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How to Make an 8-Page Zine From One Sheet of Paper (Free Template)

2 days ago
2 min read
You don’t need a printer, a stapler or a plan. You need one sheet of paper, a pair of scissors and about five minutes. This is the way I make most of my zines. One sheet, one cut, eight pages.

This is how my printed template looks like and can be then used as guide to create a zine analogically
This is how my printed template looks like and can be then used as guide to create a zine analogically


What you need

  • One sheet of paper (A4 or US Letter)

  • Scissors

  • A pencil, a pen, or whatever you like to make things with


If you’d like the pages numbered and the fold lines marked, I made a free template. Download it here: A4 / US Letter


How to fold it

  1. Fold the sheet in half, the short way. Crease it well.

  2. Fold it in half again, then once more. You now have eight small rectangles when you open it.

  3. Open the sheet flat. Fold it in half the long way, then cut along the middle crease, from the fold to the centre. Only across the two middle rectangles.

  4. Open it out and fold it the long way again. Push the two ends towards each other. The cut opens into a diamond.

  5. Keep pushing until the pages meet in the middle, then fold it flat into a little booklet.

  6. Crease it and you have a zine with a front cover, a back cover and six pages inside.



The first time, the pages may end up upside down. That’s normal. Try it on scrap paper first. It’s the best way to see where each page ends up.


Which page is which

Page 1 is the cover and page 8 is the back. Some pages sit upside down on the sheet, which looks strange, and the template shows them. If you draw directly on the sheet, draw the cover in the bottom row, and keep the numbers in mind before you start.


What to put in it

Eight pages is small. That’s the idea. If you’re not sure where to start, I wrote about five ideas to create a zine and about why eight pages is a good limit. One of my zines started as a family trip, and I only kept the moments that mattered.


A last thing

You can make a zine in one afternoon. Fold it, fill it and give it to someone. It won’t look perfect, and that’s part of it.




You can also work directly on your computer using for example Adobe Illustrator. If you are interested in making a photographic zine digitally check out my tutorial.





If you make one, I’d love to see it. Send me a message or tag me on Instagram @byronthebeestudio.




 
 
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