This is a document produced under the auspices of the San Francisco
Zine Publishers Collective. All the information was compiled from
various individuals. It's a group effort and reflects a multitude of
experiences. Its intended audience are the small press publishers in
the San Francisco/Bay Area. Please take the information with a grain of
salt. Many listing contain contradictory information because different
people have had different experiences dealing with the various
institutions.
You are cordially invited to relate any additional information you
think should be included on this list. Anonymously given information
will not be used but anonymity is assured once the information is
compiled.
If you feel the information on this list is unfair and inaccurate,
please contact me and I'll see if I can straighten things out. This
information is correlated for the zine publisher, so it's written from
that point of view.
People outside the Bay Area may find the information just as
valuable as those in the area. Feel free to send me any information
that is important to the National zine community.
Feel free to reproduce this document at will. No guarantees are
given and sharerights are granted. Please don't try to make any money
off my work. If you find that this valuable, great. If you can make a
few bucks off it, please cut me in.
This document costs me lots of time and money. Please be kind and
generous. All additions, corrections, comments, complaints, death
threats, donations, money, postage, zines, tapes, books, and food
recipes should be directed to:
R. Seth Friedman
Food for Thought Industries
900 Oak Street Suite # 11
San Francisco, CA 94117
RETAIL OUTLETS
A DIFFERENT LIGHT, 489 Castro Street, SF, CA
Queer, Porn, Music, Tatoos,
Rachel Pepper, (415) 431-0891 60/40 consignment.
Mostly queer but open to other strong minded works. Heavy traffic and
pays fast. Most don't have payment problems but many people with high
volume sometimes do. Poetry and lit zines doesn't sell well especially
if not high in queer content. Other stores in NY & LA have their own
managers and buyers, who prefer to deal directly with publisher.
BOUND TOGETHER, 1369 Haight St, SF, CA
Anarchy, Fiction, Poetry, Politics, Queer, Marxism, Feminism,
(415) 431-8355 60/40 Consignment.
Not much traffic but a good outlet for more political things. Needs a
sample copy for consideration at collective meeting. Will then take if
no one objects. Payment after 15th of the month, only in person, no
checks. Many people shop here for small-press stuff and nowhere else.
CITY LIGHTS BOOKS, 261 Columbus Ave, SF, CA
Poetry, Fiction, Literature, Chapbooks, Art, Politics, Music, Anything,
Suzette Partido (415) 362-8193
Many zines but almost too many. Heavy traffic but mostly for the books.
Lots of tourists and late night hours. Strong emphasis on poetry and
literature. Mostly consignments with some up front.
COMIC RELIEF, 1597 Haight St, SF & 2138 University Ave, Berkeley
Comix, Music, Sex,
Josh Petrin, zine buyer. Berkeley (510) 843-5002/SF (415) 552-9010
Mostly comics. Only seem to carry macho white-boy sex, not very pro-
queer. Berkeley branch has more traffic and only place in Berkeley to
sell zines. "One of the best comic stores in the country."
DEVIANT BOOKS 473 Haight Street, SF, CA
Comix, Fiction, Poetry, Queer, Tatoos, Porn, Anything,
Bob Brown, owner, (415) 554-0360 60/40 consignment.
Is very enthusiastic but is sometimes short on cash. Always best to
talk with Bob. Will take just about anything on consignment. Best if
you're have small press run. Some people have been "ripped off" by Bob,
especially high volume publishers. Always asks you to come back and
only pays in cash for those copies already sold.
EPICENTER ZONE COLLECTIVE, 475 Valencia St, 2nd floor, SF, CA 94103
Punk, Queer, Hard Core, Political, Anarchist,
Matt Smith, (415) 431-2725
Very enthusiastic about zines but not that much shelf space. Punky
xerox looking stuff is OK. Strong emphasis on music but also very
interested in anarchy/leftist stuff. Sometimes pays upfront. Has zine
library. Good idea to donate a copy of your zine to their library.
People to hang out there and read the stuff. Weird hours, 3-8 weekdays,
12-7 weekends.
GOOD VIBRATIONS, 1210 Valencia, SF, CA
Sex, Lesbian, Queer, Comix, Porn, Fiction, Sexual Politics,
Roma Esteveze (415) 550-0827
"Wonderful in every way." Will take lots of different things but must
have sexual theme. Usually pays up front. Not much in terms of zines
but very enthusiastic about expanding their stock.
LEATHER TONGUE VIDEO, 714 Valencia St, SF CA 94110
Video, Media, Weird, Pop, Comix, Queer,
Lisa Muncaster (415) 552-2900
New store, opened September 1st, I'm sure they're hungry for new stuff.
Lisa is very nice. Similar to the Naked Eye but with more books.
MODERN TIMES, 888 Valencia St, SF, CA
Political, Marxists, Anarchist, Media, Literature, Poetry,
(415) 282-9246
Collectively run bookstore. Big on political stuff. Lots of cool
readings in the back space. They tend not to tell you when they're out
of stock and need to re-order more zines.
NAKED EYE, 533 Haight Street, SF, CA
Comix, Queer, Music, Tatoos, Art, Movies,
(415) 864-2985 60/40 sometimes up front.
Very, very selective. Not that enthusiastic but lots of traffic.
Hesitant about taking xeroxed stuff. Many times will pay up front.
OLD WIVES TALES BOOKS, 1009 Valencia, SF, CA
Political, Feminist,
(415) 821-4675
Women's bookstore. They are hesitant about taking sexual stuff. "Too
confused to pay."
RAINBOW FOODS, 1899 Mission St, SF, CA 94103
Food, Health, Fitness, Spirituality, Sex, Cooking,
Kari Bixon & Adam, book buyers (415) 863-0620.
Heavy traffic and friendly but very selective. Isn't that enthusiastic
about zines but primarily interested in food/health related materials.
Sometimes pays cash upfront.
SMALL PRESS TRAFFIC, 3599 24th St, SF, CA
Poetry, Fiction, Chapbooks, Journals, Criticism,
John McNally (415) 285-8394
Almost a graveyard with too many chapbooks. Poetry, poetry, and more
poetry. Not many sales but a good place to find some out of print
material. A good place to shop but not so good to sell. They say they
pay their accounts a couple of times a year - but don't count on it.
Being current helps. Takes about 5 copies at a time. Very few copies
tend to get sold. Best to deal with them in person. Not very hip.
TOWER BOOKS
Music, Queer, Fiction, Literature, Anything,
Sacramento, Doug Biggert, 2601 Del Monte St, W. Sacra, (916) 373-2561
San Mateo, 2727 El Camino Real, San Mateo CA (914) 941-7300
Very enthusiastic and heavy traffic but sometimes pays very late. Pays
sometimes 1 month to 6 months after receipt. Sometimes pays fastest of
any distributor, sometimes the slowest. Very pro queer and pro zine.
Best to deal with Doug instead of individual stores. Opening up a big
new store in Anaheim soon. Send him a sample, if he likes it he'll get
back to you.
FLATLAND, P.O. Box 2420, Fort Bragg, CA 95437-2420
Anarchy, Theory, Comix, Books, Weird, Literature,
Jim Martin (707) 964-8326.
Mail order house with great catalog and wide distribution. Very nice
person to deal with.
ANUBUS WARPUS, 803 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Comix, Music, Weird, Drugs, Tatoos, High-tech, Video, Sex, Offensive,
(408) 423-3208 60/40
Sometimes pays cash up front. Recently moved from Eugene. Pays up
front or very quickly. Very friendly and enthusiastic. Good traffic.
Zines have wall space at front of the store. Will take very offensive
material.
AMOK BOOKS, CA
Weird, Tatoos, Movies,
Recently moved to a new location. Good display space. Sometimes pays
cash up front, sometimes not. Common rumor is that the store is very
good but horror stories abound in dealing with mail order side. May be
untrustworthy.
QUIMBYS QUEER STORE, 1320 North Damen, Chicago, IL 60622
Steve Simbursky, (312) 342-0910.
Has a very good reputation. Easy to deal with.
PRIMAL PLUNGE, Boston MA
Anarchist, Art, Weird, Comix,
Ann
Very confused. Sometimes won't keep her word.
DREAMHAVEN, Minneapolis, MN
Comix, SciFi, Horror, Film,
May be wary of self-published material. Will sometimes take self-
published material but in very small quantities.
A BROTHER'S TOUCH, Minneapolis, MN
Queer, Sex,
(612) 872-1412
New location at college part of town. Sometimes pays up front.
MAYDAY BOOKSTORE, 301 Cedar Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55454
Anarchist, Feminist, Labor, Ecology, Queer, Marxist, Socialist,
(612) 333-4719
Recently shifted focus from Marxism/socialism to more general political
literature.
EMMA, 341 Blumington Ave, Minneapolis, MN
Anti-Authoritarian, Anarchist, Queer, Politics, Books,
Merchandise Committee. Dan (612) 729-5498
Anarchy/punk center. New store, just starting up. Good location. Very
diverse group of people. Send your stuff to merchandise committee for
review and possible sales.
SEE HEAR, 59 East 7th St, NYC, NY 10003
Music, Pop Culture, Movies, TV, Comix, Tatoos,
Ted,
Very selective with strong emphasis on inde music. If it ain't music
you are gonna have a difficult time getting in. Retail wholesale and
mail order catalog.
SAINT MARK'S BOOKS, Saint Marks Place, NYC, NY 10003
Literature, Fiction, Poetry, Anarchy, Music,
60/40 Consignment.
Mostly want literature. Difficult to deal with. Things tend to get
buried. Must be at least quarterly. They seem to have a problem with
issuing checks or dealing via mail. If you don't have a contact in NYC
then it's difficult.
GREEN NOISE RECORDS, 388 W. 6th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401
Punk, Music, Comix, Video, Hard Core,
(503) 683-1584
FALLOUT, 1506 E. Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98122
Punk, Music, Comix, Books,
GATOR FARM, 800 Crooks Ave, Kaukauna, WI 54130
Music,
Usually buys upfront.
DISTRIBUTORS
LAST GASP, 2180 Bryant, SF, CA 94110
Collet, John, Eric (415) 824-6636
Distributes Processed World, Murder can be Fun, good stuff, clean
format, high standards, not xerox. Terms: 60/40 one by one,
consignment, 90 days, variable terms. Won't tell where your stuff is
being sold at locally because they fear that you'll sell directly
yourself. Tends not to restock. Very Confused.
BLACKLIST, 475 Valencia St, SF, CA 94130
Music, Hard core, Punk, Anarchy
(415) 255-0388 80/20
Difficult to deal with, gave cometbus a hard time. Retail mailorder
only, catalog. Generally prefers consignment. Can be unprofessional,
sends coins in the mail.
MORDAM DISTRIBUTION, 181 Shipley St, SF, CA 94142
Hard core, Punk, Alternative music, Political,
(415) 243-8230
Umbrella organization that farms out distribution to stores and mail
order. Distributes MRR, Alternative Tentacles, Flipside, WW III,
Lookout, etc... Very selective, mostly interested in Hard core, Punk,
Alternative music related materials.
SUBTERRANEAN, P.O. Box 2530, Berkeley, CA 94702
Music, Records, Anti-commercial,
Steve (415) 821-5880 Flexible rates 50/50
Likes a clean format, good content, not sloppy works. Mostly record
stores retail sales and records. Small mailorder catalog, not majority
of business.
MULCH RECORDS, P.O. Box 711962, San Diego, CA 92171
Vinyl, Music,
(619) 237-9864
Mostly Music but also zines. Mailorder & Wholesale.
BY-PRODUCT P.O. Box 680, Goleta, CA 93116
Vinyl, Music
(805) 968-0274
Mostly Music but also zines. Mailorder & Wholesale.
ARMADILLO, Culver City, CA
Distributes PW. Paid reasonably quickly. Low return ratio. Only use
him for distribution in the LA area.
INLAND BOOK COMPANY, CT
Distributes PW. Highly recommended. "Perfect in every way." Only
negative is a 45% ratio.
MOSH PIT RECORDS, P.O. Box 9545, Colorado Springs, CO 80932-0545
Records, Music, Punk, Hardcore, Movies,
(719) 633-5752 908-F North Circle Drive
Wholesale and retail in own store. Many mailorder catalogs sent out.
TPOS, 12 Mill Plain Rd, Danbury, CT 06811
(203) 792-1630
Mostly mailorder with some wholesale
FUCK SHIT UP DISTRIBUTION, P.O Box 3808, Chicago, IL 60654-0808
Anarchist, Radical, Music, Literature,
Mailorder
SOAPBOX JUNCTION, LTD, P.O. Box 597996, Chicago, IL 60659
Environment, Postcards, Anarchy, Poetry, Film, Peace, Queer, Politics,
Mail order catalog listing environmental products, zines, articles, and
mail art shows.
DAYBREAK, Boston, MA
Distributes PW. Pays on time.
JACK KNIFE DISTRIBUTION, P.O. Box 871, Wayne, MI 48184
Cassettes, Music, Punk, Hardcore,
Contact Chuck Damage
GAINSAY MAILORDER DISTRIBUTION, P.O. Box 655, Kalamazoo, MI 49005
Joel (616) 344-5707
DON OLSON, Minneapolis, MN
Anarchist Theory, Political,
Distributes PW. Soil of Liberty Distribution. Owns a small bookstore.
Few returns. Pays reliably. Some people have had awful experiences
with him. Has ripped off lots of people. You have been warned.
RIFT, P.O. Box 33302, Minneapolis, MN 55433
Fanzines, Music, Comix, No porn, No over 21 stuff, All categories
Rich Horton (612) 871-4295
Mailorder and distributes to stores in Minneapolis and other areas. May
buy outright. Flexible rates, 50/50. Tries to pay within 30 days.
Send him 10 copies on consignment. Fast turnaround. Art gallery space
located in suburbs. Nice guy. On top of Minneapolis scene. Trades
available.
ANARCHIST YOUTH FEDERATION, P.O. Box 8585, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Music, Very Punk, Very Anarchistic, Political,
Felix (612) 871-1305 80/20
Mailorder and tables at shows. Way punker then Blacklist. Zines move
very slowly. Get's too many zines. Generally take records. Likes to
trades zines, 5-10 copies, will send back same amount in credit. The
more punker and anarchistic stuff sells better. Original, interesting,
beyond typical punk zines. Doesn't take too much. Felix is very
helpful.
PROFANE EXISTENCE, Box 8722, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Anarchist, Anti-Authoritarian, Music
DESERT MOON PERIODICALS, 1031 Agua Fria, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Jeffrey W. Williams or Antonio (505) 984-8446 fax (505) 982-6790
Relatively new Western U.S magazine distributor. 55% - 60% discount off
cover price. Returns affidavits for credit. No cover returns as of
yet. Willing to reprice magazine to cover their costs. Flexible terms
and return policy. Reputed to be very trustworthy and reliable. Send a
sample and then call them to see if they like it. Things tend to get
lost but are very willing to spend time with you on the phone.
INGRAM, NYC
Distributes PW. Very corporate but accordingly very efficient. Goes
into smaller places with possible library distribution. Like most
distributors in NYC, not highly recommended.
TRIBAL WAR DISTR, P.O. Box 20012, Tompkins Sq Sta, NY, NY 10009
Records, Music, Punk,
Neil (718) 383-6522
Wholesale, shows, and mailorder. Worldwide distribution.
PERENNIAL BOOKS, 94A-1 Lake Rd, Valley Cottage, NY 10989
Anarchy, Politics, History, Conspiracy,
John Petrovato (914) 268-8212
Small mailorder catalog with strong emphasis on anarchist literature
UBIQUITY, NY
Distributes PW. Rumored to be very bad to deal with. Tends to be
assholes but can get distribution into small places. Stay away.
POINT PLANK NOISE DISTRIBUTION, P.O. Box 114, Mt. Orab, OH 45154
Anarchist, Grind, Hard Core, Political, Punk,
Mailorder list, wholesale and shows.
FINE PRINT, Austin, TX
Distributes PW. Used to be a collective. Very cool to deal with. May
even pay in advance. May distribute to large chains like Barnes &
Noble. Easy to deal with.
SMALL CHANGES, Seattle, WA
Distributes PW. Very picky about what they take but they're a very good
payer.
LEFT BANK DISTRIBUTORS, 92 Pike Street, Seattle, WA
Hard to work with but have a very good store.
MARGINAL DISTRIBUTION, Toronto, Ont
Distributes PW. Difficult to collect from but can get distribution into
Canada.
GROUCHETTA ZINE DISTR, 212-440 Raythburn Rd, Etobicoke, Ont M9C 3S7
Consignment at gigs and stores
A DISTRIBUTION, London, England
Distributes PW. Affiliated with A distribution in New York.
AK DISTRIBUTION, 3 Balmoral Place, Sterling, Scotland FK8 2RD, GB
Distributes PW
Mostly books, zines don't sell well. Some zines do well.
PRINTERS, XEROX & DTP SHOPS
ABC PRINTING/COPY-COPIA
Eight locations. Very cheap xeroxing. Possibly 3+ a page, single
sided.
ARABIC BOOK CENTER Valencia St, SF CA
Computer/Mac time is only charged per minute. 3 per copy, 100 min.
COPY CENTRAL SF CA
1685 Haight St 863-4304. 2336 Market St 431-2499
Relatively disorganized space. Haight street location is very dirty to
work in. Does not inspire confidence. Epicenter Mac Services
interested in zines and self-publisher. Will consider trading computer
time for volunteering Mac services. Copies 8 per up to 100, 6 each
over 100. Reduce/enlarge 75 per setting. Macs only, Mac SE
$9.00/$10.00 hr, Mac II w/ scanner $20.00 hr. laserprints 30 each.
GRANT PRINTING/PUBLISHING, 809 Sacramento, SF, CA
Jerry (415) 826-1100
They have a web offset. Won't do press run smaller then 1,000. Also
publishing headquarters for the Independent.
HOWARD QUINN 298 Alabama, SF, CA
Frighten the Horses, Logo.motive,
Don Sanchez/Craig Wald (415) 621-3750
Very helpful and non-intimidating. Minimum 1,000. Very cool on
content. Have a nice cold web offset system. Uncoated stock. Books
and Tabloids.
5,000 copies of 64 newsprint pages with cover is $1,750.00.
KINKOS in San Francisco
555 Buckingham Way (415) 566-0572
1967 Market Street (415) 252-0864
Poppin' Zits!
Silicon Womb
Good reduction / enlargement, only 6 each. Buckingham Way self-serve
machines jam all the time. Lousy self-service machines; their good
machines are not self service. Market Street location is great for
reduce/enlarge because they don't charge extra. No matter where Seth
goes, whether it be New York or San Francisco, there's a Kinkos copy
shop and they always fuck up Seth's printing job. Bindery services
available. Color available. Both open 24 hours - we recommend having
your job run by the graveyard shift people. 6 per copy page single
sheet, 1/2 off after 1st 100. Macs $12.00 per hour, no minimum, per
minute charge. 50 per laser print.
OFFICE DEPOT, 855 Harrison, SF, CA
(415) 243-9959
Great prices on xeroxing, probably cheapest in town. Self-service 4 a
page. Full serve; 2+ single, 4+ for a double sided page. Very good
service but not the best machines in town. Good for short runs. No
folder machine available. Paul is very helpful, get there before 10:00
for best service. Check out their prices on envelopes, staplers, rubber
stamps, business cards.
PC TIME 1875 Mission St, SF CA 94103
(415) 621-3737
Computer rental place with some of the lowest prices in the city.
Drawbacks are that the software and equipment are not state of the art.
Net necessarily a problem if all you need is a 286 with a laser printer
but they're lacking the latest version of some software and a LaserJet
III. Prices: 286 w/ laser printer or Mac plus is $8.00 hr, Mac II w/
scanner is $14.00 hr, laserprints 25 per page.
SPEEDWAY COPY
Food for Thought
Poppin' Zits!
Robert at Front Street is recommended. Service is very good, takes a
while for big jobs, very professional, good machines. No self-service
except for lousy machines. Offset & lino. 16 locations around town,
mostly in financial district.
TOP COPY, 1401 Market St & 1429 Market St, SF CA 94103
Mac rentals, 553-8611. Printing 553-3929
One of the most expensive Mac rental places in town but they have some
of the best services available. Tons of software, fonts, and leading
edge equipment. Good place for output; Varityper 75, QMS color $10.00,
1270 dpi lino $8.50. Don't do xeroxing there, 15 a page, color $2.25.
Computer prices: Mac plus/SE is $10.00 hr, Mac II w/ scanner is $20.00
hr, laserprints 45 per page.
ALONZO 1094 San Mateo Ave, South San Francisco 94080
Big Whoop, Vox, Non-profits, Sierra club,
Bob Alonzo 873-0522. Fax 952-1438. Customer service 800-870-0522
Cold (non-heatset) offset web offset. 1,000 min flat sheet printing.
3,000 min for web. Only print with recycled paper and soy based
vegetable inks. Union shop. Two locations. Complete bindery, Mailing
services, DTP available. Fax him the specs for an estimate.
BEST PRINTING & COPYING, 1732 University Ave, Berkeley, CA
Logo.Motive,
Kishwar/Mansour (510) 548-BEST
GRAFFAX NETWICKS
Clark Netwicks 359-3600/441-0878
GRT BOOK PRINTING, 3960 E 14 St, Oakland CA
(510) 534-5032
Book printing, complete bindery, 200-2000 press run. They have a free
booklet about book printing. Highly recommended. It's almost a primer
on zine publishing. An excellent resource for those just starting out
in the confusing world of typesetting, binding, paste-up, and masters.
INKWORKS PRINTSHOP, 2827-7th, Berkeley, CA
Crossroads, Breakthrough, Annual reports,
Lincon, Debora (510) 845-7111
Small press runs. Min of 1,000 pieces. Specialize in newsletters. 4
color work available. Poster printing available. 20 X 28 Max.
Sheetfed press, no newsprint. DTP Lino output.
LAKEPORT (LAKE COUNTY) PUBLISHING in Blue Lake
Lookout,
Roy (707) 263-5636
Standard newspaper web press. Min 5,000 press run. 4 color available.
Newsprint and elecrobright papers and 50 lb bookstock for covers. Jobs
can be hand delivered or UPSed. Will do deliveries but not pleased
about it. Prefer for people to pick up job. Press jobs take only 1 or
2 days. Need lead time for scheduling. Beginning of month is better.
5,000 copies of 64 newsprint pages with cover is $1,200
LASERFORM in Redwood City
Girljock, DPN,
OLYMPIA GRAPHICS, 5601 San Leandro, CA
(510) 534-5370
Book printing, complete bindery
WHITEHALL in Florida
Processed World
Very inexpensive for large press runs
WALTON in Georgia
Factsheet Five #45
Relatively expensive
SHAKOPEE VALLEY PRINTING, Minneapolis, MN
Profane Existence
Dave Reed (612) 445-8260
$1,000 for 6,000 copies newsprint magazine.
WORLD PRESS in Albany, NY
ELIZA BLACKWEB P.O. Box 3582 Tucson, AZ 85722
Hippycore, Bad Newz, No Longer Silent,
Printing, bindery, typesetting that's very anarchist/punk friendly. Low
prices, no censoring, send specs for free estimate.
If you would like to receive an International Standard Serial Number
(ISSN) for each of your periodicals, contact:
National Serials Data Program
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20540 U.S.A.
telephone (202) 707-6452
(Publishers outside the U.S. should contact their country's national
library for more information about ISSN.)
In Canada, write to:
ISDS Canada
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N4
If you would like information on copyrighting your periodicals,
write to:
Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20559 U.S.A.
telephone (202) 479-0700 for information
telephone (202) 707-9100 to order forms and booklets
(Publishers outside the U.S. should also contact their country's
copyright office for information on local copyright laws.)
In Canada, contact your local office of the federal Department
of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, or write to:
Copyright Office
Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C9
* list compiled by Nigel Allen
