The physical format of the zine was another important consideration. Looking forward to the distribution of the publication, I ultimately wanted to sell copies through a range of independent artists bookshops as a way of gaining recognition as a creative, and to complete the self-publication process. However, as the research in conjunction with my essay indicated, accessing content online is also a very important aspect of distribution for artists and businesses today, as it brings in global consumers and provides a cheaper alternative for the majority of their audience.
In order to accommodate this I looked at how I might digitalise the zine after printing. One solution could be to digitalise the entire publication, which would then be accessible online. Another solution was to allow a consumer to buy the zine digitally so that they themselves might print out the pages and create the book. To do this, the zine could either be sold as a collection of pages to be printed out individually, or sold as one larger sheet to be folded down. When discussing these ideas in a critique it became obvious that creating one larger sheet was the easiest way for a person to print and bind their own version of the publication without the need for specialist equipment. It would allow them to also become a producer of the book, as well as a consumer, tying in with the traditionally DIY aspect of zine making.
Ideas for the format of the zine