Magazine Printing: Things to Think About and Do to Assure the Best Quality
Magazine printing can be a complex endeavor, even if the creative rewards and sales can more than make up for the added work. Part of that extra work is making sure you print your magazine with the best possible quality. This means going through each element of your magazine and choosing what you can do to make it look as professional as other, celebrated magazines are. If you're just starting out with a major magazine, first impressions are everything in helping you build a substantial subscriber list.
Considering Your Page Size
What size is the most appropriate for your magazine? It's always a good idea to make it as easy to read as possible, especially if you have older people subscribing. An approximate size of 8x10 is usually customary, though it might be necessary to go oversize if the text on articles is too small. However, keeping to a standard size ultimately saves money during the print runs.
Choosing Your Graphic Software
When you print up a magazine, you want to have someone who knows the standards in graphic software. Photoshop is going to be one of the best known, though there's also InDesign and Quark X Press. While these all can produce excellent quality graphics on a hi-def monitor, make sure those graphics translate well on the paper you'll be using. With web offset printing, it's almost assured color graphics will pop off the page.
Choosing the Printing Paper
Knepper Press reminds that all the coated papers you use in your magazine printing should be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. This can ensure you're getting the highest quality paper available in the country. However, you don't have to limit yourself to the paper types. Your printer can work with you to find what's appropriate to the overall style of your magazine. It could be anything from standard glossy paper stock to non-gloss finish. Even some specialized papers can be used, including with UV coating.
Binding
You want a high-quality binding as the spine of the magazine to hold everything together. Unless you have an overly large magazine, saddle-stitch binding holds up well. Saddle-stitching is merely placing staples into the binding to securely hold the pages in place. While this can be done with a specialized stapler, photocopiers sometimes have the ability to saddle-stitch automatically.
Overall, you want a graphic design firm that has vast experience in magazine printing to assure the best materials and tools. You'll find that all here at Spectrum Color Printing & Mailing. With printed design always being viable, we look forward to working with you if you have a magazine you're designing.
Contact us so we can discuss more about what your magazine needs before we do a print run. We specialize in web offset printing, and you'll see why using it is so much better in quality than printing digitally.
