Collection: Magazines

Go to any bookstore or supermarket and you can see row on row of magazines. High-gloss magazines, with their picture-perfect models and their in-depth reporting, draw people into a purchase. There's nothing like reading a good print magazine in a waiting room, while lounging in your hotel room, or even on your own couch at home.

But magazines aren’t just about marketing and sales. The same format is used for a variety of other purposes. Trade journals are often in a magazine format. Any time you need to present a series of articles or images that’s larger than a booklet, you should consider building a magazine.

Magazines not only make excellent pieces of marketing collateral but they are also creative pieces of art. It’s rare to see a magazine without any pictures at all. Magazines stir emotions, drive sales, and help people learn. Are you using magazines to help your company knock it out of the park?

Magazines come in all shapes, sizes, and qualities. Let's take a look at some factors which will determine the cost of your magazine.

Your Page Count
How long is your magazine? Magazine page counts are done by each single-sided page printed as it will look in the final magazine. For instance, if your final size of the magazine is a standard letter size (8 1/2" x 11"), then each double-sided 11x17 sheet used in the printing will be looked at as 4 pages because the single sheet of paper will be folded in half. Keep this in mind because it will play a big role in the final cost.

The cover is often counted separately, as the cover is frequently printed on a different stock or gloss type to set it apart.

Your Finished Size
Magazine pages need to have a little bit of space to add staples and to trim the edges, but many “magazine” views in publishing software don’t automatically add in that space. Thus, the finished size will be different than what it may look like in your files. An 11x17 page becomes 8 3/8 x 10 7/8" once it has been trimmed. BestoPrint can send you templates for our magazine types that will work with our printers. That way, you can be assured that nothing will get cut out that shouldn’t be. We have standard sizes like 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 6x9, and 9x12, but we can also customize the size of the magazine to fit your needs.

Your Paper Stock
The paper that you choose from your magazine printing company has a significant impact on the price and the way that your magazine will feel to your readers. Many magazines have a fancier outside cover (glossy, thicker) than inside pages. That must be taken into consideration when pricing your custom magazine printing. Glossy and heavy paper is more expensive than plain and lighter paper, but we all know the professional appeal of a glossy magazine. We use a 100lb glossy text paper as our standard magazine paper. If you wish to use another kind of paper, please let us know and we’ll quote you a price.

Color vs. Black and White
Is your magazine going to be color or black and white? Or are you planning to have the cover in color and the rest be in black and white? This decision will be part of the finished cost. Color printing is more expensive than black and white printing.

No, we're not talking about putting your magazine in the washing machine. In many printing processes, the printer cannot print right to the edge of the page - it leaves a very small margin that has to be trimmed off. Bleeding is when you choose to have the printing of your magazine go all the way to the edge of the paper so that it bleeds off of the edge of the page. This technique is often used in full-page advertisements.

To get this effect, the paper size must be set up a little bit larger in the file so it can be printed and cut down to the size that you need. In some instances, it means a few extra steps to get your magazine printing just right. Sometimes printing full bleed is necessary to get the exact effect you want from your pages, but it is more expensive. Our printing experts can speak with you about whether or not you need full bleed for your project once we have seen your files.