Help: Frequently asked questions

What paper do you print on?

Our paper is FSC-certified, which means it’s from responsibly managed forests and verified recycled sources. It is 50% recycled (10% post-consumer, 40% pre-consumer). Short issues (16 pages or under) are printed on 100# paper, medium issues (20-60 pages) are printed on 80# paper, and long issues (64-100 pages) are printed on 60# paper. We use the same paper for both the interior and cover pages. The production cost is the same in all cases.

What page sizes can you print?

We support a single page size. You supply an 8.5" × 11" original and we trim it down to a final size of 8.25" × 10.75". (For you print pros, you can also provide an 8.25" × 10.75" original with bleed margins out to 8.5" × 11").

How many pages can my magazine have? How are they bound?

Your magazine can be as few as 4 pages, or as many as 100, but must be a multiple of 4 in all cases. We staple, fold, and trim these (saddle stitch binding).

What do I need to publish?

Publishers who add a markup to an issue's price must have a PayPal account in order for MagCloud to pay earnings from magazine sales. See our Terms of Use for additional restrictions.

Can I put advertising in my magazine?

You are welcome to include advertising in your magazine. Small to medium sized publishers often do not have easy access to advertising, and we hope MagCloud will be able to help with this in the future.

Can I ship to [insert country here]?

We ship to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and we're working hard to add European Union countries next. If you're in another country don't despair, we'll get to you, too!

How much does it cost?

The cost of your issue to end users will be the production cost (currently $0.20 per page), plus shipping, plus your own publisher markup (if you specified one). MagCloud will pay you the markup for each copy that is purchased.

Shipping cost depends on weight, the destination country, and the option chosen (Good [within 7 business days], Better [within 5 business days], Best [within 3 business days]). Until we offer a cost calculator, you can see the cost by adding an issue to your cart and proceeding to the Shipping step.

Are there minimum or maximum order quantities?

You can order thousands, hundreds, or a single copy, no problem! A very large order could potentially lengthen the delivery time, but we'll let you know if that's the case.

Can you send me a sample?

Unfortunately we get too many requests to be able to offer free samples. We suggest you order a magazine, or create your own and order a proof. Currently during Beta proof orders are only charged for shipping, not production cost, to encourage publishers to dive right in.

How do I create my magazine?

You can use any authoring tool that creates multi-page PDFs to create your magazine. Please see the How to create a PDF page for some design tool suggestions, and templates to get started.

Can I publish something other than a magazine?

Call it whatever you want! If it meets our technical requirements, it does not matter to us if it is a brochure, an art portfolio, or a calendar.

Can I publish just for myself?

You can publish a magazine on MagCloud without offering it for sale to the general public. When you Publish, just set the privacy to Private (it is set to Public by default). You can also change this on the Edit Issue page.

If you wish to allow only selected people to see and purchase your magazine, you can use our Guest Pass feature. This will generate a special URL which will grant access rights to anyone who receives it. From the issue page of a private issue that you own, click the "Share This" link.

What is the Ship to Group feature?

The Ship to Group feature lets you mail magazines to multiple recipients with a single order.

Why would I want to create a group order?

A group order is an efficient way to send your magazine to multiple recipients such as clients, colleagues, club members, family, community, etc. It saves you time by letting MagCloud do the packaging, addressing and shipping, and also makes it easier to qualify for our bulk discount (see below).

How do I create a group order?

Simply create an address group in your MagCloud address book (Account>Address book>Add New Group). Name your group — clients, friends, family, vendors etc — and select group members from existing recipients in your address book.

Once your recipients and group are ready, add the magazine(s) to your cart. Set the quantity to the number intended for each recipient, not the total for all recipients. For example, if you are sending 1 copy to 20 recipients you should set the quantity to 1.

When you get to the shipping page, click "Select from Address Book »", choose your address group and complete checkout. That's it! Costs will be displayed for the total order including all recipients.

Who pays for group orders?

The person who places the order pays for the order. The cost for all recipients will be billed in a single transaction at checkout.

Can I still receive a bulk discount on group orders?

Yes, a total of 20 copies or more in a single group order will qualify for our bulk discount (25% off the production cost). For example, 1 copy to 20 recipients, or 4 copies to 5 recipients, will each get the bulk discount. The discount will be displayed in your cart when your order is determined to be eligible, you can increase the quantity temporarily to see.

Can I send more than one copy to recipients in my group order?

Yes, multiple copies, and even multiple copies of multiple magazines, are allowed with one constraint: each recipient will receive the same order.

How many members can I add to an address group?

There is no technical limit to the number of recipients you can add to an address group. Single transactions are limited to USD$10,000, however. A transaction will be rejected if the order total exceeds this amount.

Can I upload my own mailing list to my MagCloud address book?

Not currently, but that is a feature we hope to offer in a future site update. In the meantime if you have a large mailing list and are getting close to order time, please send us a request from our Contact Us page and we'd be happy to assist you. Please be prepared to provide your list in a CSV (comma separated value) or Excel file, and plan ahead to give us 7 business days to handle the import before you need to place your order.