I previously have organized this list in terms of Subject (Food, Books), but I thought a neighborhood-based guide might be more helpful.

Last updated November 2022. Please check each place’s opening hours and temporary closures.

中山 Zhongshan / 台北車站 Taipei Main Station

• Retro Jam silkscreen and riso studio

A great place to create printed matter and support local independent illustrators and designers who sell their work there.

• 61 note

A nice cafe and select goods store. Good taco rice.

• 北風社

I felt so uncool in this cafe. In a good way! Everyone was very hot. And the tea is good.

• Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei

• 朋丁 Pon Ding books

Solid selection of international and Taiwanese indie books and art publications. Occasional exhibitions.

• Wildflower books

• Taiwan Comic Base

Exhibition space and local comic store.

公館 Gongguan

• Fembooks

Mainly Chinese language publications on feminism, gender and sexuality. Historic bookstore with a great selection and good programs too.

• Halfway Coffee 半路咖啡

Awesome cafe, to be alone or with others. Good soup rice. Nice cats.

• Lightbox Photo Library

An independent space for the appreciation of photo books. A beautiful space to experience the world through other peoples' eyes.

• Mangasick

One of the most exciting comic shops in Taiwan, they also have a paid reading area where you can read and sip coffee for hours.

• 黑洞珈琲店

Try their lava cake! Caffeine-free teas. Lovely seating, so comfy.

• Plain Stationery Homeware & Cafe (直物生活 公館店)

圓山 Yuanshan

• Taipei Fine Arts Museum

There are always multiple concurrent exhibitions at TFAM, and they present solo shows for a lot of ambitious and unusual Taiwanese artists whose work is not easily seen as commercial galleries. They also reserve a 2/F space for commissioned installations which is always an immersive experience.

• MAJI Square

A nice group of small businesses and a place to wander and dog-watch.

東門 Dongmen

• Soypresso

Soy! Based! Ice! Cream!

• 豐盛食堂

Casual and clean Taiwanese restaurant, also specializes in small dishes so you can try a variety.

• Lu Sang Restaurant 呂桑食堂

A nice group of small businesses and a place to wander and dog-watch.

台中 Taichung and Others

• TPL Stationery, Taichung

Cats, pens, coffee. Prints, planners, stickers. All the good things.

• ArtQPie, Taichung

Zine/print/book store, also with a cafe/reading room. And a tatami mat area.

• Moom Bookstore

Photo-book store with rare selections and a small exhibition space.

• SPOT Cinema

A decent cinema with indie selections in a heritage building. There's also outdoor dining there which is nice for a breezy evening.

• Not Just a Library 不只是圖書館

A selection of reading rooms organized by the Taiwan Design Research Institute. Good cross-section between visual culture, fine art and design.

• Radium Kagaya Hotel 日勝生加賀屋國際溫泉飯店

My favorite hot spring resort.

I go to Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai to watch people play soccer or just think about life. It’s also a fun place to take dates and friends when you just want to sit down and have a quiet moment.

Art and Culture Outreach is a great space for programs (I once watched a series of independent Taiwan new wave films there that changed my life). Para Site has ambitious exhibitions and meaningful programming too. Tai Kwun Contemporary’s programs and exhibitions are varied and expansive, a great place to hear artists, curators, and writers in conversation. Tai Kwun also has an Artist Book Library which is perfect for any zine lovers. Zine lovers might also like Odd One Out in Wanchai, as well as Kubrick in Yau Ma Tei. The cinema attached to Kubrick, Broadway Cinematheque, is my go-to cinema, as well as M+ Cinema.

The new M+ Museum is a great hub for visual culture and art, with a perspective originating outside the Euro-American context, which is so refreshing.

1. Learn from past examples

2. Get to know the risograph printing method

3. Confirm your specifications/contact printer

4. Create your zine/artwork, send to printing or print at a studio

5. Cutting and binding

6. Distribution

A good place to start would be getting your hands on other creators’ risograph zines/prints. You can check them out at your local indie comic or art book store, or going to an art book fair. My first hands-on encounters with risograph zines were at Odds and Ends in New Haven and Tokyo Art Book Fair. I can only speak for locations I have lived in, including Hong Kong (Odd One Out, Kubrick, and pop up events at Bedroom and Black Book Assembly), New York (Desert Island, Printed Matter, SVA Print Lab), Tokyo (Taco Che, commune) and Taipei/Taichung (Mangasick, Ponding, nos books, ArtQPie). These lists are not exhaustive!

While looking at and touching the zines, think about how risograph as a medium would work for you. It’s uneven, has small dot marks, and prints one color at a time. How might this enhance your ideas or imagery?

After becoming familiar with how risograph creations can look and feel, I would absorb some technical knowledge. It’s important to do this before contacting your local printer, or you can see if your local printer has info workshops. See the world riso map here to locate your nearest printer. The online guides that taught me a lot include one by Hato Press and one by TXT Books.

After thinking about your zine/ print’s format (binding, any wrap around or pull outs or pop ups or die cuts), size, colours and quantity, you can approach your local printer with a request for quotation. Their contact information is usually on their website, Facebook page or Instagram bio.

For zine creation, I either draw illustrations by hand and scan them into Photoshop (300dpi), or use Photoshop to manipulate images. I will layout the zine using inDesign.

In terms of cost and affording risograph printing, I specifically turned to risograph as a cost effective method. I also love silkscreen printing, but silkscreen is a bit harder for me to access. The cost of your print will depend o your location, so I prefer not to share how much my prints cost, unless you’re also in Hong Kong or Taipei. If so, feel free to direct message me.

When contacting your printer, you should have an idea of whether you have the space or energy to take on the cutting and binding (if needed) of your project. Most printers also offer these services at reasonable additional costs. I always like to ask not only for a quantity comparison (30/50 copies), but also a labour comparison (printing only versus printing plus cut and bind), so I can make an informed decision.

In terms of printer selection, I work with printers based on past prints of theirs I have seen from other artists. Each printer has their own specialties and techniques, so look into this decision carefully.

As for distribution, I have operated an online store and sell at zine fairs when I participate with my local collective, Zine Coop. Zine Coop and Display Distribute also distribute a couple of my titles. I have yet to delve into bookstores as my current print edition size is quite small (30-50 copies). For bookstores, it makes sense to either message on Instagram (if abroad) or meet in person with your zine ready to show. Don’t be shy, or discouraged if your zine isn’t picked up for circulation. Bookstores have space and money constraints that don’t always allow for easy consignment.

The key advice I would like to share is that the spirit of zines is anti-establishment and Do It Yourself. If your goal with zines is to earn money or become famous, you will likely be disappointed. Zines are vehicles to share your ideas with the world, especially if they are ideas considered radical. Happy creating!