Zine Exchange VII - January to April 2024

Just a little update. I was led to believe KDP is a very easy way to do this. Already designed the zine etc but I've been having back and forth with them for the last week. A few mm here and there and have had to reupload the zine 6 times! Anyway, I got to print a couple of "proofs" which look fine but they still haven't approved it yet. So hoping they do next week!
 
gjhill said:
See post 86........

Something had gone wrong with my iCloud on Mac , all affinity docs and photos had disappeared.

Recreated but it was a faff, affinity kept crashing I am on version 10 so not sure if it's that, anyways all printed now and will be posted out today.

I must apologise for the quality control on some of the images it seems my double sided A4 sheets are not always A4!!!!!!

Will have to review next time to see what alternatives I have for home production
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Your zine arrived with me today. I think it's very good. I like the 'home production' with a mix of glossy and matt cover images. In my opinion, this is a 'true zine' in the sense of DIY and playing with colour and an alternative focus. Yes, look down! It's often where the mysteries are, natural and human made.
 
Thanks for the comments Julius, I have already decided how the next one will be presented and printed. Let’s hope I get the necessary inspiration
 
Penlens said:
Thank you Ian, for your kind words. 1) The sheep was initially out of frame and so I waited for it to slowly munch its way into position. 2) I bought the rubber camera stamp from a physical store outside Eastbourne called Hobbycraft about five years ago. They have an online presence: www.hobbycraft.co.uk. Yes, there were some of my poems in the previous zine I worked on - 'this constant flux'.
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I liked the sheep under the tree - reminded me of something the album cover design firm Hipgnosis would do.
 
gjhill said:
Thanks for the comments Julius, I have already decided how the next one will be presented and printed. Let’s hope I get the necessary inspiration
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Just got mine too. Thought it was a great idea (another one for me to magpie) and the homebrew approach is truly in the spirit of the zine. Nicely sequenced too!
 
Harlequin565 said:
Just got mine too. Thought it was a great idea (another one for me to magpie) and the homebrew approach is truly in the spirit of the zine. Nicely sequenced too!
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Thanks Ian
 
My zine has safely returned from Mixam (they are quick, give them that), passed rigorous internal QA procedures (it was unlikely to fail) and will be trooped off to the post office after I have sat through a meeting on the recycling of absorbent hygiene products (don't think too hard on that subject please). I am using preloved packaging so those who sent me zine may get their envelope back - save it for the next exchange.

Once everyone has received there's I'll post the proof PDF.

Oh yes, Mixam sent me 22 copies of the 20 I ordered.
 
Paul Morgan said:
My zine has safely returned from Mixam (they are quick, give them that), passed rigorous internal QA procedures (it was unlikely to fail) and will be trooped off to the post office after I have sat through a meeting on the recycling of absorbent hygiene products (don't think too hard on that subject please). I am using preloved packaging so those who sent me zine may get their envelope back - save it for the next exchange.

Once everyone has received there's I'll post the proof PDF.

Oh yes, Mixam sent me 22 copies of the 20 I ordered.
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I received your excellent zine today Paul. It's a very well produced piece of work. 'Caustic' is a good title and immediately sets up this powerful document to the effects of the human on the landscape, and the details in the strong images illustrate so well the toxic legacy of a particular industry.
 
Penlens said:
I received your excellent zine today Paul. It's a very well produced piece of work. 'Caustic' is a good title and immediately sets up this powerful document to the effects of the human on the landscape, and the details in the strong images illustrate so well the toxic legacy of a particular industry.
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Thank you Julius - as a subject it came late to me, I had a different subject in mind. As these went in the post yesterday afternoon I am somewhat reassured it got to the south coast so quickly!
 
Paul Morgan said:
Thank you Julius - as a subject it came late to me, I had a different subject in mind. As these went in the post yesterday afternoon I am somewhat reassured it got to the south coast so quickly!
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This has given me an idea, although it could make me extremely unpopular locally. I'll leave it there for now.....
 
Received caustic from @Paul Morgan this morning

An excellent and thought provoking presentation
 
@gjhill I received yours yesterday thanks very much!
Once again, something unusual. looking down to find a subject was not something I would typically consider. The fresh leaves contrasted sharply with the decaying ones, serving as a metaphor for life's cyclical nature. A different perspective indeed!
Looking forward for the next one:)
 
Received Cearnagach from @John Barry this morning
Excellent production, stunning photos
 
Good lord. Just got back from work to Caernagach and Caustic.

I think I say this every time, but this zine exchange has seen some really great work.

Caustic: When initially reading, I found myself wanting to "find the text" to understand what it was I was looking at. Very thought provoking and intelligently put together as well as mildly disturbing in places. I almost felt guilty putting together something as whimsical as I did, but when I collected all the zines together I realised that this exchange (like all of them) is a microcosm of the rich vision that all the photographers taking part have. That desire to "say something" with more than just one image. Great story, and very nicely put together.

Caernagach: I chuckled when I opened this because of the quality of the images, and presentation (being higher than anything I could do). I also really identify with the decision to try and use this sort of thing to raise money for charity. I hope it's a roaring success, because it deserves to be. What I really liked was the huge difference between the wide, distant landscapes, and the almost macro closeups. I'm not sure if you've done this before Barry, but this is a sterling effort.

:clap:
 
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Harlequin565 said:
Good lord. Just got back from work to Caernagach and Caustic.

I think I say this every time, but this zine exchange has seen some really great work.

Caustic: When initially reading, I found myself wanting to "find the text" to understand what it was I was looking at. Very thought provoking and intelligently put together as well as mildly disturbing in places. I almost felt guilty putting together something as whimsical as I did, but when I collected all the zines together I realised that this exchange (like all of them) is a microcosm of the rich vision that all the photographers taking part have. That desire to "say something" with more than just one image. Great story, and very nicely put together.
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Firstly, how come my zine arrived in Eastbourne - several hundred miles from my home - before it arrived at yours a handful of miles away? The Post Office eh?!

Your comment on the text is interesting. When I did a zine for the RPS Landscape group zine project/exchange the text was inside the front cover. Dr Tim Daly from Chester Uni photographic department suggested putting it on the back inside cover so I did and repeated it with Caustic. I guess the images confuse you then you read the essay and look at the images again. I’d love to say that was the plan but I’m not that sophisticated when it comes to planning and design.

I love making zines (this is only my second concerted effort). I had a plan to make one a quarter but that was over ambitious - three tops this year but definitely two this year. Next one not so serious.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Nice to see zines tricling through, I've been a bit busy with work recently, but have allocated time next week to get it finalised, so realistically you are looking at mid-June for mine (within the end of June tiemscales!)
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Got some time this weekend, so put together the zine in Affinity - so far I'm happy with it, will sit on it for a couple of days (I like to leave it to rest before reviewing!) will then give the text a full review and check all the alignments, can't be doing with mis-alignments :ROFLMAO: ) and then upload to Mixam. It willbe with all the participants soon.............................
 
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Received both Caustic and Caernagach, thank you both VERY MUCH! You both obviously know what you are doing, what a delight!
@Paul Morgan these are striking images and effort. Your zine is also a perfect way to raise awareness and educate people on this subject.
@John Barry dementia is a subject close to my heart and I will be interested to know how did you agree with the charity to use the book for fundraising. The landscapes are magnificient.
 
Thanks for the welcome and the positive comments. I should firstly acknowledge Mr Perceptive as the instigator for getting involved in this exchange as my first participation was on another forum which he organised. I love it as a concept and the variety of subjects is brilliant. Producing and particularly receiving them is a sheer delight

So, having got into this almost by accident I have now produced 5 'zines' and the 6th is well underway. I've kept the same format for all of them so they make a cohesive set. On reflection Cearnagach is the one I'm least happy with. The title is 'square' in Gaelic and as Bruce ecourages you to compose in that format I followed it through. I was happy with it on the screen, but in the hand it feels a bit 'relentless'. A wider margin, a blank page or two and perhaps some multiple images could work better, but it's all part of the learning process

The fundraising aspect is a welcome bonus. I set a reasonable minimum price for the book, and then people can give what what they want. I get them out for November in time for Christmas and each has done better than the previous one. I think this year the final print run will be somewhere around 75 copies although the subject matter may not be so attractive

Dementia has impacted our family as it has many others so I'm really pleased to be able to contribute to the charity in this way
 
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FWIW I'm glad they get you to check prior to confirming the print run. I found that about half way through I'd lost track of pages, and images that should have been opposite each other where back-to-back instead. Should be delivered on Friday...... Waiting.

Out of interest - Mixam - how long before they send you a link to the virtual printed 'book' online?
 
ancient_mariner said:
FWIW I'm glad they get you to check prior to confirming the print run. I found that about half way through I'd lost track of pages, and images that should have been opposite each other where back-to-back instead. Should be delivered on Friday...... Waiting.

Out of interest - Mixam - how long before they send you a link to the virtual printed 'book' online?
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The on-line flick through should be up as soon as your files are uploaded.

Click the Preview button.

2024-06-09_220655.jpg
 
Harlequin565 said:
Not entirely sure what the worry was about... I mean you can hardly ban yourself can you :)
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Self-banning is an interesting idea. But it's more a relief to get it done right and not let people down. I went through the zines that are already delivered after I had finished, and there is some fantastic work in them.
 
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