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.

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.

The five steps

  1. 1Print single-sided, A4, landscape, at 100% (no "fit to page"). Printed side stays up.

  2. 2Fold the sheet in half the short way, each half once more, and once lengthwise - the creases divide it into 8 rectangles.

  3. 3Unfold everything, then fold in half the short way again. Cut from the folded edge along the middle crease, up to the first crease - no further.

  4. 4Unfold, fold lengthwise with the photos outside and push the ends toward the middle - the slit opens into a diamond.

  5. 5The pages stack themselves. Flatten around the cover. 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

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