Printing IRL

To celebrate 10 years of our magazine, we’re publishing works of some key figure from over the years; artists, writers, local talents and more. Join us at 10 Years of Losing Our Edge – Celebrating Subbacultcha Magazine on Friday, 14 September.

The making of our magazine has always happened in a frenzy. A happy, foolish frenzy that keeps us going until every last piece of content falls right into place. An invigorating process that leaves us brimming with anticipation for the little white van to pull up and dump a fresh batch of magazines on our doorstep. Opening the first box, carefully turning the pages of the first copy, and realizing that it’s all in there and looking better than we could have imagined. There’s something really magical about the world of print that still carries in the age of all things digital. But after all of these years of magazine making, not once were we privy to the actual printing process. For years GEWA-DRUPO printed our magazine in Hoge Mauw, Belgium. After all those years, in 2015 we thought it was high time we pay our mysterious GEWA-DRUPO friends a visit. What we found, was dizzying. Fortunately, we had brought fresh-faced Amsterdam photographer Wessel Baarda along to document the process. His keen eye, his splendid use of color, and his extraordinary attention to detail perfectly captured the pristine space and gleaming machinery before us.