Resources

Zine making resources

The free printables, every guide on the site, and the libraries, fonts, images and software we point readers to.

Free printables

All reader bonuses

Actual-Size Zine Template PackOne-sheet mini zine (guide and line-free master), 8-panel mini comic, half-sheet and quarter-sheet booklet masters, accordion strips, thumbnail planner, lettering sheet, and hole guides for pamphlet stitch and Japanese stab binding.
Imposition Cheat SheetsPage maps for the one-sheet 8-pager and for 8, 12 and 16-page folded booklets, sheet by sheet, front and back. A formula for any page count, a blank planner and the five checks before you print.
The Zine Prompt Deck: 96 Ideas96 prompts on cut-apart cards in eight themes, including new Classroom and Together themes, plus 12 constraint cards, a page on shrinking any idea into eight pages, and a dice game for picking one.
Zine Workshop Lesson Plan (60 or 90 Minutes)Two timed plans, learning goals, a materials list for 20, a word-for-word fold script, access and safety notes, a photocopiable student fold sheet and exit slips.
Edition Checklist, Fair Packing List and Cost SheetA checklist from finished master to bound stack, a copy-shop run sheet, a zine fair packing list, and a print-run cost sheet with a worked example and an edition record.

Every guide

What Is a Zine? Meaning, History and the Kinds You Can MakeThe short answer, the longer story, and why a folded sheet of paper is still one of the most direct ways to publish anything.
How to Make a Zine: A Complete Beginner’s GuideSeven stages take you from a blank sheet to a stack of finished copies. Here is each one, with the decisions that matter and the mistakes to skip.
How to Make an 8-Page Mini Zine from One Sheet of PaperOne sheet, one cut, eight pages, no staples. The page map, the eight folds and the fixes for every common mistake.
Zine Layout and Imposition: Page Order for 8, 12 and 16 PagesImposition is the printer’s word for putting pages on the sheet so they come out in order. Here is the logic, the maps, and a formula for any page count.
Zine Sizes and Paper: Letter, A4, Half-Letter, A5 and Paper WeightZine sizes come from folding standard sheets. Here is every common size, the paper weights that fold well, and the grain rule that stops covers cracking.
How to Bind a Zine: 7 Bindings Compared, from Staples to Stab BindingStaples, thread or a rubber band? Which binding suits which zine, what each one needs, and how to do the two you will use most.
How to Sew a Three-Hole Pamphlet Stitch for ZinesOne needle, one length of thread, three holes and one knot. The handmade binding every zine maker should know.
How to Print a Zine at Home or at a Copy ShopThe settings that ruin most first runs, the ones that fix them, and how to work out what each copy really costs.
Zine Ideas: 50 Prompts for Beginners, Students and FriendsGood zine ideas are small, specific and a little odd. Here are fifty, sorted by who you are making for, and a method to turn any of them into eight pages.
How to Sell, Trade and Give Away Zines: Fairs, Shops, Libraries and MailPractical, not hype: what zines usually sell for, how consignment works, how to get a fair table, which libraries collect zines, and how to post them cheaply.
How to Run a Zine Workshop: A 60 or 90-Minute Lesson PlanFor teachers, librarians and youth workers: a session that runs on time and ends with a finished zine in every hand.
Free Printable Zine Templates (US Letter and A4, Actual Size)Ten templates that print at full size on your paper, with no copier maths. What each one is for, and how to print it so the folds land where they should.

Libraries, fonts, images and tools

Names checked in 2026. Addresses, hours and websites change, so search for the name to find current details.

Zine libraries and archives

Barnard Zine Library Barnard College, New York: a large research collection of zines by women and gender-diverse makers.
Denver Zine Library Denver, Colorado: a volunteer-run collection open to the public.
IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) Portland, Oregon: a community print studio with a zine library.
Sticky Institute Melbourne, Australia: an artist-run zine shop in a station underpass.
QZAP (Queer Zine Archive Project) An online archive of queer zines, free to read.
Your local library Many public and university libraries now collect local zines. Ask at the desk.

Free fonts

Google Fonts Hundreds of free typefaces, many under the SIL Open Font License.
The League of Moveable Type and Velvetyne Free, open-source display faces.
Check the licence Fonts under the SIL Open Font License can be used in printed zines you sell.

Public-domain and open images

The Met Open Access Images of public-domain artworks, free for any use.
Smithsonian Open Access Millions of CC0 images and records.
Wikimedia Commons Check the licence on each file.
Library of Congress Free-to-use collections.

Free software

Scribus Free page-layout software.
GIMP and Krita Image editing and painting.
Inkscape Vector drawing.
Google Slides and Canva Simple layouts in a browser.
Adobe Acrobat Reader Booklet printing from a PDF.