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RISE OF THE INDIE MAG Ink on paper – dead, right? Wrong. A glut of intelligent and engaging independent titles is keeping the printing presses busy Words by Dan Rowden / Illustration by Roui Francisco
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ou may have heard many times recently that print is dying. And with a group of (previously) big-money publications closing their print offerings and going digital, you may think that it is time to say goodbye to our dear old friend. But you’d be wrong. We have entered an age of intelligent, im-
mersive – and quite frankly, awesome – independent magazines, although you’d be forgiven if you hadn’t noticed. The big names may be feeling the economic downturn, shutting off their printing presses and being written about in the world’s media, but the “underground” world of indie magazines is growing – and the
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output is quality and engaging. Titles like Offscreen, Kinfolk, Apartamento, Little White Lies and The Smith Journal are examples of popular independent magazines with large followings (from all over the world – this is not a localised phenomenon), which sell thousands of copies of each issue. In fact, most of their