About Kumizine
Meet Wayne, the maker behind Kumizine
Kumizine is built and maintained by me, Wayne Buchner, with the Kumizine team. It began with a practical problem and a simple idea: making a printed publication should not require expensive, complicated software.
Where it started
Why Kumizine exists
Kumizine began as a way to solve a complicated printing problem without relying on complicated, expensive software.
I wanted to make a wedding album for my mother's eightieth birthday. She had never owned one, so I photographed her sixty-year-old wedding proofs and began working out how to arrange and print them as a book. A small page-order algorithm became the starting point for Kumizine, and it grew from there.
Who it is for
Kumizine is made for anyone with a zine idea, from first-time makers to photographers, artists, writers and independent publishers. It helps you turn that idea into something you can print, fold and share.
If this is your first zine, you will find clear guidance at every step. If you already have experience, you can take control of the page size, paper, binding, margins, signatures and other production details.
Production experience behind the product
I have worked in photography and graphic design for 43 years, going back to the days when QuarkXPress was the layout tool many designers relied on. I bought my first copy of Photoshop in 1997 for a PowerBook G3 and have worked with Adobe creative tools ever since.
That experience now feeds directly into Kumizine. I work hands-on with page layouts, imposition, editable IDML templates, photography sequencing, home printing, folding and binding.
The software and the Learn guides are developed together. The advice comes from the same page rules, templates and physical print tests used to build Kumizine, so it stays practical and useful at the worktable.
Made to work in print
How accuracy is approached
Publishing guidance should be specific enough to use and honest about its limits. These checks keep public information connected to what Kumizine actually supports.
How templates are tested
Template generation is checked against page-count rules, imposed spread order, sheet usage, signature grouping, trim and binding allowances for each supported format.
Generated files and assembly instructions are reviewed together because a layout is only useful when its printed sheets can be folded, gathered and bound as described.
How technical articles are reviewed
Technical articles are compared with the same production logic used by Kumizine. Worked examples use supported formats, and software instructions are reviewed when a workflow changes.
Every guide has a visible review date and a route for corrections. Feedback is used to clarify or update the article rather than allowing inaccurate advice to remain published.
- ✓Page order, imposition and signature examples are checked against Kumizine’s generation rules.
- ✓Unsupported bindings, untested printer behaviour and unavailable product features are not presented as working capabilities.
- ✓Corrections, product limitations and material workflow changes are stated directly and reviewed as the product develops.
Contact and corrections
If a guide is unclear, a workflow has changed or a technical detail looks wrong, please tell us. You can also get in touch to share what you are making or suggest a production topic that needs a clearer explanation.
Contact Kumizine