CAPTION 2002
CAPTION :: 2002 :: Making Minicomics ::
The image presented to a photocopier should be dense black ink on white paper.
Grey washes will generally result in blotchy effects—photocopiers do not have an equivalent of the half-toning process used in professional printing. You can of course supply your own half-tones, but these must be fairly coarse—coarser than the patterns used in professional printing. (That said, modern copiers are better than old ones used to be—you may want to experiment.)
You often see professionals using special process-blue pencils that do not need to be erased because the processes used in magazine printing are blind to this colour blue. Photocopiers do see process blue, so these pencils will probably not be useful for minicomics.
Photocopying is never completely accurate. It follows that you cannot have artwork that extends to the edge of the page, because it will end up not quite meeting or overlapping the border. Printed magazines trim paper from the outside edges of the page, which allows for bleeds (where the printed artwork well extends beyond the trim line).
Instead you should allow for fairly generous margins between the artwork and the page. Straight, ruled borders can also be a liability—they make it easier to see that the copying is slightly out of register. Ragged, hand-drawn borders are safer.