The Foldpic collection / Zine
Make a mini zine from one sheet of paper.
A mini zine is the eight-page booklet you get from folding a single sheet into eighths and cutting a slit in the middle. Pages are about the size of a playing card, it needs no staples, and a stack of them costs pennies to print.
Your sheet, before the magic
At a glance +
- Pages
- 8 (free)
- Sheets
- 1 for 8 pages
- Printing
- One side only
- Time
- about 5 min · scissors
- A4 sheet
- A7 panels · 74 × 105 mm
- US Letter sheet
- quarter Letter panels · 70 × 108 mm
- A3 sheet
- A6 panels · 105 × 149 mm · needs an A3 printer
- US Tabloid (11×17) sheet
- quarter Tabloid panels · 108 × 140 mm · needs an 11×17 printer
Panels are an eighth of the sheet: A7 from A4 on any home printer, A6 from A3 if your printer takes it, and A5 panels would need A2 paper, which means a copy shop.
Why make a zine at home
Foldpic makes the layout for you so every panel prints where the fold expects it.
Use it for a tiny comic, a poem, a recipe, a set of eight photos from a weekend, a party favour, or a class project. Choose a style, fill the eight panels, download the PDF and print it on one side of the sheet at 100% scale.
The folding guide is six steps with diagrams and a check after each one, and it also prints on the instruction sheet you get with your zine.
No staples, no glue
Three folds and one cut. The pages hold themselves because the sheet is still in one piece.
Costs a sheet of paper
Print twenty copies for a zine fair or a classroom for the price of twenty sheets. Any black-and-white or colour printer works.
Correct layout every time
The top row prints upside down and the pages run around the sheet in a ring. Foldpic arranges it; you just fold.
Fits every paper size
A4, US Letter, A3 and Tabloid. Panels are sized to the sheet you choose, so nothing is cropped or scaled.
A few folds from finished
6 steps, printed on one side. The full instruction sheet with checks and a common-mistakes box comes with your PDF.
1Print the sheet. Print one side. The top row is upside down on purpose.
2Fold in half the long way. Fold in half the long way, printed side out.
3Fold in half, then in half again. Fold in half, then in half again. Open it out.
4Cut the slit. Cut along the centre crease through the middle two panels only.
5Push the ends together. Fold long-ways again, then push both ends toward the middle.
6Collapse into a booklet. Wrap the panels round so page 1 is on top. Done.
1Print the sheet
2Fold in half the long way
3Fold in half, then in half again
4Cut the slit
5Push the ends together
6Collapse into a booklet
Templates for this format
Sunday Film
A pocket photo zine: polaroid frames, a film strip, typed date stamps.
Zine · Film
Riso Weekend
Two-colour risograph look: blue ink, red accents, a grid page.
Zine · Riso
Pocket Trip
A clean white travel zine: one big view, a journal page, a polaroid.
Zine · Minimal · Travel
Little Milestones
A cheerful baby zine: a polaroid, a four-photo grid, a page for firsts.
Zine · Kids · Baby
Before you print
- How to fold an 8-page zine from one sheet of paper
Fold a single A4 or Letter sheet into an 8-page mini zine: three creases, one cut, no staples. Step-by-step diagrams, print settings and common mistakes.
- Mini zine on A4 vs US Letter: sizes, differences and which to pick
A4 and Letter mini zines are not interchangeable. Panel sizes for A4, Letter, A3 and Tabloid, why proportions differ, and which paper to pick.
- Zine folding guide with diagrams: every fold, every line, explained
A visual zine folding guide: how to read fold diagrams (dashed valley, dash-dot mountain, solid cut), why to fold a blank dummy first, and every step.
- Printing a zine at a copy shop vs at home: what to ask for
What to tell the copy shop (100 percent, single-sided, landscape, 100 to 120 gsm), typical costs, and when your own printer is the better choice.
Zine questions
How big is a mini zine page?
One eighth of the sheet. From A4 that is A7, about 74 by 105 mm; from US Letter it is 2.75 by 4.25 inches. A3 or Tabloid gives pages twice that size.
Do I need scissors?
Yes, for the one slit in the middle of the sheet. A craft knife works too. Nothing else is needed.
Can I print it double-sided?
No, the mini zine is single-sided by design. The inside of the folds is blank, which is what holds the pages together without staples.
Can I make a 16-page mini zine?
Not as a one-sheet fold in this version. Use the stapled booklet for 16 pages, or make two 8-page zines.
Does it work for a school project?
Very well. Students design in reading order in the browser, print one sheet each, and fold along the printed guide marks. No account is needed.
Make your zine now
Your first project is free, up to 16 pages. No sign-up. Just you and a little creativity.