Local Self-Publishing Resources For the NYC Metro Area
Nonprofit/Grants: (1) Scholarship for a free printmaking class at the Manhattan Graphics Center. (2) Women’s Studio Workshop Grants/Residencies
Printshops/Classes: Self printing and publishing usually takes big ass machines you can only find in an educational print shop. So a lot of people take classes where they get access to make a zine…sometimes its cheaper to make books ourselves this way, rather than hiring a commercial printshop and paying hundreds of dollars.
Risograph Classes: Very popular print format seen in zine fairs for low cost book making. In fact, most NYC zinesters use these same few Riso printers.
Commercial Printing: Sometimes its just faster to order out, but it can be really pricey if there’s color printing involved. Here’s a couple places that are popular in the zine scene:
- Printkeg is the most affordable spot I have found, with solid products. I wouldnt send an art book or coffee table book here. Just magazine and such.
- Linco: Custom Newspaper Style Printing in Black and White…I havent used this service in BK but I’ve met alot of other zinesters who have.
- Printful: For Swag and Merch Fulfillment. I just signed up for this and really like it so far. They fulfill Tshirt/Prints orders on demand so that artists dont have to buy 100s of stock upfront. We share the rev with the company, but it still beats me sitting with $500 worth of shirts stacked in my apartment.
Zine and Artists Book Events: Printed Matter is probably the staple artists book shop in NYC. Bluestockings is probably the largest inclusive one. There are smaller distros sprinkled across the city like Office Magazine Shop.
- Annual Events:
- BK Art Book Fair by Endless Editions
- BAM Black Comics Expo
- Boston Art Book Fair, (Not my fav)
- The Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival
- Feminist Zine Fair at Barnard College
- Queer Zine Fair at the Center
- Zine Exchange, Pioneer Works
- Many more here>