I opted instead to have 1,000 copies printed. That's way more than I expect to use, but the price difference between 500 and 1,000 was so small that I'd rather have double what I think I need than run out.
The A6 size was selected as it allows me to post copies out at letter postage rates. The pages still have 250-300 words, which is about the same as some of the A5 zines out there. One advantage of having them printed professionally is that it allows me to use premium silk art paper. This is whiter and improves contrast, making the text crisper, and helping the art to really pop. Postage is the main enemy in the war on costs, but when it came to printing I went for the heaviest stock the printer offered that would still allow the finished item to fit through the tight 5mm letter thickness limit at the Post Office. The pages are 170gsm silk art paper and the cover is 300gsm silk art card. It only added about 10p to the cost price per issue over budget paper options, but it makes a big quality difference.
Another little trick I pulled was to print the OGL on an insert sheet, rather than use up 2 precious pages inside the zine. I printed it in small, light text on the back of some grid paper. That means the OGL is there, but every issue also gets an A5 sample sheet of my paper to try out. Every print copy I send out is posted in a board-backed envelope. The first batch went out yesterday, and should start arriving tomorrow. The second batch will go out this afternoon. After that I'll post orders same day if I receive them by 2pm. The link to order is in the launch post here:
http://oubliettemagazine.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/oubliette-issue-9-out-now.html
