I finally got around to creating a zine from my London images, and this time  I created it in Adobe InDesign, rather than the Lightroom Book Module as I had in the past. The Lightroom Book Module is really easy to use and you can export your completed book to .pdf, .jpg, or upload it directly to Blurb for printing. I wanted to print with Mixam this time, and given the differences in sizing, I opted to design it in InDesign to meet Mixam’s  specifications.  I taught myself how to use InDesign for a work project earlier this year, so it was time to give it a try to create a zine.  Although I made a very simple design of one image per page,  InDesign is incredibly powerful and there are so many things you can do which cannot be done using Lightroom.  

InDesign for zine layout

I am printing a few copies of the zine using Mixam based upon the recommendation of members of the Negative Positives Podcast Facebook group.  I selected the 8.25″ square, stapled  (perfect bound was not available with 24 sides), 100# text paper, uncoated, with a 130# satin cover, matte laminated.  I should receive those copies next week and I’ll report back on the quality compared to Blurb and MagCloud with whom I have printed in the past.

Flip PDF Professional for Mac for online book viewing

Here is the book for viewing online, created with Flip PDF Professional for Mac and easily uploaded here via the software’s ability to create a WordPress plugin quickly from the software’s exporting/publishing menu. You can easily add video and hyperlinks to your books, which is a really nice feature. 

What software have you used for creating and publishing your zines?

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