A5 Booklets
4pp Cover onto 170gsm Uncoated
48pp Text onto 170gsm Uncoated
Printed in full colour throughout (CMYK Ink)
Stapled bound
France September 2025 is a compact A5 travel photo zine made as a keepsake for friends and family. It’s simple, confident, and built for sharing — the kind of booklet you leave on a coffee table and people instantly start flipping.
From a printer’s-eye view, the interesting bit is the build: 52 pages on staple binding with 170gsm uncoated used throughout. That page count pushes what saddle stitching can comfortably do at A5, so you get a lively bounce when you handle it — and a slight curl through the centre when viewed overhead — but it still opens up beautifully and lets the photography do its thing.
Got a minute? Watch the full flip-through.
Helena put this together as a personal record of a France trip — candid moments, big scenes, and those in-between frames that make a holiday feel real. The edit is bold and varied, moving between full-bleed spreads and pages with a clean white border, which gives the book a nice rhythm as you flip.
Keeping the cover as a self cover (rather than a thicker card) makes the whole booklet more ergonomic — it opens and closes with less fight, which really matters once you move beyond the “safe” page count for stapled zines. Uncoated also adds that dry, tactile feel that makes you want to pick it up again.
The cover’s white title bar is a smart, calm anchor against the photography. It catches the eye, then does the useful job of grounding the publication in place and time: France, September 2025. It’s a simple move, but it makes the zine feel “finished” straight away.
Inside, the mix of full-bleed images and white-bordered layouts keeps things moving. Full bleed brings impact (and suits the bigger architectural and street scenes), while the bordered pages give breathing room — especially good for quieter frames and paired images.
This was Helena’s first time printing a booklet, so the early questions were exactly what you’d hope for: “Is 52 pages too much for stapled binding?” and “Can I check paper and colour before committing?” We talked through what’s achievable at A5, flagged the reality of “bounce” at this thickness, and recommended a flexible uncoated self cover to keep the handling friendly.
We also sent a paper sample pack, then ran our usual preflight checks and final proof step before pushing it into production. The result: a short run of zines ready to share with the people who were actually there.
Our team guided the project from first-time questions through to print-ready files, using clear setup guidance, a proper file check, and a proofing step before the job hit the queue. If you’re planning something similar, you’ll find loads of practical help in our step-by-step booklet PDF guide and our wire stitching / staple binding setup guide.
And if you want to feel the difference between coated and uncoated before you decide, grab a paper sample pack — it’s often the quickest way to get confident with your choices.
If you’re planning your own zine, start with our zine printing service, or build your spec in the instant quote calculator. For more ideas, browse the full portfolio.
