Aimee Spinks Photography Blog

Fake Newspaper Printing: Props for Photography and Film

So just where on Earth does one get a fake newspaper printed to use as prop?

When planning the Vigilante Project I had just this problem. I had written my own articles across a 12 page spread and just needed to find a printer able to print onto newsprint. This proved to be a rather difficult feat and resulted in me spending about 4 hours calling a myriad of printing companies including newspaper presses and novelty gift companies who offer spoof newspapers for printing.

The problem with the former is that to get something printed you need to have a print run of at least a few thousand copies. The latter provided template pages and only allowed you to contribute a certain amount of your own work and wouldn’t let you print off several pages in an attempt to create at least half a newspaper.

In the end I stumbled across the Newspaper Club which offers bespoke newspaper printing on small runs at low cost. I simply sent them the art work I had mocked up using their easy to follow instructions for formatting, written on their website. In about 7 days I received 5 black and white copies of my fake, 12 page newspaper at the low cost of £35. Their customer service was fantastic, and knowing the slightly unconventional articles I had written and layout I required along with my very tight deadline, were able to offer all the advice and help I needed with a speedy and friendly response.

I cannot recommend them enough for photographers and filmmakers looking to print prop newspapers that need bespoke artwork and articles. You aren’t tied to templates (though they are available if you need help in laying out your newswpaper) which was great for me as I needed certain pages printed upside down and all over the place to allow for different usage. The quality of the print was exactly what I was after and made for some very realistic newspapers!

Below are some of the shots I took of the newspapers for the Vigilante project:

 

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