RunMags journal
How to Plan a Magazine Flatplan: From Template to Software
A magazine flatplan is a page-by-page map of an issue that shows where every editorial page and every ad will run. To plan one, set the page count and sections, agree the ad-to-editorial ratio, place the booked ads by size, track late artwork and hand the approved plan to the printer. Then copy the structure to the next issue.
For a single issue, a free magazine flatplan template is enough. Magazine flatplan software earns its place when ads and editorial change every day and the plan has to match what sales has actually sold. The steps below work with either.
1. Set the page count and sections
Start with the size of the issue. Page counts go up in fours, because one sheet folded in half makes four pages, and printers often fold larger sheets into sections of 8, 16 or 32 pages. Ask your printer which counts suit the press before you settle on a number, rather than assuming two pages can be added late.
Then divide the pages into sections, such as the front of the book, the features and the back of the book. Mark the fixed positions: the covers, the contents page, the editor's letter and premium ad positions such as the inside front cover and the back cover.
2. Agree the ad-to-editorial ratio
The ad-to-editorial ratio compares the pages that carry advertising with the pages that carry editorial. A 32-page issue with nine ad pages, one house ad and 22 editorial pages is about 29 : 71 ad to editorial. Agree a target for each title with the publisher, because the ratio affects both revenue and how the issue reads.
Check the ratio every time the page count or the number of sold ads changes. If sales has sold more than the plan allows, decide whether to add a section the printer can run, move an ad to the next issue or cut editorial. Someone should choose the ratio; it should not simply drift.
3. Place the booked ads by size
Place what is already promised first: ads sold for a fixed position, a right-hand page or a particular section. Then fit the remaining ads by size, keep them next to short sections so they do not split a feature, and check that competing advertisers do not face each other. Keep any space you are holding for an advertiser visibly separate from signed bookings, so a held slot is never counted as sold.
When the flatplan is built from booked orders
In RunMags magazine flatplan software, the flatplan is built from booked advertising orders. Signed orders for the issue appear in a list of unplaced ads, grouped by ad size, with the artwork thumbnail, customer, contract number and account manager. Someone on your team drags each ad into a space of the matching size, and can move it later or send it back to the list. RunMags does not place ads on pages automatically, and it has no held space separate from confirmed placements.
4. Plan for late artwork
Every ad needs final artwork before the issue goes to the printer, and some of it will arrive late. Set a material deadline counted back from the print date; the magazine production schedule template works out every deadline from that date. Then show the status of each ad on the plan, so a placed ad is not mistaken for one whose file is ready.
In RunMags, every ad on the flatplan shows where it stands: contract signed, reminders sent, artwork received or placement complete. Your team can send artwork reminders, with the deadline, to every advertiser in the issue who has not delivered yet. RunMags does not preflight artwork files or route proofs to advertisers for approval, so keep your current checks for file quality and proof sign-off.
5. Control late changes
When a story grows, an ad moves or the page count changes, review the neighbouring pages, the reader flow and any promised positions. Give one person authority to approve changes to the plan, and tell sales and editorial when the current version changes. Keep a dated copy of each approved version. In RunMags, print the flatplan to PDF for that record, because RunMags does not keep a version history of the flatplan.
6. Copy the structure to the next issue
Most of an issue's structure repeats: the covers, the regular sections and the fixed ad positions. Start the next issue from that structure instead of a blank sheet, then adjust the page count and the features. In RunMags, each new issue starts from the publication's default page count, and you can copy a page structure that works to other issues, then place that issue's own booked ads.
7. Hand the plan to the printer
Before files go to press, confirm the final page count with the printer, check that every page has final content and compare the plan with the issue PDF page by page. The plan is also the quickest way for the printer and your designer to check the page order.
In RunMags, print the flatplan to PDF in tabloid or A3 format, download all ad artwork for the issue, sorted by advertiser, and all editorial files, sorted by page, as zip files, and upload the finished issue PDF to check each page against the plan. RunMags does not send files to your printer directly. To see where this step sits in the whole issue cycle, read planning the flatplan and production schedule in the guide to publishing a magazine.
Flatplan template or flatplan software?
A template or spreadsheet works for one person planning a stable issue. It starts to break when ads and editorial move every day: each change has to be made in the sheet and again in the orders, and versions multiply in different inboxes. Flatplan software keeps one shared plan. The most useful kind is connected to the ad orders, so the plan shows what sales has actually sold.
Digital flatplan software plans digital editions whose pages and ads are not tied to the print layout. RunMags has a separate digital flatplan for this, with fewer options than the print flatplan, and it does not connect to digital edition platforms.
Test any tool with a realistic issue: change the page count, sell a premium position, bring in late artwork and compare the final plan with the printed output. Choose the tool that handles those handoffs reliably, not the one with the smoothest drag-and-drop demo.
Flatplan checklist
- Page count confirmed with the printer.
- Sections and fixed positions marked, including covers and premium ad positions.
- Ad-to-editorial ratio checked against the title's target.
- Every booked ad placed at its sold size and position, with held space marked separately.
- Missing artwork listed with an owner and a deadline.
- Approved version dated and shared with sales, editorial and production.
- Final plan checked page by page against the issue PDF before files go to the printer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a magazine flatplan?
A magazine flatplan is a page-by-page map of an issue, laid out as spreads, that shows where editorial content and advertising will appear. Sales, editorial and production use it to check the page budget, sold ad positions and gaps before the issue goes to print.
Does RunMags place ads on the flatplan automatically?
No. Signed advertising orders for the issue appear in a list of unplaced ads, grouped by ad size. Someone on your team drags each ad into a space of the matching size, and can move it later or send it back to the list.
How many pages should a magazine issue have?
Use a multiple of four, because one sheet folded in half makes four pages. Printers often fold larger sheets into sections of 8, 16 or 32 pages, so ask yours which page counts suit the press before you fix the size of the issue.
Is there a free magazine flatplan template?
Yes. The RunMags magazine flatplan template lets you set the page count, mark each page as editorial, ad, house ad or blank, and see the ad-to-editorial ratio. Print it, or download it as a CSV file that opens in Excel. No sign-up is needed.
Related publishing guides
For questions about the customer behind a placed ad, magazine CRM connected to the flatplan brings the advertiser contacts and contract into the same connected record.
