is themselves press for me?

i hope so! but it’s not for everyone. while i do my best to deliver a high quality product, this is still a hand-made, home-printed zine operation and it’s really important to me to be transparent about that and set expectations for how my books differ from a traditional print shop. there are examples all over this page and my instagram of what i can do. if you’re looking for a ~true book~, you may want to reach out to other print shops!

what should i expect?

a hand-made zine by someone who cares, but is not a robot. with pages made by a graphics-oriented laser printer that is honestly pretty damn nice, but it’s not a top-of-the-line, superfine, Real Print Shop, 90k costing, room-sized printer. so because of that + everything being done in house by a human, you should expect some variations or slight imperfections typical of handmade books.

what do you need from me to print?

a PDF of all of your PAGES (not spreads) in order (cover, inside cover, 1, 2, 3, 4, …, inside back cover, back cover). see this page for help setting up a file.

what kind of printer and paper do you use?

i use a kyocera p6235cdn laser printer. i print on 32lb hammermill color copy gloss and 32lb hammermill matte papers. my covers are usually 80lb coverstock or 65lb astrobrite cover stock for the colors.

how do you bind your books?

all of my zines are saddle-stitched, which is a fancy name for stapled. i do all the binding by hand with a long stapler, a burnishing bone (sometimes a lighter tbh), and my bare hands!

do you do perfect binding?

are you too good for a staple?

what is full bleed?

full bleed means your content will continue off the edge of the page. think of: magazine pages where the photos take up the entire page. if you’re still confused, google it for example images!

why are books with full bleed more expensive? why are they smaller?

the printer doesn’t actually print to the edge of the paper, so in order to get full bleed images on your books they need to be trimmed. this requires quite a bit more meticulous labor than i realize it sounds like it would.

why are your prices sliding scale?

printing is outrageously expensive, i hate it. i’ve developed the sliding scale model to help make this service as accessible as possible. if you’re able to pay a little higher on the sliding scale, it helps keep the lower end of the scale an option to those who need it.

why do you have a limit on page count?

for level 1 (the untrimmed zines) they start to look sloppy after a certain number of pages, so i don’t suggest more than what i’ve listed, but we can go up to 40 pages if you really want it! for the level 2, it’s all about how much the staple can take and how the book folds, so i wouldn’t exceed the max.

why does my page count have to be in multiples of 4?

1 sheet of paper = 4 pages. 2 on the front, 2 on the back when folded. if you’re having trouble creating a book with the correct number of pages, i can help you figure out a way to add in a creative title page or some blanks on the end to fill it out.

what’s your turnaround time?

normally about 2-3 weeks from time of payment. i wish it could be faster, but i’m a one person operation, everything is literally hand-made, and i have other obligations besides your zine! i will confirm your expected completion date when we talk.

can i see a sample?

yeah! i do one test print with a video for you to look over before printing your entire set. if you want a physical test print, it’s $20 per copy shipped.

can you design my zine for me?

yes, but slots are super limited! i can take on a very limited amount of design commissions per month starting at 250 per zine for simpler projects (1-2 images per pages, minimal text). send me a message at themselvespress at gmail with details for a full quote.

i see you have a minimum of 20, what if i want less?

we can do less! but a small set up fee of $25 applies, because it takes just as much time to prepare a 5 zine order as it does a 50 zine order.

how do you choose which zines end in your shop?

all the zines in my shop are works of artists who i’ve invited to produce a zine for, collaborative projects i’ve produced, and sometimes my own work. since i can only do so much, i am very particular about who i invite to make work under the press imprint, always with the intention of having my black, brown, women, and genderqueer friends at the front of the line. submissions are closed at this time - but may open up in the future!

can i sell my zines on your online shop?

no, sorry! i only sell projects i produce through the themselves press shop! ♡

what’s your email?

themselvespress at gmail dot com - feel free to get in touch with any unanswered questions. please be patient when waiting for a response, i am a one person operation!