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Cadru · Zine

How to make an 8-page zine from one sheet of A4

A zine is a small magazine made by one person. This one has eight pages and comes from a single sheet of A4, printed on one side. No staples, no glue, no duplex printer - just three folds and one cut.

What you need

  • One ordinary sheet of A4 (US Letter works too)
  • A printer - any printer, single-sided
  • Scissors or a craft knife, for the one cut
  • Between 6 and 8 photographs

Each of the 8 pages measures 74.25 × 105 mm - exactly A7, about the size of a pocket card. The sheet divides into four columns and two rows.

The seven steps

Step 1 of 8

Print one-sided, A4, landscape, at 100% - not "fit to page". The top row comes out upside down: that is right.

  1. 1

    Print one-sided, A4, landscape, at 100% - not "fit to page". The top row comes out upside down: that is right.

  2. 2

    Fold the sheet in half, top to bottom. Crease it well and unfold.

  3. 3

    Fold it in half left to right and unfold. Then bring each side edge to that middle crease, crease and unfold: the creases divide the sheet into 8 pages.

  4. 4

    Fold it in half left to right again. Cut from the folded edge along the middle crease, only up to the first crease - no further.

  5. 5

    Unfold and fold the sheet lengthwise, photos outside. Hold the ends and push them toward the middle: the cut opens into a diamond.

  6. 6

    Keep pushing: the pages close into a cross, then meet two by two.

  7. 7

    Wrap them around the cover (page 1) and press the spine well. Done.

Want to try before your photos are involved? The numbered sheet has 1-8 where the photographs go: print it, fold it, and watch the pages land in order.

Download the numbered sheet (A4, PDF)US Letter version

Why the top row prints upside down

This is the part that alarms everyone the first time - and it is the only trick in the whole process. Once the sheet is folded lengthwise, the top half ends up head-down relative to the bottom half. For those pages to read the right way up in the finished booklet, they have to be printed rotated by 180°. The editor does this for you: you arrange the pages in reading order, and the sheet comes out already imposed.

The editor also keeps a 4 mm white margin around every page, equal on all sides, so nothing important falls into a crease or under the scissors.

What usually goes wrong

Printing with “fit to page”
The most common mistake. It shrinks the sheet by a few millimetres and the creases stop landing where they should. Choose 100% or “actual size”.
Cutting too far
Cut only from the folded edge to the first crease - half the length of the sheet. Cut all the way and the zine falls apart into two loose leaves.
Paper that is too thick
Above 120 gsm the creases crack and the booklet will not stay shut. Ordinary printer paper (80 gsm) folds cleanest.

The editor does the hard part - you only pick the photos.

Make your zineSee published zines