DIY PRINTING

Whilst we are focusing on publishing The Utopia Project as a digital zine, we know that some people (us included) prefer a paper copy to read through. If that’s you, we’re here to help. Below are some helpful links to help you print the zine at home. All you need is a device (computer/laptop/smart phone) and a printer you can connect to.

If not, we recommend trying your local library as these usually will have a computer you can use and a two-sided printer. However, this can be pricey. At our local library, it costs around 5p per sheet for black and white or 25p for colour - for issue 2, that’s £0.90 for b&w and £4.50 for colour.

Before we start - the rights to the individual pieces in our magazine belong solely to the writers and artists themselves. Whilst we encourage you to print the magazine at home, if you are after a single piece from the magazine please contact our contributors and support them directly. This guide is for personal use only, please don’t print for commercial or other uses. Any questions you can always get in touch beforehand and we’ll help as best we can.

If you can afford it, consider supporting our Patreon page so that we can afford to keep the magazine going.

One-Sided Printer

Printing on a one-sided printer varies quite significantly depending on the printer you’re using. Here are some links that we have found particularly useful. It may be a case of trial and error to get the right method for you.

Two-Sided Printer

If your printer automatically prints on both sides then there’s little for you to do. Simply select ‘Booklet’ in the print setup and the printer should do the rest. Here’s a quick example:

Binding/Paper Options

When it comes to what materials you use, there really is no rulebook. We recommend a minimum of 100gsm paper so that the work doesn’t become visible from the other side of the sheet. For the cover, you can choose to have a thicker card/paper to protect the zine better but that isn’t a necessity.

For binding, the easiest method is to staple using a long-armed stapler. If you don’t have one of those, here are some other methods you can use:

  • Open the PDF in your browser and select the Print option.

  • Go to ‘Layout’ and then find the ‘Booklet’ option. Make sure to select ‘Left-edge binding’.

  • Select ‘Print from system dialogue’.

  • Select the Printer you want to use and then select ‘Preferences’.