publications

Hot Reads for Car Enthusiasts

Meghan Cordella3 Comments

In honor of this weekend’s Indianapolis 500, we’re highlighting a few of the publications on MagCloud dedicated to cars of all shapes, sizes and speeds. Whether your interest is electric vehicles or race cars, vintage collectibles or kit cars, you’re sure to find a publication in the Autos & Cycles category that fits your interest. And if you don’t, you can always create one yourself!

Speed News May 2013NASA Speed News Magazine

Speed News is the official publication of the National Auto Sport Association. The May 2013 issue presents a primer on racing driver fitness, with exercises designed specifically for racers, as well as tips for eating right on and before race day. The issue also details the ins and outs of aerodynamic devices and what they do on a racecar, highlights the art and science of passing, and describes a step-by-step installation of a halon fire system.

FJC Magazine April 2013FJC Magazine

FJC Magazine is dedicated to Toyota FJ Cruisers. Their quarterly issues cover performance, modifications, product reviews, trip reports, and FJ Cruiser related events. In the April 2013 issue, they test drive their new Manley Explore Off Road Trailer, Paul from Last Great Road Trip tells his Baja Story, a Maya Rally FJ Cruiser, and a few new installs.

Performance TunerPerformance Tuner Magazine

Performance Tuner Magazine is a magazine written by import enthusiasts for import enthusiasts. They cover all makes and models of import cars, import shops, import culture and import events.

True Grip March 2013True Grip

True Grip is the quarterly magazine of the Subaru Impreza Drivers Club (SIDC). Each issue is packed with the latest club news, members articles, event features, product reviews, reader’s rides, technical advice & reports on all things Subaru – particularly the Impreza! The March 2013 issue looks at Subaru UK’s announcement in December that they had imported their final Impreza. The internet has been abuzz with rumors and speculation ever since so in this issue True Grip asks, is this the result of market pressures or has the death chime tolled – is now the time to say ‘sayonara’ to Subaru in the UK?

Muscle Car MilestonesMuscle Car Milestones

AutoTrader Classics continues the MileStones tradition with a focus on the most American of automotive traditions…the muscle car! This publication celebrates a time when automakers were busy finding new ways to shoehorn big horsepower into normal cars, all while keeping ahead of each other. These were the machines that powered a generation of gearheads and launched the horsepower wars!

Custom Vanner Issue 6Custom Vanner Magazine

Custom Vanner Magazine is a magazine about custom vans, published by a member of the Bluegrass Vanners Of Louisville. The most recent issue features DIY builds, including two in-depth how to articles on fiberglass and collision repair, an article on Deez crew van shop in Japan, and more.

Tacoma Magazine March 2013Tacoma Magazine

From the publishers of FJC Magazine, Tacoma Magazine is dedicated to all things related to the Toyota Tacoma. In the March 2013 issue Kurt Williams from Cruiser Outfitters begins his retrospective on his first gen Taco build, Jim installed an iPad Mini in his truck, the long-awaited hidden winch mount article is here, Bob finished his snorkel install, Wyatt concludes his 2WD to 4WD Tacoma Conversion. In addition, there’s something new from Stay the Trail, a couple of great New & Noteworthy items and Jim has an update on his Discount Tire wheels & tires.

Rallycross WorldRallycross World

Rallycross World is a monthly publication that reviews the news and events of the month past and offers in-depth reporting and analysis as well as top class photography covering current issues in the sport of Rallycross. Their most recent issue covers the launch of the 2013 FIA Rallycross Championship and has the first part of their unrivaled review of the 2012 European season.

Chevrolet DriverChevrolet Driver

Chevrolet Driver is a new enthusiast publication for Chevy lovers. Their premiere issue features a cover story on the return of the Chevy Stingray, and has a retrospective of 95 years of Chevy trucks.

Automotive TravelerAutomotive Traveler

Automotive Traveler includes anthologies of automotive and travel features. Their most recent issue focused on the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

KustomKustom & Hot Rod Models

Kustom & Hot Rod Models magazine has been called the best model car magazine by some in the scale model industry and Kustom Kulture world. In the most recent issue, they cover of some of the world’s best scale model car builders.

Prieta Post May 2013Prieta Post

Prieta Post is the monthly newsletter for the Loma Prieta Region of the Porsche Club of America, highlighting upcoming events and member stories.

What’s your favorite automotive publication on MagCloud? Share it with us in the comments!

Be Square and Standout

Patty7 Comments

We are excited to introduce a new form factor that will help your publications standout from the crowd. At 8” x 8”, Square product is compact, portable, eye-catching; and available in sleek saddle stitch or professional perfect binding.

Ideal for portfolios, look books, small catalogs, handbooks and more, Square publications can be anywhere from 4 to 384 pages. The new Square product will be available for the same $.20 per page ($.15 per page for orders of 20 copies or more).

MagCloud Square Design Specifications:

  • PDF Size with Bleed:         8.25 x 8.25″
  • Trim Size (Final Size):       8 x 8″
  • Bleed Settings:                   0” inside edge, 0.25″ outside edge; 0.125″ top and bottom
  • Half-Fold Binding:             4 Pages
  • Saddle-Stitch Binding:      8 – 100 Pages
  • Perfect Binding:                  20 – 384 Pages

Start publishing with Square today and let us know how you envision using this new product in the comments below.

Design Blog Series Recap

Patty7 Comments

For the past six weeks we’ve been offering a series of design tips and tricks to help MagCloud users create publications that will capture the attention and imagination of their readers.

From dealing with trim and bleeds, to color selection and typeface dos and don’ts, we’ve tried to offer up ideas on how to deal with the most challenging design elements.

The complete list of design topics included:

—Trim, Bleed and All That Jazz

—The Importance of Layouts and Templates

—Get The Most Out Of Your Images

—The Space Between

—Working With Color

—6 Typeface dos and don’ts

—Designing For Perfect Binding

—Trends and Resources For Great Looking Business Collateral

—PDF 101: Ten Common PDF Problems

We know that great design and great content are the all-star combination that can make your publication standout above the fray and keep your audience coming back for more.

Great design is also one of the things we look for when selecting publications to feature on our home page and our Put MagCloud to Work page.  Those selections are what some sites would call “staff picks” and are chosen by the MagCloud team based on rich content that spans our diverse set of categories, will appeal to the broadest segment of MagCloud’s eclectic reader base and of course adhere to all the design principals we’ve referenced in our recent blogs posts. So yeah we take this design stuff pretty serious :).

We also try and share design inspiration examples and other best practices as we find them, such as this post on magazine cover design.

Let us know what you thought of the design blog series, if there are other topics you would like us to cover or if you have design tips and inspirations you would like to share in the comments section below.