Q I’m starting an arts magazine with a friend and I’m trying to get some help with, well, just about everything. I was on the magazine course at City last year so know a little about the industry but to be perfectly honest, not a lot about the managing editor side of things. I was hoping that if I give you a (very) rough idea of what we’re looking to print, you might be able to give me some advice about the different types of paper and weights to consider, cover finishes and colour options. I was also hoping that you could suggest some suitable printers in London. Like I said, this is a very basic idea but at the moment we’re looking at how much it would cost to print an A5 magazine, 48pp plus 4pp cover, with different types of paper within it, different colour options (possibly full-colour, possibly two-colour, it will probably change each month!), staple-bound (but possibly hard-backed, eek!) with a print run of 1,000. I’m sorry this is so vague, but I would be really grateful for any advice you could give.
Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, via email

A Ooh, sounds like an exciting project, and I am delighted to hear about your ambitions to produce a physical product that sounds so interesting. Given the vast array of paper types and weights available, never mind all the special finishes you might choose to investigate, such as spot varnishes, lamination, special colours, foiling, metallics, etc, I would suggest you start a sort of ‘mood board’ for your magazine whereby you disassemble existing printed products and put a collection together of the things you’re aspiring to. If you can go along to the printer with examples of the sort of paper stocks, colours, and effects you’d like to include it will be much easier for them to provide you with advice and pointers about what’s do-able and what isn’t within the available budget (something else you need to think carefully about).
Try and get hold of a copy of Dutch magazine Flow if you can – I heard about this title at a recent PPA (www.ppa.co.uk) conference and you might find their approach provides useful inspiration too. See www.sanomamagazines.com.
I’m going to point you in the direction of Printflow, located in Clerkenwell just around the corner from your old stamping ground at City University. The company has both litho and digital printing capabilities so should be well-placed to help you realise your publishing vision. Contact them on 020 7689 8686 or www.printflow.com. Good luck! And do please send me a copy care of PrintWeek.