From PDF to zine
- Make your pages in any app you like and export a PDF in normal reading order, page 1 being the cover.
- Pick a size. Eighth, the classic 8-page minizine, is the default. Go smaller for micro-zines, or take the half size for a proper saddle-stitch booklet you fold in half and staple down the spine. The live preview shows where every page lands, including which panels print upside down.
- Print, fold, cut. Folding instructions for your exact combination of size, orientation and fold appear with the result.
Why a tool for this?
Zine impositions are famously fiddly. Half the panels print upside down, and the page-to-panel mapping shifts with every size, fold direction and printing mode. Do it by hand in a design app and you're rebuilding dozens of rotated frames every time you revise a page. Dropping a PDF here takes seconds and shows you the layout before you commit any ink.
Designing pages that survive the fold
The eighth fold turns a sheet of A4 or Letter into panels about the size of a playing card, and the micro sizes go far smaller. Type that reads comfortably at full size disappears at that scale, so design for the panel, not the page: big type, thick lines, high contrast, one idea per page. Keep anything important away from the panel edges, where the fold and the inevitable few millimetres of misfolding live. Photocopiers, the traditional zine press, flatten greys and fill in fine hatching. The classic zine look of bold black linework developed partly because that's what survives repeated copying.
The eighth needs only one cut, along the middle of the sheet: no staples, no glue, one sheet of paper becomes an eight-page book. If you want more pages than the single-sheet formats allow, move up to the half size, which is a proper saddle-stitch booklet with as many sheets as you need.
Common uses for the zine maker
- Fold an 8-page mini-zine: a single sheet, arranged to fold and cut.
- Print a perzine or art zine: impose an indie zine in whichever format you fold.
- Make classroom foldables: turn a worksheet into a foldable booklet for students.
Frequently asked questions
Which zine formats are supported?
Ten sizes: half (classic booklet), quarter, eighth (the 8-page minizine), 1/12th, 1/16th micro-mini, 1/24th, 1/32nd, 1/36th, 1/48th, and 1/64th. Each one takes portrait or landscape pages, a side or top fold, and single- or double-sided printing. A4, US Letter and custom paper sizes all work.
How do I make an 8-page zine from one sheet of paper?
Drop in a PDF of up to 8 pages, leave the size on Eighth, click Arrange. Print it single-sided and follow the folding instructions that come up with your result. Fold, one cut, and it wraps itself into a little book.
What order should my PDF pages be in?
Normal reading order. Page 1 is the front cover, the last page the back cover. The rotating and repositioning is the tool's problem, and the live preview shows where each page lands.
What are signatures?
On longer double-sided zines, signatures split the sheets into smaller stapled groups that nest inside one another. Somewhere between 2 and 5 sheets per signature folds much flatter than one thick stack. Set “sheets per signature” under Options.
Can I print cutting and folding guides?
Tick “Print dotted fold guides” under Options and you get light dotted lines along the panel boundaries.
Do my pages get uploaded?
No. The arranging happens in your browser, so your zine stays yours until you decide to hand it out.