A company called Printcasting is experimenting with a way to compel more advertisers and readers to print magazines with model that allows nearly anyone to be a magazine publisher.

Printcasting ("People-powered Magazines") lets would-be publishers choose articles and blog posts, insert them in a template of their choice, then print and distribute the resulting "magazine" themselves, The New York Times reports (via MediaBuyerPlanner).

Advertisers create ads on the site, then choose which magazines they will appear in; ads start at $10 an issue, but publishers can choose to charge more. Printcasting keeps 10% of ad revenue, gives 30% to the writers, and 60% to the publishers.

About 250 magazines have been created since the company launched in March. For example, a runner in Bakersfield, Caifornia, blogs about high school track teams in the area; another publisher, in Wasco, California, collects articles from local bloggers and publishes a town newsletter. Both are distributed free.

Small organizations like schools, homeowners' associations and wine clubs can make use of the service and, if the company sees a magazine that "really has potential," Printcasting will print it, place additional ads, and distribute it, says Dan Pacheco, senior manager of digital products at The Bakersfield Californian newspaper and founder of the company. Pacheco says magazines can be saved by reducing production costs.

The model offered by Printcasting has gained attention from newspapers, and the company has signed MediaNews Group as a partner. MediaNews Group envisions products like real estate newsletters that offer articles or blog posts about specific neighborhoods and include ads from local real estate agents.

Printcasting is backed by an $837,000 grant from the Knight Foundation, which is seeking digital solutions for print publications. The company has city websites for Denver and Boulder, Colorado, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to Newspapers & Technology.