* Star Wars Print Fandom: An Expose by Melanie Guttierrez & Lorrie Cherry, a critical look at the prices charged for Star Wars fanzines (2000?)
* The Times They Are A' Changing by K.S. Langley (2003)
* A 'zine! A 'zine! My kindom for a 'zine! by LJC (mid-2000s?)
* by Flamingo (mid-2000s?)
* by Watts (2006)
* from Stevereads (2010)
==References==
Category:Zine Fandom