Printing Options.

Printing

 After the majority of my research was completed and I was at the stage where I was creating mock covers etc I decided to do some research in regards to printing the final product. This ranged from places and website I can print them on, as well as paper type, thickness and more. I soon discovered a large amount of websites are either US based, or expect companies to use their sites, consequently printing thousands of copies at a time, this of course was not something I was aiming for, nor needed. In addition to this point I was also enquiring about 'foil stamping' for my front cover as I think using gold stamping for 'VOLT' would really add to the aesthetic, however I found companies in which do this expect a large scale of production, or it is very costly. So although in my research I discussed foil stamping, I no longer think that is an option.

  Therefore I narrowed the search down, looking for Uk websites, and those in which can print on a small scale, as in reality I only want a few copies! I discovered the site 'Mixam Print UK'. It allows you to make a large selection of options as to how you want your magazine printed. I decided on 5 copies to be printed ( as this gives me enough to hand in, and keep for myself), A4 size of course as I wish to keep it traditional in that sense, and 16 sides. As I have previously talked about, my magazine needs to be a multiple of 4 in order for it to work, I decided upon 16 as this allows me to include all three articles, and imagery, without it being TOO much or TOO little content. Next I decided upon 170 gsm, I want my magazine to feel 'thick' and be good quality, I think if my magazine had different content I would choose a smaller size, but due to the content and over all aim for my magazine I wish it to be on slightly thicker paper. Thirdly I chose the paper type to be uncoated, as again this is what I think will work best for my. I am aware the majority of magazines that I researched have the typical silk or gloss finish, however as I want mine to be slightly different, unique and not 'traditional' I wanted to go with uncoated. I also looked into 'natural' and 'recycled' paper, however this can only be done on large scales using this website! As well as this I came across another 'error' much like the foil stamping, this problem being that I ideal want day magazine binding to be 'Perfect (PUR)', however again can only be possible on magazines with 48 sides or larger. This is unfortunate, however I don't think it will largely effect my magazine, as a lot of the magazines you see in shops are done by staple, I was just disappointed as I am aiming for the 'higher end' look and feel. All of this can be done for under £30, therefore this is definitely a sight I will try using for my final project. 

 Prototype 

 A large part of this process also requires me to produce prototypes of my magazine, I have decided however that I will produce prototypes and print them on ordinary paper, using a normal printer. This mainly being for price and cost issues, I don't want to make multiple prototypes and get them professionally printed as this would make the price go up, and I also believe by using ordinary paper I will still be able to view my magazine and review/ assess it. By producing a prototype it allows you to see the product and what it should eventually look like, this will show me what things in the layout work, and do not work, things such as colour and text size and more. I can then edit my work and improve these details before I send it off to be professionally printed.