Wire Stitching
Set Up Guide

1. We need one hi-res pdf with a 3mm bleed on each edge and CMYK images.
2. Pages should be supplied incorrect reading order: 1st page is your cover, 2nd page the inside cover etc right through to your back cover.
3. Your total number of pages must be a multiple of 4 (8,12,16,20,24,28 etc).
4. The artwork should be the same size you want your printed booklet to be.
5. Pages nearer the centre of the booklet are trimmed shorter (this is called creep) – keep important page numbers and info away from edges.

Files for wire stitched zines are set up in correct reading order.

The first page is your cover, the last page is your back cover, the pages in between are incorrect reading order just exactly as though you were flicking through the finished booklet. Simple.

They need to be supplied as single pages NOT spreads. Our system will then sort the single pages into imposed printer's pairs so all you need to worry about is getting the pages in the same order as you want people to read them.

Create a new file

File > New > Document

The box that opens contains everything you need to ensure the file is set up correctly.

Our example here on the right is for a 24 page A5 Portrait booklet.

'Number of Pages'

Says it all on the tin...type in the number of pages you have. Remember this has to be a multiple of four to be wire stitched so you'll be going for 8,12,16,20,24,28,32,36 or 40.

'Facing Pages'

If you find it easier to design as double-page spreads then leave this option ticked. If you are comfortable working on single pages then untick this box. Maybe try both ways before starting to see which you prefer.

'Master Text Frame'

Leave unticked

'Page Size'

Make sure the page size you specify is the same size as you intend your finished Zines to be. We're not mind readers - if you set your page at A4 but want an A5 Zine then something's gone wrong. There are some presets here to save you time so if you click a drop down menu appears with some popular sizes to save you having to input the actual dimensions in the boxes below.

Click here for paper size dimensions.

'Orientation'

The left-hand icon is a portrait and the right hand one is landscape.

'Columns'

Best to leave this on '1' although advanced booklet designers might like to change this to produce a column layout to work with.

'Gutter'

This relates to this distance between your columns. If you only have one column then there is no gutter and you can skip this box.

'Margins'

You can set the top, bottom, inside and outside margins to 5mm which will help you avoid placing important information within 5mm of the page edge. The margins are displayed as pink lines on your InDesign page (see image on the right). If this is confusing then set the margins to '0'.

'Bleed and Slug'

Adding 3mm in the top, bottom, left and right boxes here will add a border on your InDesign artwork 3mm outside of the blank page edge to show where the bleed needs to extend to. The bleed area has a red border on your InDesign page (see right). For further information on bleed see the Bleed set up section above.

Click 'OK' and your new file will open.

Continue following the tips in our File Set-Up section and the design considerations in our Binding Options guide before finally exporting to pdf when you're happy with the finished artwork.

The pdf file will probably be too large for email so it is best to use www.wetransfer.com to send them to us.

1. Send us one hi-res pdf with 3mm bleed on each edge and CMYK images.
2. Your total number of pages must be a multiple of 4 (8,12,16,20,24,28 etc).
3. Pages should be supplied incorrect reading order: 1st page is your cover, 2nd page the inside cover etc right through to your back cover.
4. The artwork should be the same size you want your printed booklet to be.
5. Pages nearer the centre are trimmed short - keep info away from edges.