It starts with an editorial meeting, where the team throws out ideas for the next issue's theme, often inspired by a recent event.
Once the main topics are decided, the research begins. The editors contact potential writers and interview subjects.
As articles arrive, each one goes through multiple revisions before approval and moves into the layout phase using InDesign, design software for print files.
During layout, the team selects images and makes any cuts needed to fit articles into the fixed page count. This stage can produce six or seven drafts before reaching the near-final version.
The near-final proof goes to the printer, who returns a reference file showing how the finished magazine will look: the blueline proof.
The blueline is the last chance to catch any errors — and many slip through, despite all those careful readings. After a thorough review, the editors return it to the printer with the go-ahead to print.
Ombre e Luci goes to press!
The magazine is printed using the offset technique — a process where sheets pass through four rollers, each one coated with a primary color: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The sheets are then trimmed and stapled.
Within a week, Ombre e Luci is ready. It gets labeled with recipient information and sorted into packages by postal code and region. Extra copies are sent together to the editorial office.
The magazine is handed over to the postal distribution center, from where it travels to mailboxes across the country — and finally into your mail carrier's hands.
From that first editorial meeting to the actual mailing can take months. But at last it arrives in your mailbox. Ready to read!