Last month, we announced that we were shrinking the label on the back cover to only 1.4” wide, and today we are excited to share that we have taken it a step further. Starting today, all MagCloud print publications will include only a small 6 mm square 2D barcode in the lower righthand corner of the back cover. This barcode allows us to process your order through our printing, binding, and shipping processes as efficiently as possible, while minimizing the impact on your back cover real estate.
For those of you who have been publishing with MagCloud for a while, take a walk down memory lane with this timeline of our ever-shrinking back page label. And as always, let us know what you think!
Publisher's Corner 
That’s terrific. As a publisher I really appreciate the way you folks keep improving our experience.
Awesome Thank-You
Rock Thiz Magazine
EXCELLENT MAGCLOUD! Its great to see your progress.
Ray
CRED MAGAZINE
That’s thoughtful. Thank you!
You guys are truly innovative and making a way for indie publishers to make major moves. Love it. Proud to be a part of it.
I love Magcloud and the way you area always advancing. I am always looking for what’s next. Its a pleasure using magcloud.
Another amazing update from Magcloud!
TURN Magazine Staff
Way more clean looking, thanks!
Dreams really DO come true!
Odd, I just received two of my mags, ordered last week and received this Tuesday, with the longer “August 2011” barcode.
The same mag, ordered a few weeks before, had the new square bar code.
Hi Brad,
We’re looking into this on our end, but if you’d like more information specific to your order, please submit a request with the order number through our contact form.
Cheers,
Meghan
Is there any way that you can print the bar code at the front?
Hi Homme Style Magazine,
At this point in time, the barcode can only be printed in the lower righthand corner on the back cover. If you would prefer to have it in the upper left corner on the front cover, you could manipulate your PDF before uploading so that it is upside-down and the pages are in reverse order, making it so that the front cover is on the back and the back cover is on the front. This won’t be an issue for print copies, since you can just flip them over, but it will mess up your preview on the site.
Cheers,
Meghan
Will I be able to design the spine online? or am I only allowed to choose the color for the spine?
Hi Homme Style Magazine,
After uploading your PDF file, you will be able to download a template to use in designing your spine in the design program of your choosing, to then upload to the MagCloud site as a JPG, PNG, or PDF file. Alternatively, you can opt to choose a solid color for your spine on the MagCloud site, and if your publication is 80 pages or more, you can also specify a line of text and the text color. Beyond this color and text selection though, you will not be able to design the spine on the MagCloud site itself.
Cheers,
Meghan
Hi Meghan,
Thanks for this. It really helps me understand on how MagCloud work. Also, will we be able to add prices on the cover as well as our own barcode if we want to distribute the magazine to some bookshop?
Cheers,
Homme Style Magazine.
Hi Homme Style Magazine,
You can include any prices or barcodes you’d like in your design – if it is in your PDF, we’ll print it in your publication. Just remember that we do add a 6mm 2D barcode to the lower righthand corner on the back cover, so you will want to keep that area clear of any content you’d like to appear in the final magazine. After uploading your PDF, you will be able to see a preview of what this small barcode will look like.
Cheers,
Meghan
Cool. Thanks Megan.
So, basically we just have to upload one PDF with the cover, contents and back cover?
Hi Homme Style Magazine,
Yes, you’ll upload one PDF that includes all pages from the front cover through to the back cover. Be sure that there is only one printed page on each PDF page – your PDF should NOT include 2-page spreads. For more details about things to remember when designing your PDF, please see our Help Section.
Cheers,
Meghan
Hi Meghan,
Is there any way to drop the price for the print magazine? As of now the cost of production for print is way too high and not many people can afford to spend that much money for a magazine.
For my magazine, the production cost is $26.20 and that’s not including the markup cost.
Please, let me know asap.
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Meghan
Hi Meghan,
Is there any way for me to give a 10% off?
Cheers
Homme Style
Hi Meghan,
Is there a way for me to give out a one time 10% off promo code?
Cheers
Homme Style
Hi Homme Style Magazine,
At this time, we do not have a way for publishers to offer a coupon or buy down the price of their publication through a promo code.
Regarding your previous question about the pricing of your publication, in order to offer no up front fees or minimum print runs MagCloud takes advantage of digital print technology, which results in the $0.20/page cost for our Standard size and a $0.16/page cost for our Digest sizes. With this method of printing, MagCloud is also able to offer order management and distribution, as well as provide an online storefront, which is not something that you’ll find with most traditional offset printing options. If you are looking for a discount, please note that orders of 20 copies or more, including Ship to Group orders to 20 or more recipients, always receive 25% off the production costs.
If you have any further questions, please use our contact form on the MagCloud site, or email support@magcloud.com, and our support team will be able to assist you much better than I am able to here on the blog.
Cheers,
Meghan
Hey,
I was wondering if I could print on the inside front and back cover. if so, how would I do it?
Thanks!
Hi Valentina,
Yes, you can print on the inside front and inside back covers. All you need to do is include content on the second page and second to last page of the PDF you upload to MagCloud. The first page of your PDF will be the cover of your publication, the second page will be the inside cover, and so on, until you get to the second to last page, which will be the inside back cover, and the last page, which will be the back cover of your publication. If you would like to design a spine, that will be uploaded separately as a PNG, JPG, or PDF file when you select your binding type after you upload the main publication PDF.
Cheers,
Meghan
Hi! Can i print a full page image on the back cover or do I need to leave a blank space for the 6mm barcode? I guess my question is, are you able to print the barcode on top of my image?
thanks,
Mat
Hi Mat,
We’ll overlay the barcode on top of whatever is in your PDF, so you don’t need to leave a blank space. We just want to make sure you don’t put anything in that space that you wouldn’t want to be covered by a barcode. After you upload your PDF, you’ll be able to preview what the barcode will look like on your back cover of your publication.
Cheers,
Meghan
Hi. I’m reviewing your Just Spring book and wtnead to download the examples from o’reilly. Do you have a zipped version of the example directory? At present, they’re only offered to be downloaded a file at a time, which is rather painful and time-consuming. Thanks, Ken
Hi Mikey,
I’m not able to find a “Just Spring” publication on http://www.magcloud.com. If you are still having issues, please contact MagCloud support using the contact form at http://www.magcloud.com/help/contact and they will be able to help you. If possible, please include the URL for the publication(s) you are trying to download in your support request.
Cheers,
Meghan
What is the exact location of the QR code… I need to know since my book will be a dual book, with different content when you flip the book over, so the back with the QR code will also consist on my front cover. It will now be on the top left corner, but I would need to know the exact offset pixels/specs so I factor it in my design.
Thanks!
Hi Rico,
The QR code is 6mm square and is 3mm inside the bottom and right edges of the back of the final publication piece. For Flyers and Posters, this means the code is 3mm inside the trim lines on both the bottom and right edges. For Pamphlets, saddle stitch bound publications and perfect bound publications, the code is 3mm inside the trim line on the bottom edge and 3mm inside the right edge of the PDF. Finally, for Wire-O bound publications, the code is 3mm inside the trim line on the bottom edge and 3mm inside the holes punched for the binding on the right edge (ie, ~9mm inside the trim line on the right edge). You’ll be able to see a preview of the placement of the QR code after uploading your PDF to the MagCloud website.
I hope that helps,
Meghan
With regards to your barcode on the back cover, I understand that there should be no text/graphic we would want to appear in that area because it will get covered. But do we have to specifically leave that area white or blank? If the back cover has a background color can i extend it all the way to the bottom of the page? Do i have to make sure the background color is pale so that the barcode is visible?
Thanks
Hi Divya,
The barcode will be placed on top of whatever content is in your file, so feel free to extend your background color all the way to the edge of the file. In addition, the barcode will include it’s own white background, so there’s no need to use a lighter color behind it. Note that after you upload your file to MagCloud, you will be able to see a preview of how this barcode will look on the back cover of your uploaded file. If you have any additional questions on this, our support team would be happy to help at http://www.magcloud.com/help/contact
Cheers,
Meghan