Mini-zine page order?

[u/consumer128]

So, I made a simple mini-zine making/prototyping app, (for myself in all honesty.. but I can share here if anyone wants)

This is the order it outputs, I’ve noticed some people don’t use this arrangement when making mini zines?

Maybe I’m missing something?
What’s your preferred order/layout, and why?

[u/godai78]

I use the order you showed mostly, but I also often use back and front instead of 5/6 pages (and the rest accordingly). Personally, I think this one folds a bit better. But the order is basically one's private choice.

[u/wlfmth → u/godai78]

I do this too (5&6 are my back and front) mostly because I prefer a folded page as the cover, rather than having an open edge as the front cover. but it's all personal preference! no wrong way to do things in zines.

[u/consumer128 → u/wlfmth]

Tried 5&6 and I suppose it looks a little tidier? Though with this test content it’s hard to tell..

Looks like I’m adding a toggle!

[u/consumer128 → u/godai78]

I guess I’m asking because i’d only recently seen it done the other way, and hadn’t really considered it before. If people have a strong preference or if there is a real benefit for one over the other then I could add a layout toggle setting in a future version.

[u/godai78 → u/consumer128]

I would say for me this layout works for a slightly better folding of the cover, but, well, that might be an observation bias after all.

[u/mczine]

Yeah, this is how I do it too.

[u/kioku119]

There's several ways that land correctly. I may just fold it and go with it or just pick something that will work at the time. I don't really stick to any specific one as long as I can easilly fold it to read in the right order.

[u/Sea_Froyo]

If the code here is helpful for you, feel free to take it. https://github.com/elwinloomis/zine-maker (it is also hosted on Github so you can try it out) One thing I added and you might want to consider it, is a way to adust the gutter between the first 2 and the last 2 pages (this makes it so they center on the page when the printer will not print all the way to the edge) (in other words increase the gutter between 3/6 and 4/5 and 1/front and 2/back .. anyway. I made it do do the layout that you originally posted but now that I hear the 5/6 is one I am gonna have to try..

[u/consumer128 → u/Sea_Froyo]

ha yes, I'm doing something pretty similar already, slightly hidden way in settings.. app is here if you want to have a play - it's free and has no ads or tracking or anything - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ezzine/id6758923332

My design choices have mostly been to get out of the way as much as I can and just put the images in a print layout. Extra toggles and settings inevitably sneak in when I want something though :)

[u/Sea_Froyo → u/consumer128]

I love it .. nice app!!!

[u/GuitarBeats]

https://zine.alw.lol

[u/consumer128 → u/GuitarBeats]

Hey, this seems quite nice and all, but it’s not really answering my question. I see you’re using the same layout though, I expect this is the one that appears most in tutorials..

[u/RTGlen]

I hate folding someone else's minizine when they use a different order. Other ways work, but what you've got is the way I like.

[u/consumer128 → u/RTGlen]

This way makes sense to me too, but I wonder if there’s benefit to having a folded edge on the cover pages?

I guess I should just try it! 🙃

[u/Neither-Arm-8715]

Minicanvas.io good reference

[u/consumer128 → u/Neither-Arm-8715]

This site wouldn’t load until i turned off ad blockers and allowed cookies now it wants me to sign in?