The Rise of the Video Game Union is our all-in-one guide to why game workers organize. We have created a zine of the story, licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 US License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US) which allows the zine to be distributed provided it is not altered or modified or used commercially. That means you can print it freely and share copies in your community!
There are several ways you can make your own copies of The Rise of the Video Game Union. You can go to a local print shop or some chains to have the brochures fully printed. You can use a printer or chain to make copies and then bind/stitch them yourself; or you can print and bind copies yourself.
Here’s our guide to each option!
The basics
You will need a copy of The Rise of the Video Game Union in PDF format. We’ve created a PDF of the zine as individual pages; This is useful for services that automatically rearrange the pages to print as a saddle-stitched booklet.
We designed the brochure to work with standard letter-size paper (8.5″ x 11″), so each page is 8.5″ x 5.5″ when folded. To make copying as easy as possible, the booklet only uses black ink.
Download The Rise of the Video Game Union [PDF]
Let the store handle everything
Our suggestion would be to go to your local print shop and work with them, but there are some chains that can do this like FedEx Office and Staples – sometimes with same day delivery. Staples, for example, will let you upload a PDF to their website. From there, select the location to print and Staples’ website will give you the cost and estimated pickup time. The store rearranges the pages for the brochure, then prints and binds the books so all you have to do is pick them up!
Printers do their own version of this process. This is our recommended option as it is probably the cheapest and easiest. You can also support a local shop!
Tips:
- If you plan to use a chain that will allow you to upload over the internet, make sure you choose black and white as your color to keep costs down.
- 20 lbs. Bond is standard copy paper that is inexpensive – and the thicker the paper, the more difficult it becomes to fold. Of course, if you want to use fancier paper, that’s up to you!
Print out copies in the store, bind them yourself
Another option is to simply use a print shop or shop with a printer/copier. Have them make the copies, and then bind them yourself with a booklet binder (such as Bostitch Office booklet stapler with no paper jams).
If you’re using a printer, make sure you print the pages double-sided so they fold in the correct order for the booklet. If you are copying and then printing a booklet, make sure the copier can scan both sides and also print double-sided pages.
Tips:
- Again, use standard copy paper to keep the price down and to make it work.
- Each booklet consists of 14 sheets of paper, and the seam is in the middle. So make sure the stapler you plan to use can punch through as many sheets and reach the center! Some printers may have staplers that you can use.
do everything yourself
This option probably won’t be the most cost-effective if you plan on making a large number of brochures, but it’s not too difficult to do. You will most likely need a booklet maker and, more importantly, you will need a printer that can print double-sided pages – meaning it can print on one side, then reuse the same page and print on the other side.
You also need an application that will print the PDF correctly. Most applications that can open a PDF file allow you to print a booklet in the print settings. Adobe Acrobat Reader is free, and its print settings you can select “brochure” This will automatically rearrange and sort the pages to print correctly. Make sure “print on both sides” (or something similar) is selected in your print settings.
Support
If at any point you get stuck or something doesn’t work as expected, there are some really great brochure printing videos and tutorials online – and of course, your local print shop is always there to troubleshoot any issues.
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