Creative: Using Magcloud to Support Blurb, Tabloid

This is the second post in a series of posts detailing how I use MagCloud products in support of an ongoing Blurb project. But before I go into detail I have a confession to make. I distinctly remember myself saying this. “There is NO WAY I will EVER print anything that utilizes a wire bind.” I also remember I said this with authority, as if I actually knew what I was talking about. Well, I didn’t, and I stand corrected. Feast your eyes on the MagCloud Tabloid. And yes, this little sample belongs to me. Just a sample people. Not for sale, no grand plans of revenue streams or fame, just a way for me to get my head around a story.

I should probably take the “never” out of my vocabulary. Did I mention I just bought another digital camera after swearing I would never again do this very thing? Yikes, spoiler alert.(More on this later. Maybe.) What you are looking at here is an 11×14, 8-page, wire-o tabloid. My cost, a little under five bucks. My first impression, it’s huge. I’ve often wanted a larger portrait style book and this tabloid works well to satisfy this need.

Even though I knew I wanted to use this to help promote my Blurb magazine project I created this tabloid with no specific use in mind. I knew that once I saw this little creature I would find a use for it, and I have. My plan is to use the tabloid to catalog all the covers, so by the time I get a dozen issues under my belt this tabloid will reflect the entire life of the magazine in single page replicas of each cover. I’ve only got four issues so far, so stay tuned for many, many more.

The tabloid is a true lay flat. In fact it bends back on itself like a true wire bind. You could run images across the gutter but I think it works best with single page images. The size is fantastic and really makes a statement when you place this on a table or desk. The pages are thick and the entire artifact feels super sturdy.

How will I use it? I’ll use this when I’m at an event where I’m teaching or showing off what self-publishing projects I have going. I’ll have the magazines themselves, in multiple formats, and I’ll have my flyers to hand out and my tabloid to highlight all the covers and the history of the project. It’s a great size to pick up and flip through and is large enough for people to really see the detail of each cover.