Showerthought: I used to fold my zine pages before I stapled them, but now I staple first and then fold

I mean, I was making a little 8-page zine about my favorite coffee shops in Portland, and I did it the old way for years. I'd fold all the pages together, try to line them up, and then fight with the stapler to get through the thick stack. It always came out a little crooked. This time, I saw someone online say to staple the flat, stacked sheets first. I used a long-reach stapler on the center line, then folded the whole thing. The pages lined up perfectly, and the staple sat right in the crease. It was so much faster and the zine felt way more solid. Has anyone else switched up their assembly order like that? I'm curious if it works for bigger page counts too.

3 comments

3 Comments

barbararamirez21d ago

Oh man, the staple-first method is a game changer but it made me realize something else too. I think the real trick is what you do with the paper grain. If I staple across the grain instead of with it, the pages still want to fight me and the fold doesn't sit right. I learned that from a bookbinding video once. So now I always check which way the paper bends easiest, then align my stack so the grain runs parallel to the spine before I staple. Makes the fold super flat and clean.

shah.matthew3mo ago

Tried that once and the staple ripped right through the folded paper.

spencer7073mo ago

How much paper were you folding, @shah.matthew? That takes some serious force to rip through multiple layers. You must have been using a heavy-duty stapler.