A5 pages are SO hard to make interesting

23 February, 2010 - 22:21 by Our Page user

how many columns do other people do?

common mistakes ›
Submitted by New ed. on 3 March, 2010 - 15:10.
I don't use columns in our A5 but have tended to add illustrations randomly and as dividers. The oblong bars are really useful. Try formatting in Publisher, it gives more flexibility.
Submitted by Scribbler on 7 March, 2010 - 20:32.
like New Ed, very rare I use columns. If an article runs to 2 pages I would do it across 2 pages rather than go over the page. Makes sense to an article all in one then have to turn over. Only time is when it is more than 2. I stick to 2 fonts to. Was advised this when entering a competition and makes sense if your magazine is standardised. I use Arial rounded bold 14 point for the title/headline and 11pt Times Roman.
Submitted by Link_Man on 11 March, 2010 - 23:21.
Our mag is A5, but don't agree with comment that this size is hard to make interesting. Like previous posters, normally I don't use columns except for Parish Pump's "Our Page". But, I will be using columns for another item in the Easter Edition for Dr McGonigle's piece "Special Report: Jerusalem". As it is supposed to be for a newspaper, I have formatted it into columns to make it look like a newspaper report. Years ago, I was taught that serif fonts were easier to read, so I use times New Roman 11point for our locally generated material, with a headline in 16 point. An earlier minister, requested that we should be able to distinguish locally generated material from outside material (like Parish Pump) so I use Universal 11 point, with a header in Arial 16 point, for that material
Submitted by sylvia.stevenso... on 12 March, 2010 - 12:35.
I disagree that A5 is hard to make interesting. I have been editor of our 16-page church magazine since 1990. Over the years we have moved from the old 'cut and paste' that took forever, to the modern computer generated methods. Things changed massively when the church office was able to invest into a duplex printer. I find MS Publisher ideal for moving things around. It is very user friendly. I try to make it easy on the eye, and no article is allowed to spread beyond two pages facing each other. I add plenty of visuals - clip art and photographs, with odd graphics, many from Parish Pump, and at least one cartoon. I usually use colums, no more than two, at least once in each magazine. Poetry goes especially well in columns, as do personal testimonies. Although it is hard work doing it every month, I enjoy seeing the end result and pray that it will prove to be a blessing to at least one person.
Submitted by Anne Smillie-Pearson on 12 March, 2010 - 23:12.
I have been editor for my church magazine for 10 years and, like The Administrator, find working with A5 pages very easy. I also work in Publisher and use columns occasionally. Publisher is very 'user friendly'. I find that adding graphics, mainly from Parish Pump, to small empty spaces makes it more presentable. I agree, it IS hard work, but it is a rewarding excersise, ans so worthwhile when complimented on the content. It means SOMEBODY is actually reading it.
Submitted by Gillian on 30 March, 2010 - 21:01.
I also use Publisher and often use 2 columns. Am currently using Comic Sans 9 for general and 14 for large headlines. however, couple of recent comments about font size which i can increase. Does anyone have a font that is particularly recommended especially for older people, without it feeling outsize or restricting the amount of content you can include - I'm new to this and still enthusiastic about getting as much content in as possible!
Submitted by Scribbler on 30 March, 2010 - 22:59.
I use Times roman 11 sometimes 12. I was once told to standardise on your fonts and font size. As for those with poorer eye sight I remeber reading that Arial 14 was clearer. I am debating whether to print a couple of 'large print' editions each month but need to experiement on that, probably go for A4 page rather than A5. What do others think?
Submitted by All Saints Wick on 2 April, 2010 - 11:40.
I use Arial 10, with 14 for headings. I'd also thought of doing a large print A4 edition, but it would cost a lot more to print and the donations don't cover current costs. If someone asked I'd try it as a one off and see how it was received, but be prepared to be inundated with requests from every Tom, Dick and Harry who can't be bothered to get their glasses out!
Submitted by pumphandle on 9 April, 2010 - 19:39.
Lay out the magazine as A5 (A4) paper, double sided. Then print out a booklet and get it enlarged to A4 (A3) paper. I usually fold and staple myself as only 6 are needed. The remainder 400 are printed at a local printers.
Submitted by Rev Irene Greenman on 21 September, 2010 - 22:32.
I use double columns on about half of the pages of our A5 magazine, shorter lines making it easier to read for the 'non-readers'. I produce 2 large print copies for particular people every month by enlarging the A4 pages to A3 on the photocopier, so it is identical in everything but size. This is really appreciated and easy to make extra large print copies if needed.
Submitted by Janet Hall on 21 August, 2010 - 18:01.
A really nice, clean easily read font is Century Gothic. We were using it at 8pt in Publisher and it was very easily read - though at present we use Arial just to ring the changes a bit. I would recommend NOT using Comic Sans even though some educationists like it for its legibility. However it makes a lot of people feel as if they are being addressed as primary school children rather than intelligent adults. I know that seems silly but the look of a font has an amazing impact on how people regard the content. Try putting the words 'Flying Lessons' into something that looks like a hand written scrawl! If you are using Publisher, try going into Format Text Box and reducing the space around the edge of the box. Also if you have lots of odd words on lines, select the paragraph, go into Format, Character Spacing and reduce it to 95%. You'll get more text in and no one will ntice that the letters are squashed up a bit.
Submitted by Trader on 13 December, 2010 - 19:55.
I mostly use Times New Roman 11pt with 14 Bold for the headline. I do offer a larger print, by instead of using A4 folded, use A3 folded, I have produced up to six copies, all to order.
Submitted by John Reeves on 17 January, 2013 - 10:54.
With Publisher use Arial 11. If you need a little extra space to fit an article in try adjusting the line space a little. It works wonders and is hardly noticeable.
Submitted by Scribbler on 30 March, 2010 - 23:05.
Personally I would think 9 point in any font would be too small. OK for the odd footnote but not that good for reading a full page. Can you get more pages? but thats just my personal opinion.
Submitted by Gillian on 31 March, 2010 - 12:21.
The mag is in A4, but likewise am wondering if I could do a different version for really poor sighted people. Thanks for your advice. Will look into the font sizes more starting with Arial. Best wishes
Submitted by Link_Man on 1 April, 2010 - 16:25.
In response to Scribbler about standardising fonts, when I was at University, we were told that we should standardise on fonts as it made our work easier on the eye. Also, we were told that serif fonts were easier to read. Both of these points seem to be supported commercially in that most commercial magazines standardise on just one or two fonts with their main material in a serif font. I have standardised on an 11 point font size As for producing a larger print edition, I have been doing this for some years, but only in limited numbers (to special order). We use the A4 size masters that we use for our normal A5 size magazine and enlarge them on the photocopier on to A3 size paper. It's not a great increase in size (only 41½ %) but it does seem to make it easier for some people whose eye-sight is not what it was. This method is very simple but its main disadvantage is that we lose any colour unless I make special pages (but the people who order the larger size mag say that they are not bothered by the loss of colour).
Submitted by HomePrint on 1 April, 2010 - 21:08.
Well done PP on providing this forum. I have been involved in parish/deanery magazines for getting on for 45 years - whether that has shown any improvement in production values is open to debate. Like Muffin the changes enabled by the techno revolution has been liberating. I produce a 28 page (plus cover) issue every month. Consensus of our subscribers is that Arial 9pt for body text, a 12pt sub-head serif and 20/22pt serif headline is acceptable. I generally use two columns with a full width heading. Try filling a single column (full width) text page and then convert it to 2 column - you should find you can get more on the page. I struggle to get contributions from our readership and tend to use most of what PP provides, ALWAYS use the cartoons and Cracker and fair sprinkle of smile lines; for topical items I find pictures/clipart from the net. Thanks for the colour cover picture! Our church printer is only in mono but I split the cover print-out by blanking the picture, then remove the cover text and print the picture on my personal colour printer and cover the colour cost myself. I use small pictures of the PP contributors in the heading to their articles as a sort of visual byline. Can PP get a library with a selection of their contributors photos. (I ended up e-mailing a reverend gentleman in the USA for one article; he was gracious enough to agree to a studion shot being used.) I too use Microsoft Publisher - very friendly. A4 copies are easy to produce from the computer screen.
Submitted by Gillian on 1 April, 2010 - 23:01.
John, that's really helpful. Thank you so much for your hints and experience. As this is only my 4th issue, all info is invaluable. best wishes
Submitted by Gillian on 4 April, 2010 - 17:07.
dear homeprint, your advice re converting columns was great and font size advice as well. many thanks
Submitted by Julie.W.Eyes on 5 April, 2010 - 09:43.
We publish an A5 size mag. I use the following page set up: 1 cm margins at top, bottom, left and right, landscape with 2 pages per sheet, and find one of the best fonts for space saving is Arial Narrow 10. Hope this helps.
Submitted by Gillian on 5 April, 2010 - 14:25.
thank you
Submitted by The Mummy on 12 April, 2010 - 17:59.
32 page A5 booklet format, in Publisher 2007. Landscape A4, two text boxes per double page on the screen layout. I don't use columns except for the crossword page and occasionally for poems, which can look quite neat (I use a 2 column format for them) Font is usually Calibri 10 point for body text & Headers are Monotype Corsiva 20 point bold. Works fine for us. I started off ten years ago with Arial 10 point and dabbled with Times NR, but when I upgraded to Office 2007 I found Calibri was the house style in Word 2007 and I like its clean look, so went on to that. It seems to be quite popular with the readers. Photos are a pain, though, as we print in-house and quality is 'variable', shall we say? The Parish Admin lady prints off a small number of larger size versions, to order. Circulation around the 420 mark. Any ideas how to increase that?
Submitted by Adz on 21 April, 2012 - 10:11.
48 page A5 booklet Landscape A4. I too use Calibri 10. Have used Comic Sans in past and Times Roman but feel I like the look of Calibri so much more. I do not have publisher but use Microsoft Office Word. I am still quite new as we used to use cut and paste up to a year and a half ago. Never tried columns but will have a go this time around - like I say I am not that computer literate but feel I manage to get a nice colourful mag out thanks to the fantastic material from Parish Pump.
Submitted by Jay Jay on 14 April, 2010 - 15:41.
I do not use columns, which I think look so old hat these days, but use A4 pages which I can copy /paste articles onto adding pictures to make them more interesting. I use Arial font 12 with headings in 16 underlined but very rarely in bold. This is very easy to read. Occasionally I have to go down to 11 font to get an article on the page or I prefer to decrease the top and bottom margins to get an extra couple of lines on the page. If you use A5 pages it requires more editing to get the articles in order to print plus folding and stapling in the centre, I presume. We use A4 which is stapled at the edge and I think easier to produce.
Submitted by Crispi-ed on 3 May, 2010 - 17:13.
In order to get A5 pages ordered correctly on A4 paper, I use A4 landscape with mirror margins of 16cm and 1.2cm (in MS Word) - alternate pages on the screen are then on opposite sides of the paper, page 1 on the right. For printing the master on a standard ink-jet printer, I print the first half of the magazine (pages 1-22) which then stack up in reverse order in the out-tray. Transfer this reversed stack to the printer in-tray and print the second half (pages 23-44) and, "Hey presto!", pages 44 & 1 are together, 2 & 43, etc. down to the centre fold pages 20 & 21. Incidentally I use 11pt Arial with 13pt headings, and Comic Sans for the "smile" bits.
Submitted by Stuart on 14 April, 2010 - 20:42.
We don't run to coloured covers because we don't charge for copies. Is it possible to change the coloured cover to black and white before print out? If so, how do I do it? Thanks Grace
Submitted by Scribbler on 15 April, 2010 - 19:42.
Depends how you print ypur magazines. If its just duplicated or photocopied then don't worry because the machine will automatically print out at grey scale. If you print a hard copy from your home computer to have copied then just change your printer settings to grey scale or black & white printing. Hope this helps
Submitted by Editor of Team ... on 18 May, 2010 - 12:33.
Stuart If you import the picture into Publisher and do Format Picture you can change the colour to b/w.
Submitted by Tanzmeister on 16 April, 2010 - 21:03.
Re. the A5 queries, I use that format and find that I can get in quite long articles. I don't use columns and I employ Time New Roman at 10pt for body text and Ignatious at 18pt for the headings. So far we have had no adverse comments about readability. On the matter of using the colour covers asking for greyscale out put may well work, but it depends on the actual cover. In greyscale the cover can appear blocky, so it has to be suck it and see. Using Serif Pageplus you can see any picture in greyscale so you can check the cover in the computer before you print.
Submitted by Bedfont Editor on 27 April, 2010 - 22:52.
When formatting the PP material, most of the text is Times New Roman. 12pt if it fits on our A5 pages (usually no columns), but down to 10.5pt if need must. Headlines in a sans-serif font, up to 18pt for impact. HOWEVER, for weekly service/notice sheet, text in sans-serif font (usually Trebuchet) is considered more readable by some of our "visually-challenged" parishioners. Perhaps will do a trial in sans-serif over the summer...
Submitted by Billy on 28 April, 2010 - 19:56.
I have used a few covers, on the inside of our mag as the cover is the church and other centres of worship! I also use Greyscale and it looks good. in fact the Easter cover looked better in greyscale than colour! I am also new to this game but love parish pump, many thanks! I have asked my readers to collect magazines over their summer hols so we can print snippets of other magazines, I hope nobody minds! I will attribute.
Submitted by Scribbler on 28 April, 2010 - 20:47.
Saddleworth, you say you'll attribute. I would make sure you write and ask the editors permission first. A lot of material is 'passed round' and you can lose who wrote it. Usually no one minds you using it, as long as you acknowledge the source. Copyright is something everyone should be aware of.
Submitted by Billy on 29 April, 2010 - 20:40.
Thanks, will do.
Submitted by Clive Billenness on 8 May, 2010 - 17:42.
My late mother suffered from Macular Degeneration, which badly affects eyesight, and I consulted her about the best fonts to use. The first thing is not to use a serifed font (like Times) as the little bulges on the tops and bottoms of letters can make it hard to read with a high-magnification viewer as there might be no clean space between letters. Her preferred font was Antigoni at 9 point. Arial is OK otherwise. Two columns on A5 is OK since I sell advertising based on this layout and the Parish Pump cartoons come out nice and legibly at half-A5 We also put a PDF version of the mag on the internet so people can print it out at larger size if they wish.
Submitted by Patrick Waring on 9 June, 2010 - 09:28.
I seem to be unusual in that I use 10pt Times for the magazine. I have been editor for more than 30 years and cannot recall any complaints that the type cannot be read. The magazine is 18 pages of A5. Columns are used too - a major article across two pages would have three columns to a page, some others 2. There is a standard column, but I do vary the width to make it more attractive. Greenstreet Publisher is my choice - it has to be the easiest, and best DTP package, it is so versatile and not at all expensive (the latest versions, 4.6 or 5 are about £40).
Submitted by Gill Pinches on 13 July, 2010 - 15:54.
I seem to be extremely unusual on this one but we use Times New Roman 9pt but with line spacing of 1.2. That way it is easier to read from line to line. I also use three columns per A5 page ecept when incorporating a poem - which needs wider columns. My aim has always to be similar to our Diocesan insert which has a similar format. I've never had complaints about the text size - only the mistakes!! I have always used MS Publisher.
Submitted by Tanzmeister on 9 June, 2010 - 16:54.
There has been a lot of comment about columns/no columns and font sizes and 'readability'. This used to worry me until I was told, "Look at your local newspapers and publications and see what they do." Guess what! They use columns and primarily 9pt font size for body text. If your readership can read a newspaper they will be able to read your magazine.
Submitted by Crispi-ed on 3 August, 2010 - 23:03.
And what if your readership cannot read a newspaper without help? - some may need a magnifying glass. I prefer our church magazine to be read easily by everyone, including the elderly in the congregation who may not have perfect eyesight. Therefore I stick to 11pt Arial for the body text, which seems to be acceptable to all.
Submitted by Bedfont Editor on 1 September, 2010 - 23:05.
I have just promulgated guidelines suggesting Arial 10pt and Times New Roman 11pt as minimum sizes. For the weekly newsletter Universe and Trebuchet at 12pt are the defaults. Our 'hard-of-seeing' parishioners do seem to find sans serif fonts a bit easier to read.
Submitted by Darleyteam on 15 June, 2010 - 08:34.
I read lots of comments about the use of Microsoft Publisher, but is anyone preparing their magazine using a Mac computer, as I do? I use Pages to prepare the content and convert to pdf form to transfer to the printer. I am no expert and it would be good to compare notes with other Mac users.
Submitted by Christopher Parrish on 13 August, 2010 - 13:22.
Hi Darleyteam, I have never used any computer except an Apple Mac. I have been our Editor for just over a year now. Publisher won't run on a Mac. I started using Adobe Pagemaker 20 years ago and then moved to Adobe InDesign when they stopped updating Pagemaker. InDesign is really flexible, but expensive. But it and Quark Express are the industry standard for DTP. We have a 32 page mag every month, A5 format. I hardly ever use columns in text (commenting on other submissions on this page) but that is just chance. But lots of boxes and borders to add interest to the page. Plus different fonts. Same font throughout is boring. But Time New Roman remains the default I use. Best of luck with your mag.
Submitted by Ms Sara L Pass on 4 July, 2010 - 21:09.
I use Word to produce ten of our monthly magazines and Publisher for the Christmas and Summer editions. Our magazine is 16 pages except for the two specials which are 20 pages. Our readership is down to about 20 people, and as they are mostly in their 80s I have to use a size 16 font in Candara or they can't manage to read it. This limits the actual content because it takes up so much room, but I did receive complaints when I tried a smaller font. I use a modern font without "tops and tails" as I prefer a cleaner look. I didn't realise it was more helpful to some people with sight impairment, so that was a useful thing to learn. I don't use columns at all. I prefer my magazine to look like a book, and they generally don't have columns. As I try to keep down costs I use a pretty cheap paper and don't use coloured clip art except twice a year. It bleeds through anyway. I print the magazine myself on a Canon printer that can do duplex printing. It is fantastic compared to the old printer. It prints one side, turns the page over and prints the other, and so it produces one magazine at a time and collation is simple. I just pick up four sheets of printing and it contains my 16 page A5 magazine all in order and ready to staple.
Submitted by Philip Walton on 6 July, 2010 - 13:07.
Average 16 pages every two months; 250 copies; compose A4 size on PC using Verdana 12 point font ('corporate' image/policy), mostly with two column pages; at least one graphic to each two page spread; paragraphs use 6 point separation with first line indent of 0.5 cm; headings bold; contributors/copyright in italics. We print a few copies A4 but shrink the rest to A5; using volunteer readers, six cassettes are recorded for partially-sighted. We quickly replaced MS Publisher with Serif Pageplus - intuitive, cheap, powerful, flexible, compatible with most text versions. Most useful weapon is a scanner with 'Optical Character Reading' software. [About to retire as 'compositor' after ten years.]
Submitted by Church Mouse on 18 August, 2010 - 16:57.
I took over the monthly church newsletter 'temporarily' during interregnum five years ago and never managed to give it back, so have been learning as I go. Initially I stuck with what people were used to, then quietly snuck some changes in, e.g. switching from Times to Ariel to make reading easier, as an alternative to going from 11 point to 12 point - which would have just made it impossible to fit everything in. It has always been two sheets of A4 folded along the length, making a long thin shape. This was popular as it was very distinctive and (I was told) easy to push through letterboxes. But it does make it difficult to make it visually appealing, people don't respond well to large blocks of text we use boxes and graphics to break up the page but text boxes can be very narrow. So we are thinking about changing to an A5 shape and the comments above have been very helpful. Are there any pitfalls about A5 I need to be aware of?
Submitted by Marilyn Barraclough on 5 September, 2010 - 21:17.
I also use Publisher on A5 pages and I've found no pitfalls at all, in fact I think it's the most user-friendly size, both for collating (4 'pages' produced per A4 folded sheet) and the finished size for distribution. I use Roman 11pt or Arial 10pt usually, no columns but break the text with clipart ('Google Images' can provide almost anything you need) and by 'boxing' items if there is more than one item to a page. If an item is advertising a forthcoming event or special service, I design a 'poster' giving the details and use a variety of more interesting fonts. I also find that 'Word Art' is invaluable for producing eye-catching heading designs for articles, particularly as our magazine (28 pages, 170 copies monthly) is produced without any colour except coloured paper - a different shade each month - for the covers.
Submitted by Jenny Kimber on 8 September, 2010 - 19:53.
I'm also producing A5 mag. I can heartily recommend using Page Plus. You can alter graphics and move text around much more easily but you do have to spend time learning how to use it. Can also recommend Font Blue Highway. It's very economical on space but clear as well. Can be downloaded for free from the web. My one problem is that we do 6 editions a year - so I haven't any Parish Pump material for the second month.
Submitted by Valerie Bartlett on 10 September, 2010 - 14:04.
A5 is no problem. My magazine is 16 pages of A5. I don't have Publisher - I just use Word and do all the 'graft' myself! I don't use columns except on occasions when a poem may need to be set in that style. I disagree with the comment that it is best to keep font styles to a minimum - different fonts and sizes, etc. adds interest to the look of the pages and distinguishes items from one another. I separate the parish items over the pages, putting them in date order, and sandwich them with interesting items from P. Pump, taking care to have a balance between serious and funny items. I fill every space I can - often slipping in one-liners i.e. jokes/pause for thoughters. I use one or two cartoons per issue and try to illustrate articles with clipart as far as possible. I am aware that not all of the readers are devout Christians so I try to give the magazine something of interest for everyone who looks at it and I hope that those with little or no faith may find something to think about or challenge them - something which may help lead them to Christ.
Submitted by Katrine on 23 December, 2010 - 14:58.
I have been editing our magazine for over 11 years - it is A5 mono and varies in length depending on content for that month, last month (december) was 18 pages ie 36 single sides. I use Adobe Pagemaker simply as I had it when I worked as a graphic designer. This has a very useful facility to organise the pages for booklet printing so I can provide a printout ready for our slightly elderly printing machine. I use Berlin Sans 16 pt for headings either columns or across the page and the body text is Fritz Quadrata 10 pt. I use these standard fonts for village news and society articles and I'm afraid I use Comic Sans for the Parish Pump smile lines. I keep a Powerpoint file full of clip art which I use frequently to illustrate articles. I generally use two columns and break up with framed notices to fill a column. Alternatively I use full width headers and then two columns below. Something like parish minutes I use a smaller sans serif font as they can be four pages worth. Thanks Parish Pump for all the content - it is a life saver.
Submitted by puddletownpeople on 31 December, 2010 - 17:07.
We have had long debates on the A4 or A5 format. We always produced the magazine as A5 but formatted in A4 portrait pages reducing at the print stage just to keep our options open. Now we have come down firmly on the A5 format. Its easier to distribute and although it restricts the variety of page layout options it does enforce a discipline of keeping the pages looking 'clean' and simple. We do 60 pages per magazine 12 times a year. The left hand pages are advertising and the right hand pages editorial material. We have recently moved the compiling from MS Publisher to Serif PagePlusX5. The facility for bringing pages from several editors together into one publication was the single biggest deciding factor in making the change. No more cutting and pasting. But the simple and intuitive feel of PagePlus and its integration with the other Serif software made it a winner for us. We use Times New Roman 11pt for the body text.
Submitted by Ivan Williams on 2 January, 2011 - 19:38.
Editor of our benefice magzine for 10 years. Virtually no feedback from readers - and although one reader threatened to cancel her subscription over a disputatious editorial comment, I assume most are satisfied. I use A5, Open Office Writer as my edition of Word is difficult to convert to PDF. I use TNR for large headings (12-14) and Arial 10 for the articles. I stay with the same font throughout. I have varied the font from time to time, but no comments, good or bad have been forthcoming. (Has anyone checked whether their magazine is actually read and if so, how much?). Originally, our magazine was printed by an antiqated machine and then collated and stapled by a group of villagers, always a tedious but a very social occasion. With the advance of computer technology we ( the magazine committee) decided to have the magazine printed professionally, the cost not being a great deal more and can be and offset by adverts. As the pages are printed as presented, careful proof reading is vital. The great advantage is with the clarity of photographs and graphics. A digital camera, a scanner and 'photoshop' type program are a great help, Photos can be easily manipulated and presented in B&W. I encourage all contributors to send illuustrations when-ever possible. For example, all our five church reports are headed by a 'thumbnail' of the church and articles by regular contributors by thumbnail portraits ( as flattering as possible!)