For the first time, all copy for Phantasm was typeset using a phototypesetter. Until this issue, editor/publisher/printer Larry Jackson paid the Graphic Fox to typeset galleys of fiction, articles, and announcements. He used a typewriter for the poetry, and handset lead type from which he pulled a proof used to paste-up the headlines. Jackson took a part-time job teaching graphic communications for Butte County Regional Occupational Program in Oroville, California. His classroom acquired the typesetting machine for training students and which he used after school to set all the copy. He reimbursed ROP for cost of supplies.

Bogg 48 of Arlington, Virginia, reviews this issue favorably but states it has "Fairly large print for the page size. A magazine that just might be attempting to cover too much ground."