Resources
Magazine Publishing Resources
Curated tools, guides, data, organizations, courses and books for magazine makers.
For step-by-step help with design, digital editions and publishing, read our magazine guides.
Tools
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Creative Commons License Chooser
A guided questionnaire from Creative Commons that recommends one of the six CC 4.0 licences or the CC0 public domain dedication, depending on whether you require attribution, allow commercial use and adaptations, and want adaptations shared under the same licence. It then generates licence markings to copy: HTML for websites, rich text, and plain text for print works and media credits. Useful before releasing photos or articles openly; the tool warns that a CC licence cannot be revoked.
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Google Fonts
A catalogue of open-source typefaces that can be filtered by language and writing system, previewed with your own sample text, downloaded or embedded on websites. According to the FAQ, every font is free of charge and may be used commercially and in print, most often under the SIL Open Font License. The FAQ also explains self-hosting: when the fonts are served from your own server, Google receives no data about visits to your magazine website.
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PAC – PDF Accessibility Checker
A free application, installed without admin rights, that tests a PDF against many PDF/UA and WCAG criteria in one run. Drop a file onto the window, then choose a short summary or a detailed report that locates each error; a structure and screen reader preview shows a sighted reviewer what assistive technology would read out. The 2026 version adds AI-assisted tests to cut manual checking. A practical last step before releasing an issue as PDF.
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WebAIM Contrast Checker
Enter a foreground and a background colour as hex values, or pick them on screen with the colour picker's eyedropper, and the checker calculates the contrast ratio with pass or fail results for WCAG AA and AAA, for both normal and large text, plus the AA threshold for graphics and interface elements. Lightness sliders help adjust a failing colour pair. Handy for checking type on coloured backgrounds in web pages and digital magazine layouts.
Guides
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ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA-1) from the PDF Association
The PDF Association's page for ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA-1), the standard for accessible, tagged PDF, offered here as a free, sponsor-funded download. It explains the limits: the standard describes the technical properties of an accessible PDF, not how to create one, and conformance alone does not rule out problems such as poor use of colour or contrast. It also lists PDF/UA-2 for PDF 2.0 and links the Matterhorn Protocol. Relevant for magazines distributed as PDF.
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Requesting an ISSN (ISSN International Centre)
The starting point for getting an ISSN, the identifier for serial publications in print and electronic form. Publishers and individuals select their country of publication to reach the responsible national ISSN centre; the International Centre itself handles publications of international organisations listed in the Yearbook of International Organizations. The page asks applicants to read the request guidelines, offered in six languages, first. It does not list fees, so check them with the centre handling your request.
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WCAG 2 Overview (W3C Web Accessibility Initiative)
W3C's overview of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It explains how WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 relate (content conforming to 2.2 also conforms to both earlier versions; W3C recommends the latest), names the levels A, AA and AAA, and links the Quick Reference, Understanding and Techniques documents. It notes that most organisations address the European Accessibility Act with WCAG and EN 301 549, and that WCAG can be applied to native apps and documents.
Data
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ISSN Portal
The search interface to the ISSN Register, which the portal says holds more than two million serial publications with an ISSN. Anyone can search by ISSN, title or keyword and see part of the data, which is useful for checking how existing titles are registered. Full access, with publisher, relationship and history details, advanced filters and export, is a paid subscription from 1028 € a year (Essential tier). Archiving status from the Keepers Registry is free to view.
Organizations
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FIPP
A long-standing international network for publishers of magazines, consumer media and special-interest titles, now part of WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, after a merger. Its website carries industry news, reports (for example on print advertising, digital subscriptions and innovation in media), webinars and videos, and it organises the FIPP World Media Congress. The home page offers a FIPP World Newsletter sign-up. Membership is paid, with fees based on the organisation's size and type and quoted on enquiry.
Courses
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Digital Accessibility Foundations (W3C WAI online course)
A free, self-paced introductory course from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, developed with UNESCO IITE and run on edX. It covers what web accessibility is, how people with disabilities use digital technology, the business case, principles, standards and basic checks, and how to get started. It is aimed at technical and non-technical learners alike and takes about 16 to 20 hours. Auditing is free and includes all content; an optional verified certificate costs US$99.
Books
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Butterick's Practical Typography (2nd edition)
An online book by Matthew Butterick on the everyday rules of typography: type composition and punctuation, text formatting, font choice and page layout, including grids and columns, with short entry points such as Typography in ten minutes. It is ad-free and can be read on the web before paying; the author says the book is not free and asks readers who find it useful to pay for it. There is no PDF or e-book edition.