ZINEHQ is built as a static publication. There is no application server, no database, and no client-side framework. The archive is a set of files that can be hosted anywhere, read without JavaScript, and printed without a plugin. That constraint is deliberate: an archive should outlive its tooling.
Typography
Two typefaces do almost all the work. Newsreader carries the reading text and display headings; it has the optical sizes and the slightly literary rhythm a long-form page needs. IBM Plex Mono carries the wordmark, catalogue numbers, metadata, labels, and tables. The monospace face is not a technical decoration: it gives the six letters of ZINEHQ equal width, so the wordmark reads as a stamp rather than a logo.
The wordmark is set in full capitals at a fixed tracking of 0.16em. In body text, the name is set in mono with font-variant-caps: all-small-caps, so it sits on the same baseline as the surrounding sentence. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text fall back to the system serif for that script, with slightly looser leading.
Palette
The palette is intentionally small: paper, ink, oxblood, steel, and brass. Oxblood is reserved for emphasis and the stamp; steel and brass identify the dossier and playbook series. Readers choose their stock — bone paper, aged sepia, neutral slate, or a dark ink — and each paper carries its own pair of text colours so contrast holds in all four. No gradients, no glass, no glow.
Type is set in Newsreader and IBM Plex Mono, both self-hosted. The reader can move the text scale through four steps — S, M, L, XL — and only the text tokens move; the grid, rules, and cover geometry stay fixed.
Grid and rules
The page measure is 1320px with a fluid gutter. Reading text is capped at 64ch; the issue spread uses a narrow metadata rail and a wider reading column. Rules are one pixel, never rounded. Cards are catalogue slips, not floating panels: a hairline, a number, a date, and a cover.
Build
- Framework: Astro 5, static output.
- Content: Astro Content Collections with Markdown and a typed schema.
- Styles: hand-written CSS with custom properties; no utility framework.
- Fonts: self-hosted Fontsource packages; no third-party font request.
- JavaScript: a few small inline scripts (paper and text size, catalogue, reading progress); no framework runtime.
- Hosting: Cloudflare Pages compatible;
dist/is the artifact.
Editorial metadata
Every issue carries the same fields: number, slug, series, title, dek, date, status, extent, format, cover colour, language, reading time, and tags. The index, the issue page, the sitemap, and the language alternates are generated from those fields. If a field is missing, the build fails — which is the point.
Privacy
There are no analytics scripts, advertising pixels, or third-party embeds. The only stored preference is the colour theme and text size, kept in localStorage. Fonts are served from this domain. The subscription form is a preview and does not send data. See the privacy note for the full version.
Corrections
Corrections are made in the issue and logged here. A correction does not erase the first printing; it adds a line. To report an error, use the form on the acquisition page and describe the passage. Until then, this is a preview edition and no correction log is open.
Credits and licence
Covers are typographic; there are no stock photographs. Newsreader and IBM Plex Mono are licensed under the SIL Open Font License. The site’s content and code are © 2026 ZINEHQ. The code is part of the edition and is transferred with it; it is not published under an open-source licence.