RISO 102 – Underground 11×17 Poster (Two Sessions)

One color is cool. Two colors is a whole different animal. Once you start layering ink on ink, introducing the skill of registering layers (or MIS-registering them!), and watching two flat colors punch a third out of nowhere, you’ll understand why RISO artists get obsessed with multi-color work.

Welcome to Underground Tabloid Edition, where we build a big, loud, two-color 11×17 poster from scratch. This is a two-week, 100% street-artist-approved deep dive into DIY poster-making, inspired by the cut-and-paste show flyers and zine ephemera of alternative culture’s golden age. Leave your laptops at home—there is no computer instruction here. Instead, we’re building your artwork the old-fashioned way: hand lettering, rubber stamps, and paper cut straight from the curated pile of vintage zines and magazines on the layout table. Over two fast-paced evening sessions, you will design, separate, and run a two-color 11×17 poster through the press, twice, to produce a limited edition of 20 prints.

The Two-Week Breakdown

Session 1: Layout & Printing Color One:

Figure out how a two-color print actually goes together. You will tackle the basics of color separation (deciding what prints in color one versus color two), map out registration marks and safe margins, and build your full-bleed 11×17 composition for the scanner bed. Then we’ll get right on the press to run the first color layer across your full edition.

Session 2: Printing Color Two & Registration.               (The Assembly):

Take over the press again. You will dial in registration by eye, run your second ink color directly on top of the first, and watch your poster snap into its final two-color form—including the happy accidents where the colors overlap. We’ll finish with a group mini-show,  so everyone goes home with a full set of peer work. You’ll leave the studio as a legit RISO printer with a stack of your own finished two-color posters and a fresh collection of prints from your classmates.

This is an IN-PERSON, 2-session workshop. Level: Adult students at all levels. Some prior risograph experience is highly recommended.

Dates & Times: Wed. 6 – 9 pm, October 7th and 14th Duration: 2 consecutive weeks (Two 3-hour sessions) 

Please choose the appropriate ticket type below. Member Benefit: Members receive a 10% discount off the cost of the workshop, among other benefits. Click here to join as a Member, then choose the Member Rate below. Studio Certification: Completion of this class qualifies you to use the RISO studio for your own independent projects during Open Studio hours. Details on Open Studio may be found here.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR This workshop is led by Steven N. Landry, who has a great love and mucho experience in both digital and analog printing, as well as print project instruction moves. He is a total print comrade who loves nothing more than caring for our storied printing machine, talking DIY, and helping students transform simple paper cutouts into awesome physical editions. 

They will be there to guide you through the quirks of the RISO duplicator with a lot of patience, tons of practical knowledge, and plenty of enthusiasm.