Magazine Printing
Why print a newsstand-quality magazine? To share your hobby, interest, or pastime with the world; to promote your business or non-profit organisation; to open a forum for news, education, and debate; to entertain; or to sell for profit.
Once you’ve researched and developed your magazine idea, created your content, found your readership, and are ready to launch, what do you need next? You need a reliable printing company with proven expertise in magazine printing, supported by state-of-the-art technology and an unmatched commitment to customer service. That’s us.
Whatever your reason for printing a magazine, QinPrinting will help you achieve your goals. Not only that, we’ll do it for 40% less than you’ll pay elsewhere without compromising the quality of your magazine. With over 25 years of success, an exceptional team, technological innovation, super-efficient protocols, and personalised customer care, we’re positioned among the most successful independent magazine printers in the world.
Magazine Printing Instant Quote
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QinPrinting Rated Excellent
A special thanks to Nelson, who went above and beyond by sending us videos of the printed books and samples before shipping to ensure everything was perfect. His attention to detail and dedication gave us great peace of mind.
We had a children’s book printed and the final product was absolutely beautiful. The print quality, vibrant colors, sturdy binding, and professional packaging exceeded our expectations. Delivery was timely and the pricing was very competitive, especially for the high level of quality and service we received.
We were so impressed that we didn’t hesitate to place a second order with them and once again, everything was flawless.
If you're looking for a reliable, high quality, and customer focused printing company, QinPrinting is the one to go with. Highly recommended!
They produced an excellent product that was printed, shipped and arrived within the expected timescales.
Emails were responded to quickly by Susan.
The whole process was smooth and straightforward.
What a delight!
Whenever I have a creative idea, their team goes above and beyond to help bring it to life. I’ve printed four comic books with them, and each time, they’ve exceeded my expectations. If you’re considering a printer, take a chance on these friendly, reliable folks—they truly value your business. - Chad Townsend, Creator of The Black Phantom.
But working with Nelson was an absolute pleasure. He patiently addressed all my concerns, and my final printed book was just as I would hope it would be.
Common Magazine Sizes
We can print any size magazine you want, but remember that unusual custom prints tend to cost more than standard sizes due to the additional pre-press work and setup involved.
In Australia, the standard magazine sizes are 210 mm x 297 mm (A4) and 148 mm x 210 mm (A5).
From a commercial perspective, it’s often in your best interest to stick with these formats. They’re well-established, inexpensive, ideal for mailing, meet customer expectations, and reduce setup time, leading to a quicker turnaround. However, you could also consider a larger 7.3″ by 11″ tabloid magazine, or switch things up with a landscape orientation rather than portrait. If you want it, we’ll print it!
Magazine Paper Options
The paper you choose for your magazine significantly impacts its appearance, quality, and production cost. If you print the interior of your magazine in black and white, lightweight, uncoated paper is a suitable option. However, if your magazine contains many photographs or graphic elements, heavier, coated paper will yield the best results. We’re happy to guide and advise you on the most appropriate paper choices for your project and budget.
While the specifications depend on your magazine’s design, we recommend 80 gsm, 105 gsm, 128 gsm, 157 gsm coated paper or 80 gsm, 100 gsm uncoated paper for magazine interiors. These paper types provide a vibrant finish for photographs or artwork while keeping the text easy to read. The choice of interior paper also depends on the size and thickness of your publication. We typically recommend thinner paper for the interior, as it can be more easily opened flat, which is ideal for smaller magazines. Thicker interior paper can make magazines harder to open and browse.
If you’ve opted for a magazine size of A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) or larger, we recommend using thicker paper for the interior pages. For example, 128 gsm, 157 gsm coated paper or 100 gsm uncoated paper. If your magazine is slim, with 32 pages or fewer, and you want perfect binding, you’ll need 200 gsm coated paper to achieve the required 3 mm spine width.
Paper Options for Catalogues
The paper for your magazine’s cover depends on the binding style you choose. We typically use heavier, gloss cover paper for magazine covers—the clue is in the name! However, if you’re looking for a more affordable option, you can use the same paper as the interior. This is known as a “self-covered” option. Saddle-stitched or perfect-bound bindings are the most common—and arguably the best options for magazines you want to look professional, be durable, and remain simple to store and mail out.
Cover Paper
- 200 gsm gloss cover paper
- 250 gsm gloss cover paper
- 300 gsm gloss cover paper
- 350 gsm gloss cover paper
- 200 gsm matte cover paper
- 250 gsm matte cover paper
- 300 gsm matte cover paper
Interior Paper
- 80 gsm coated text paper
- 105 gsm coated text paper
- 128 gsm coated text paper
- 157 gsm coated text paper
- 200 gsm coated text paper
- 80 gsm uncoated text paper
- 100 gsm uncoated text paper
- 120 gsm uncoated text paper
Special Finish Options
Here are some popular surface finishes that can enhance both the appearance and durability of your magazine.
Shiny and reflective, perfect for vibrant graphics and photos.
Glossy highlights on specific areas for a striking contrast.
Smooth and non-reflective for a simple yet professional design.
Similar to matte lamination, but the resulting surface has a delightful, almost velvet feel.
A glossy finish applied to specific areas for a bold and distinct look.
Metallic or pigmented foil for a shiny, eye-catching effect.
Raised designs for added texture and elegance.
A recessed design that creates a tactile impression on the cover, adding texture and sophistication.
Cut a shape out of the paper material
Thin metallic foil—usually gold, silver, or bronze—is applied to the trimmed edges of your book's pages.
Custom patterns and images are sprayed on the edges for a truly unique appearance.
Print your design on a special paper that reflects light in a rainbow-like pattern.
Bindings for Magazines
While some clients may choose to “self-cover” their magazines, the binding style you select often reflects the genre, page numbers, reader expectations, and your available budget. The most popular options for newsstand-quality magazines are “saddle stitching” and “perfect binding.”
Perfect bound
This is the binding used for standard paperback books. The interior pages are collated into a block, glued together, and then glued into a wrap-around cover made from heavier art paper or lightweight card stock. This is by far the best, most popular, and most cost-effective option for magazines with more than 48 pages or magazines that rely heavily on high-definition photography throughout.
Saddle-stitched
This binding style involves creating the magazine from folded sheets stacked inside each other, typically with a glossy art paper cover, then stapling them together along the curved edge. The name comes from the original process of sewing the pages together with binding thread, though this is now rare and mostly unnecessary. Saddle stitch binding is only suitable for magazines with a page count divisible by four, up to a maximum of 64 pages. To ensure the magazine lies flat and looks neat, we recommend limiting the page count to 48 pages or fewer for this binding style.
Self-covers are the most affordable option if you’re on a tight budget. Saddle stitch is the next most affordable, but it has limitations in terms of page counts. Perfect binding costs more initially, but if your magazine contains a lot of photography (requiring thicker paper and more pages), it often works out to be more economical in the long run. The final cost always depends on the materials, size, length, and the number of copies printed in a single run.
Magazine Design and Artwork Tips
Whether you’re preparing the magazine design and layout yourself, delegating it to your in-house team, or commissioning a third-party professional graphic designer, it’s essential to understand how to prepare the files to make them “print-ready.” You’ll need to account for bleed zones, safety areas, trim lines, and borders, for example, and ensure that the resolution and colour space are correct. With that in mind, here are a few useful tips to assist you when preparing your files for printing.
Export your files as vectors in PDF format for the best results. Our recommended software options are Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator. These also allow you to convert your colour space from RGB to CMYK, which is necessary for offset printing.
If you can't provide vectors — for example, exporting bitmaps from Photoshop — ensure the resolution is at least 300 dpi. With vectors, resolution isn't a concern, but all other images must be high definition to tolerate resizing without becoming fuzzy or pixelated.
Add a bleed zone of 3 mm around all pages. A bleed is an extended area beyond the final page size. After printing, we will trim the pages to the exact dimensions, removing the bleed to ensure your final image fills the page completely.
Within your bleed zone, mark the trim lines in green to define the finished page dimensions. Ensure any essential elements stop at least 10 mm inside the trim line.
If you’re working with a professional designer to create your files, they should understand what’s needed to make everything “print-ready.” However, if you’re using design software for the first time, here are the key tips to remember before submitting your files. Our team of experts will always manually check all your files before we go to press. If we find any issues, we’ll let you know and assist you in resolving them. We won’t print your magazine until we’re certain that you’ll receive a perfect result. That’s our absolute guarantee.
Need Help Preparing Your Files? We Offer a Free File Checking Service
Can’t find what you want? Contact us!
Magazine Printing Costs
At QinPrinting, we work closely with businesses, non-profits, clubs and societies, self-publishers, and independent creators to print exceptionally beautiful magazines of unparalleled quality. We also fully understand what it means to work within a restricted budget, especially when you’re a new enterprise. That’s why we continually monitor, analyse, and improve our work processes to ensure we deliver professional, newsstand-quality magazines at prices that suit every budget.
So, how much does it cost to print a magazine with QinPrinting? You can get an idea of your magazine printing costs by checking out our at-a-glance price charts. The exact cost of printing your magazine with us depends on the paper you choose, the coating and finish for the cover and interior pages, the quantity of magazines you order, and several other factors. To get a precise, project-specific quote, use our helpful Online Printing Cost Calculator. Unlike other offset printers that have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of 500, 1,000, or even more copies, we’re happy to print as few as 100 in a single run. But the more you print in one go, the cheaper it is per magazine.
How much does it cost to print a saddle stitch magazine?
Saddle Stitch Magazine Printing Price Chart (210mm x 297mm)
| Quantity | 100 copies | 500 copies | 1000 copies | 2000 copies | 5000 copies | 10000 copies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16pp + 4pp | Unit: A$3.61 Total: A$361 |
Unit: A$0.99 Total: A$496 |
Unit: A$0.61 Total: A$612 |
Unit: A$0.45 Total: A$907 |
Unit: A$0.37 Total: A$1864 |
Unit: A$0.34 Total: A$3411 |
| 32pp + 4pp | Unit: A$4.96 Total: A$496 |
Unit: A$1.4 Total: A$699 |
Unit: A$0.89 Total: A$890 |
Unit: A$0.67 Total: A$1335 |
Unit: A$0.55 Total: A$2760 |
Unit: A$0.51 Total: A$5109 |
| 48pp + 4pp | Unit: A$6.6 Total: A$660 |
Unit: A$1.89 Total: A$945 |
Unit: A$1.21 Total: A$1207 |
Unit: A$0.91 Total: A$1818 |
Unit: A$0.76 Total: A$3796 |
Unit: A$0.7 Total: A$7028 |
- Please note that all prices are EXW from our facility and do not include shipping costs.
- Cover: 200 gsm coated cover paper with matte lamination
- Interior: 105 gsm coated text paper
- Cover and inner: Full colour printing
How much does it cost to print a paperback magazine?
Perfect Binding Magazine Printing Price Chart (210mm x 297mm)
| Quantity | 100 copies | 500 copies | 1000 copies | 2000 copies | 5000 copies | 10000 copies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48pp + 4pp | Unit: A$6.96 Total: A$696 |
Unit: A$1.99 Total: A$996 |
Unit: A$1.28 Total: A$1275 |
Unit: A$0.97 Total: A$1944 |
Unit: A$0.82 Total: A$4122 |
Unit: A$0.77 Total: A$7651 |
| 64pp + 4pp | Unit: A$8.64 Total: A$864 |
Unit: A$2.48 Total: A$1241 |
Unit: A$1.61 Total: A$1607 |
Unit: A$1.23 Total: A$2454 |
Unit: A$1.04 Total: A$5190 |
Unit: A$0.97 Total: A$9721 |
| 80pp + 4pp | Unit: A$10.31 Total: A$1031 |
Unit: A$2.98 Total: A$1492 |
Unit: A$1.94 Total: A$1940 |
Unit: A$1.48 Total: A$2965 |
Unit: A$1.26 Total: A$6303 |
Unit: A$1.18 Total: A$11792 |
- Please note that all prices are EXW from our facility and do not include shipping costs.
- Cover: 250 gsm coated cover paper with matte lamination
- Interior: 128 gsm coated text paper
- Cover and inner: Full colour printing
Magazine Advertising Special Features
Advertisements are often a crucial element of any magazine, and many magazine publishers aim to offer as much advertising space as possible. Commercially produced magazines often rely entirely on advertisements for their profit margin, while others use them to offset production costs. After consulting with our clients and design team, we’ve developed a perfect solution to maximise advertising opportunities in your magazine. At QinPrinting, you can opt to add multiple covers to your full-colour custom magazine print runs. Each cover can feature different advertisements within the same issue of the magazine. All you need to do is design the multiple covers you want to be included in your magazine, and we will print and bind each one.
When designing your advertising spaces, keep the following ideas in mind:
To make an interior advertisement stand out, use glossy or matte lamination on both sides of the advertisement pages. We can insert 4-page or 8-page spreads with glossy or matte lamination on both sides into the magazine. This method really helps make interior advertisements pop.
Select different paper types for the interior pages to make individual advertisements more eye-catching.
Insert advertising sheets that are smaller than the size of the magazine to create a unique visual effect.
Choose perforated sheets for interior adverts towards the end of the magazine, so readers can tear them out. This is particularly effective for ads featuring discounts and coupons.
Place your most expensive advertisement spaces on the front and back covers of the magazine for maximum exposure.
Insert an additional advertising booklet into the magazine.
Our experience, combined with feedback from our clients, shows that these tips can significantly increase your advertising revenue. Before selecting a special design, please contact our team, who will advise you on the best ways to maximise your profits.
Magazine Dispatch and Delivery Services
Did you know we do much more than just print your magazine? We also offer a comprehensive mailing service to handle the timely dispatch and delivery of your magazines to wherever they need to go! Using this service saves you time and the cost of having the magazines delivered first to your storage facility, then sending them on to your recipients. Why do that when we can deliver them directly once they’re printed?
After you’ve approved the proof, the fastest standard delivery time we can guarantee is 72 hours. If you have an urgent order, contact us, and we’ll do everything we can to get your magazines to where they need to be, when they need to be there.
Let's Talk!
If you’re a business, entrepreneur, small press, news agency, non-profit, or independent creative wanting to print a magazine—and only the finest product, unbeatable customer service, and the best prices will do—we should talk. Get in touch today to discuss your needs or request a no-obligation quote. We can’t wait to help you make your magazine printing project a reality!
