WGS Prof. George The World of Zines, Zine Making and Self-Publishing

A "paper zine" is a zine that has been printed out or photocopied for reading offline. It's a tangible thing that is often self-published on a photocopy machine or printer. Technology may be used in the creation of the paper zine, but the zine itself is an object that exists offline, IRL.

Don't panic when you look at photos of zines and start thinking, I can't do that!

I can't do that either! but we can!! You will not be expected to suddenly be a highly skilled graphic designer or artist! Zines can be very simple: you just need writing and images. Your writing can be printed or handwritten by you, or you can type in Word or another program, print out, cut, and paste or tape in your zine.  images can be collected from the Internet, your own photos, magazines, old books, newspapers, etc. cut and pasted into collages. Art and design students may be comfortable making more sophisticated zines, but we can all make a zine! Watch the video below for a great explanation.

Here's a link to an article about the basic principles of composition in art and design. It's good! Even if you just skim it and look at the images. The article is part of a larger series Learning to Look, about visual literacy..

A zine isn't truly a zine until it is shared. Zines made on paper need to be photocopied, folded, and distributed. Get in touch if you need help photocopying your zine! zinelibrary@pace.edu , sthomas7@pace.edu, or aschleifer@pace.edu