Zines Are for Everyone: How DIY Publishing Empowers Creative Voices

A zine can be anything from a folded-up piece of printer paper covered in illustrations to a sleekly printed miniature magazine filled with professional photographs and interviews with artists. Since a zine is defined as any inexpensively made printed work of text, images and art, a zine can really be almost anything you want. 

Zines usually aren’t published under any sort of editor or publishing house, which means the creators have the freedom to express themselves on any subject in any way they like. Making a zine also doesn't require any sort of outside funding which means zine creators can create without the pressure of having to make their money back. This is why most zines tend to dive deeper into sub-cultures like punk, feminism, queer culture and indie art. 

Zine Essentials

The definition of a zine is pretty wide, but they are typically soft-cover and under fifty pages, usually between four and sixteen pages. They often feature collages, poetry, and film photography and utilize hands-on techniques like silk screening, rubber stamping, paper folding and drawing. 

Another key element of zines is that they’re usually produced with DIY or amateur publishing techniques. Zines with bigger budgets might use more professional printing techniques and high-quality paper or gloss finish. But zines, at their core, are low-cost and can be made with materials you already have at home. 

When making your own zine, you’ll have total freedom. You can make it any size or shape. You can give them away or sell them at concerts, independent bookstores or cafes. You might give your zine to your closest friends or only reserve them for complete strangers. 

You can express your thoughts any way you like. Usually, the more raw and honest you can get, the better your zine will be. In the world of zines, the weird, the outcast, the absurd and the unique are celebrated. 

The History of Zines

Zines are closely related to other printed publications like chapbooks, broadsides and pamphlets, so it's hard to pin down an exact year when the zine was invented. However, many point to the 1930s and 40s as the beginning of zine culture. It was then that many science-fiction fans created self-published, short magazines to share the content they loved. 

These fan-made zines became even more popular in the 1960s and 1970s. With the invention of the copy machine and copy shops, zine production exploded, making the craft more accessible to those with small budgets. 

Since their debut, zines have usually focused on cultural, artistic and political themes. Non-profit or political organizations who can’t afford big marketing campaigns use zines to get the word out about important issues. Artists who want to share their creations with the world but can’t afford to rent out a gallery or publish a full-blown coffee book can share their work through a zine. 

Zine culture has spread from underground subcultures to more popular creative communities and even bigger brands in the past few decades. Dating app Feeld recently launched AFM (A Fucking Magazine), which is a biannual print publication about desire, sexuality and relationships. Fashion brand Loewe offers a quarterly magazine, which includes interviews with creative experts, artist features and fun additions like sticker packs. 

Some zine fans don’t like that bigger brands are trying to profit from the cool factor and trendiness of zines and print publications. 

Ione Gamble, the founding editor-in-chief of Polyester Zine, finds that big brands entering the zine space can take away potential funding and fans from independent zine creators. Gamble still thinks that DIY zines will continue to gain popularity even with other magazines and glossy print publications around. Since bigger magazines look to sell products or hundreds of pages of ad space, people are more likely to turn to zines to feel educated or inspired.

Unique Benefits of the Zine

Other forms of print communication, like books and magazines, usually require a good amount of upfront work and investment. Even if you self-publish a book or magazine, you need to find someone to print it, a way to market it and a place to sell it. You also might encounter production run minimums. 

Publishers that don’t require minimums might charge you more per print, which means you’ll need a bigger budget, even if you’re only planning on doing a small print run. With zines, you can create one zine for less than a few dollars, especially if you already have a printer and paper at home. 

If you create your zine digitally and own a printer, your zine can cost you less than fifteen cents per copy. When you’re not working under a traditional publisher, you also don’t have to deal with any of their rules, regulations or expectations. This makes zines a unique space for personal storytelling, marginalized voices and creative freedom.

Zines can also encourage creative risk-taking, imperfection, and authenticity because you don’t have to wait for your zine to feel perfect enough to share it with the world. A zine is just a collection of curated content. You’re the curator, so as long as you stay loyal to your unique interests and experiences, you can make something truly one-of-a-kind. 

The DIY, low-budget and freedom-first aspects of zine-making are why creatives, artists and subculture members are most drawn to the world of zines. 

Zines and Mental Health

Zines also have a certain practical and emotional appeal in a world that is becoming increasingly digital. Similar to the resurgence of film photography, more artists are turning to analog modes of expression because they engage more senses and require more tangible and handmade work.  

A study in using zines in critical mental health learning and education found that zines can help people move into new ways of thinking, relating and being together. The researchers discovered that zines can help the creators express, process or work through difficult emotions and experiences. 

Zine Inspiration

If you’re new to the world of zines, you’ll soon discover how versatile and diverse the medium can be. In 2024, the Brooklyn Museum hosted the first exhibition dedicated to the history of zines over the past five decades in North America. Titled Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines, the exhibition focused on zines’ relationship to various subcultures and avant-garde practices, including punk, street culture, queer and minority-made art. It also showed zines’ intersection with other mediums like craft, collage, film, painting, drawing, performance, photography and video.

You can flip through a few digitized zines from their exhibitio,n like Candy Parker’s Dr. Smith and Devin N. Morris’ Waking Up Black. You can also find zines at independent bookstores and publishers. 

Lucky Risograph is a risograph printing press in Dumbo, New York. They print a wide variety of publications, including photo books and zines. You can scroll through their online store and explore zines like Tyler Yin’s working_hours/ and Ben Clement’s Stonely. 

If you’re looking for zine inspiration near you, try visiting some independent bookstores or publishers. If you live in a smaller town, you can also try a museum bookshop or online shops like Etsy, Printed Matter or the Dale Zine Shop. 

Take a moment to explore a few of these sites and take in what you notice about zines. You might examine what sort of practical and emotional appeal zines have, why they might foster a specific community and why you’re drawn to them. 

Here are a few zine makers and zines you might enjoy: 

• Zoë Thompson and Melody Triumph’s zine was made to amplifying the voices of Black creatives worldwide sweet-thang
• Tee.See’s L.L Bean Long Bill Cap worn by David Lynch, which features David Lynch wearing his favorite iconic hat
• Matt Jones’ The Flowers Taste So Good, which includes photographs from raw moments with Mia Khalifa
• Cake Zine’s sixth issue Daily Bread, explores how bread affects our lives through ritual, religion and routine
• Madzine’s Choose Your Own Research Adventure, which is made to help mental health researchers get inspired during any research project  
• Lu William’s Grrrl Zine Fair, which is a zine-making community
• Victory Nwabu-Ekeom’s Bia! Zine, which shares the voices, food, stories and histories of immigrant communities in Ireland

You’ll notice that a lot of these zine makers use their zines as a communication tool for causes they’re passionate about. Zoë Thompson, co-founder of sweet-thang zine, felt pulled toward zine culture because she wanted to connect with other young people around her who enjoyed DIY and handmade creations. When talking about her entrance into zine creation, she shared, “We weren't waiting for permission to create art and express ourselves, we kind of just did it.” 

How to Make a Zine

A zine, in its most basic form, is a folded-up piece of paper. You’ll start by folding your paper in half lengthwise. It should be long like a hot dog rather than wide like a hamburger. Then, fold your paper in half crosswise. Finally, fold your paper again crosswise and unfold it. Your page should be split into eight equal-sized rectangles. 

Next, fold your paper crosswise and cut along the center indent until you’ve cut halfway through the paper. Then, push each side toward each other to form the pages. 

You can use the template above to plan your page layout. You can draw, paste, and write directly on your paper or design the template in Canva or your design app of choice and then print it, ready to go. 

Some zine creators use book binding methods like Japanese binding and stitched binding. Others partner with copyshops or print shops that offer bookmaking and magazine making. When you’re making your first zine, don’t feel like you need to make it look like a professional, polished project. Zines are usually expressive and imperfect in nature. 

Determining Your Concept and Style

Before you decide on the specific format for your zine, do some brainstorming on the overall concept and style you want to go for. To figure out your overall concept, ask yourself questions like:

• What’s a topic I wish more people knew about?
• What’s something I learned recently that I would like to share with someone?
• What is something I’ve been reflecting on this year?
• Who are some people that I look up to?
• Who is an artist that inspires me?
• What emotions would I like to express more?
• Am I protesting something or someone?

Once you have determined the theme you want to explore or the ideas you want to share, it’s time to decide how you want to communicate those ideas. Your zine might be photography-forward or include creative processes like collaging or stamping. 

Here are some things you might add to your zine:

• Introduction
• Advice columns
• Recipes
• Film photos
• Essays
• Articles
• Fiction pieces
• Poetry
• Credits/acknowledgments
• Journal/diary entries
• Sketches
• Xeroxed images
• Stickers/stamps
• Comic strips
• Reviews
• Lists
• Interviews 

Gathering Your Materials

Now that you know what you want to include in your zine, it’s time to gather the basic materials you’ll need. In its most basic form, a zine can be made with a pen and a piece of printer paper, but you can get as complex and creative as you want. 

Some zine creators use free software like Scribus, Spectrolite, Electric Zine Maker and Amy Zine to build their layouts. Others use paid options like Affinity Publisher, Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher or Canva. You can also draw and write everything by hand and then just make copies. 

To print your zine, you might use a:

• Photocopier
• Scanner
• Printer
• Mimeograph
• Risograph 
• Silkscreen
• Linoleum block and carving tools
• Thermofax
• Pressure transfer
• Offset lithography 

Depending on the layout and design of your zine, you might also need materials like:

• Bindings: string, thread, yarn, staples, brads, rubber bands, paper clips
• Multi-colored or textured paper
• Stamps
• Stickers
• Washi tape
• Magazine/newspaper clippings
• Photographs
• Paint 
• Whiteout
• Typewriter
• Ink
• Label maker
• Markers
• Sharpies
• Pencil 
• Ruler
• Glue
• Scissors 
• Cutting board
• X-acto knife
• Paper trimmer
• Silhouette cutter 

When making your first zine, try to use materials that you already have at home. Zines are made to be accessible, so you don’t have to plan out the perfect, most complex design before you get started for the first time. Before you begin your construction process, you should also consider your budget, how many zines you want to create and who you’re making them for.

Zines generally travel the world through festivals, concerts, trading, mail art and online archives. They’re also sold in bookshops, record stores, concept stores, gift shops and other specialty stores. Most zine artists don’t set out to make money with their creations but rather to share their ideas in a creative way. 

Zoë Thompson of sweet-thang zine started her zine because she wanted a space for other Black creatives like her to be able to express themselves freely away from the limitations that are often placed on black artistry. She was also inspired by cool youth culture magazines like Rookie Mag or Canada-based zine Plasma Dolphin.

Zines in Today’s World

Society might be moving into a digital-first world but that doesn’t mean zines are going anywhere. Unlike pixels, print often feels more authentic and can better portray the artist’s unique touch. Print can offer tactile experiences through texture, pockets, bookmarked pages and more. 

Zines are still being created today and are even accepted by larger institutions like universities. Saint Lawrence University has a zine section in its library and Rhode Island School of Design hosts an art book fair called Unbound that features “books, zines and experimental printed matter.”

Now that you understand zine culture and how zine makers are using the art to spread awareness for causes, make space for marginalized voices and share niche ideas, you’re ready to get started on your own zine-making process. 

Related Reading

Written By

Calli Zarpas

Producer & Writer by occupation. Ceramicist & Newsletter Editor by avocation.

Share

• 
• 
• 
•