The finished size and number of pages in a magazine do more than determine how the publication looks. They can also influence how efficiently it can be printed, which production method is appropriate and ultimately how much it costs to manufacture and distribute.
A small change to a magazine specification can sometimes improve production efficiency. In other circumstances, reducing the page count or making a publication slightly smaller may make surprisingly little difference to the cost.
The reason is that magazines are not priced simply according to the number of square metres of paper they contain.
Quantity, finished size, pagination, paper, binding and printing process all interact to determine how the publication is manufactured.
At Magazine Printing Company, we don’t expect publishers to work this out themselves. We assess the complete specification and select a production route suited to the publication.
If a small specification change could produce a worthwhile saving without compromising the magazine, we’ll explain the options before production.
What Are the Most Common Magazine Sizes?
A4 and A5 are two of the most familiar magazine sizes in the UK.
A4 — 210 × 297mm
A4 provides a generous page area and is widely used for magazines, membership publications, reports, catalogues and other editorial publications.
A5 — 148 × 210mm
A5 produces a more compact publication and can be appropriate where portability, finished weight or a smaller physical format is desirable.
But a magazine does not have to be A4 or A5.
Many successful publications use bespoke finished sizes.
The right size should take account of the design, content, circulation, production quantity, paper, binding and distribution requirements rather than simply defaulting to a standard format.
Are Bespoke Magazine Sizes More Expensive?
Not necessarily.
A non-standard size is not automatically inefficient, just as a standard size is not automatically the cheapest option.
What matters is how the finished format works with the production equipment and paper format being used.
A bespoke trim size may fit a particular production route efficiently. Another seemingly small change in dimensions may increase paper waste or make a different manufacturing route more appropriate.
This is why it is better to establish the intended magazine format and let us assess the production options than to alter the design based on assumptions about what will be cheaper to print.
If the dimensions are flexible, tell us. There may be opportunities to optimise the specification before the design is locked.
Why Does Magazine Pagination Matter?
Pagination means the number of pages in the publication.
It affects:
- the amount of paper required
- the way the magazine is produced
- binding
- finished thickness
- finished weight
- postage and distribution
- the most appropriate printing process
However, the relationship between pagination and cost is not always linear.
A 64-page magazine does not necessarily cost exactly twice as much to manufacture as a 32-page magazine, and removing four pages does not necessarily reduce the manufacturing cost by the value of four individual pages.
The reason lies in the way pages are grouped and produced.
Why Are Magazine Page Counts Often Multiples of Four?
A printed sheet folded through the spine creates four magazine pages: two on the front and two on the reverse.
For saddle-stitched magazines and many conventionally folded sections, page counts therefore commonly work in multiples of four.
For example:
32 pages
36 pages
40 pages
44 pages
48 pages
Other binding and production methods can offer different pagination possibilities.
Where a separate cover is used, it is normally treated as four pages:
- front cover
- inside front cover
- inside back cover
- back cover
A specification might therefore be described as 64 pages plus a 4-page cover.
Other magazines use a self-cover, where the outer pages are printed on the same paper as the text pages and form part of the overall pagination.
The precise construction depends upon the publication, binding method and production route.
You don’t need to arrange the pages into printing sections yourself. Supply your finished artwork as individual pages in reading order and the production workflow handles the required imposition.
What Is a Printing Section or Signature?
In conventional printing, several magazine pages are printed together on a larger sheet or web of paper.
After printing, that paper is folded to create a section, sometimes called a signature.
Those sections are then combined and bound to form the finished magazine.
The number of pages contained within a section depends on factors including the press, paper, finished page size, folding configuration and binding method.
This is why there isn’t one universal “ideal” magazine pagination.
A page count that fits one production route efficiently may be handled differently on another.
Does Removing Pages Always Make a Magazine Cheaper?
No.
It can reduce cost, but not necessarily in direct proportion to the number of pages removed.
Imagine a publisher considering whether to remove four pages to save money.
Those four pages clearly use paper and carry production cost. But whether removing them produces a worthwhile saving depends on how the complete publication is being manufactured.
The revised pagination may still require much of the same production set-up, printing sections and finishing process.
Alternatively, a change in pagination may allow the job to fit a more efficient production configuration and produce a more meaningful saving.
This is why we prefer to calculate the effect of a proposed pagination change rather than tell publishers that fewer pages will automatically produce a particular percentage saving.
Can Adding Pages Sometimes Be More Efficient Than Expected?
Yes.
For the same reason, adding a small number of pages does not always increase the price in direct proportion to the additional content.
The effect depends upon where the revised pagination sits within the selected manufacturing configuration.
This can be useful when an editorial team is deciding whether to remove content to meet a budget.
Before cutting pages, ask us to price the alternatives.
The commercial difference between two page counts may be smaller — or larger — than expected.
How Does Digital Printing Affect Pagination?
Digital production can offer considerable flexibility, particularly for shorter print runs.
Because it does not use the same conventional press make-ready and plate requirements as lithographic production, it can be an efficient route for appropriate lower-volume publications.
That does not mean size, pagination, paper and binding cease to matter. They still affect paper usage, finishing, thickness, weight and overall production cost.
The important point is that a specification suitable for digital production may have different efficiency considerations from the same publication produced using sheetfed or web-offset printing.
How Does Sheetfed Litho Affect Magazine Efficiency?
Sheetfed lithographic presses print onto individual sheets of paper.
Several magazine pages are arranged on each larger printing sheet before it is printed, folded or cut and subsequently bound.
Finished size, pagination and the dimensions of the available printing sheet therefore affect how efficiently the paper and press can be used.
For suitable quantities, sheetfed litho can provide an excellent combination of quality, flexibility and cost.
The job should be assessed as a complete specification rather than assuming that a particular page count or magazine size is automatically best for sheetfed production.
How Does Web Offset Affect Magazine Efficiency?
Web-offset presses print from large reels of paper rather than individual sheets.
They are particularly effective for suitable higher-volume magazine production.
Web presses are built around particular web widths, press configurations, cut-offs and folding arrangements.
On web-offset production, a change in finished size or pagination can therefore alter how efficiently the publication fits the available web width, cut-off and folding configuration.
Consequently, format, pagination and paper specification can have a significant effect on how efficiently a magazine fits a particular web-offset production route.
This is one of the areas where access to different manufacturing partners can be valuable.
Instead of requiring every publication to fit one web press configuration, we can assess the specification against the production routes available to us.
Should I Change My Magazine Size to Fit a Printing Press?
Not automatically.
The magazine should first work for its readers, editorial content, advertisers and brand.
Manufacturing efficiency matters, but it is one part of the overall specification.
If the format is fixed for editorial or commercial reasons, tell us and we will assess production on that basis.
If the dimensions are flexible, we can look at whether a modest adjustment could improve paper utilisation or open up a more efficient production route.
The objective is not to design your magazine around a printer’s machinery.
It is to find an appropriate manufacturing route for the magazine you want to produce.
How Does Binding Affect Pagination?
Binding and pagination are closely connected.
Saddle stitching uses folded sections secured through the spine with wire. Page counts therefore need to work with the folded construction of the magazine, and the practical thickness of the publication is affected by both pagination and paper thickness.
Perfect binding and PUR binding create a square spine by binding the page block into a wraparound cover. Pagination, paper thickness and the resulting spine width all need to be considered together.
The appropriate binding method should therefore be established alongside the page count and paper specification rather than treated as a completely separate decision.
Does Paper Choice Affect Print Efficiency?
Yes.
Paper is not simply a choice between gloss, silk or uncoated finishes.
Its weight, bulk, dimensions and suitability for the selected printing process can all influence the production route.
Changing paper can affect:
- manufacturing cost
- magazine thickness
- binding
- finished weight
- postage
- how the publication feels in the reader’s hands
This is why changing pagination without considering the paper specification can give a misleading picture of the potential saving.
For example, a publisher trying to reduce the finished weight of a mailed magazine may have several options: reduce pagination, select a lighter paper, adjust the cover specification or consider a combination of changes.
The best answer depends on the individual publication.
How Do Size and Pagination Affect Magazine Postage?
For mailed magazines, print efficiency is only part of the cost equation.
The finished dimensions, paper weight, cover, pagination and wrapping all contribute to the physical weight and format of the mailing.
That can influence which postal services and rates are available.
A specification change that produces only a modest print saving could potentially be much more valuable if it also moves a regular publication into a more favourable postal weight or format category.
The opposite can also happen: saving a small amount on the print specification may be poor value if the resulting publication is less effective and produces no meaningful distribution saving.
For mailed publications, we therefore prefer to consider print and postage together before the specification is finalised.
Should I Ask About Print Efficiency Before Designing the Magazine?
Ideally, yes — particularly for a new publication, redesign or high-volume title.
You don’t need to arrive with a specification engineered around printing equipment.
Start with the publication you want to produce.
Tell us:
- intended finished size
- approximate page count
- print quantity
- preferred paper
- cover requirements
- binding
- publication frequency
- whether the magazine will be mailed or distributed
- whether any part of the specification is flexible
We can then assess the likely production routes.
If your proposed specification already works efficiently, there may be nothing to change.
If a small adjustment to format, pagination, paper or another element could materially improve the economics of the job, we can show you the alternatives before you commit.
Why Magazine Printing Company Takes a Specification-Led Approach
Magazine Printing Company is the specialist magazine operation of Cliffe Enterprise Ltd, an independent UK print-management company established in 1991.
We are not tied to one printing plant or one type of press.
That means we can assess the quantity, format, pagination, paper, binding, finishing, schedule and distribution requirements together and select a manufacturing route appropriate to the publication.
For publishers, this is important because the cheapest individual print specification does not necessarily produce the lowest overall cost.
The objective is to find the right balance between:
- editorial and design requirements
- print quality
- manufacturing efficiency
- binding
- finished weight
- postage and distribution
- budget
You shouldn’t have to understand press formats, web widths or imposition plans to buy magazine printing.
Tell us what you want to produce. We’ll assess how best to manufacture it.
Planning a New Magazine or Reviewing an Existing Specification?
If you’re developing a new publication or reviewing the cost of an existing title, speak to us before locking the specification.
We can assess your magazine’s size, pagination, paper, quantity, binding and distribution requirements together and identify whether alternative specifications or production routes are worth considering.
Get a magazine printing quote and we’ll recommend the production route we believe best suits your publication.
