IPRC Zine Machine – Submissions Call and Layout Guides!

Well, I breifly mentioned this project in my post about The new, bigger IPRC, but here are finally the full details!

Introducing the IPRC‘s wonderful, new Zine Machine! 

Justin Hocking, the Independent Publishing Resource Center‘s Executive Director, picked up this old machine at a local hardware store five years ago… It had a few hiccups, but, with the help of a friend, Justin has gotten this thing running smoothly and it’s just been sitting in his garage waiting for the IPRC to have enough space to house it!

Well, not only do we have enough space in the new IPRC location, we also have a wide open sidewalk with a surprising amount of foot traffic…. We plan to wheel this awesome machine out to the sidewalk while we’re open so that IPRC visitors and neighborhood pedestrians alike can plug in their quarters and pick up a fresh mini zine for just one dollar! 

So now, we just need some great mini zines to stock this ol’ machine! We’re doing an open call for submissions to the Zine Machine. The machine has eleven slots for eleven different zines at any given time and we plan to rotate the selection. If your submitted zine makes it in, the IPRC will print 50 copies of  your zine and box, 25 to be stocked into the machine and 25 for you to give to your friends, sell at Portland Zine Symposium, or whatever!

There are also four spaces to feature four boxes, so part of submitting your mini zine can also be making an eye-catching design for the outside of the box. In fact, you can start on this handy-dandy template I’ve made for the IPRC’s Zine Machine Boxes!

Click on the image to see the full size….

But that’s not all the help we’re giving you!

I did some of the math for you already on what kind of a zine might fit into a box like this and also created a layout guide.

This layout guide is for a single-sheet, mini zine that is 32 pages. A zine with pages this size will definitely fit into your awesomely designed box!

This template prints out on a 8.5″ by 11″ (or letter-sized) paper and is just one idea for a layout for a mini zine layout to fit into a box for the IPRC Zine Machine.

I spent way too much time making these guides, just for the record, but I had a ton of fun doing it and I felt it was important to make sure you feel empowered to create, make, and submit your mini zine! Keep this in mind and please feel free to email me with any questions on creation and submitting. Submissions can be emailed to me at lovemotionstory  at gmail dot com or dropped off at the IPRC for me, 1001 SE Division St. Portland, OR.

I am planning on making a couple more layout guides for mini zines over the next couple weeks, but I would encourage you to play around with a sheet of paper and dream up any new layouts!

There is no deadline for your mini zine submissions, as the Zine Machine will be an ongoing project with a rotating stock.  Personally, I would recommend submitting ASAP so that your zine can be one of the first we have in stock! Also, I would love to see the at least one new zine in there a month! In addition to your zine going into your box, a little zine about the IPRC will be in there too, so that others may learn of the wonders of the IPRC.

Also, if you come across any other old cigarette vending machines or any other old vending machines for cheap or free, the IPRC would love to have them! We could repurpose all kinds of machines, from old candy vending machines to tampon vending machines! We’re hoping to approach local businesses to host more Zine Machines all around Portland.