Screentone TV

putthison:

“Because, 1st. Good penmanship of itself adds greatly to our happiness. The consciousness to the lady or gentleman of being able to write a letter that shall win the admiration and praise of the friend to whom it is written is a source of unspeakable pleasure to the writer, and to possess this ability throughout our lifetime is to be proficient in an accomplishment which adds to our happiness, as does excellence in oratory, painting or music. Good writing is a fine art, and that is to the eye what good language is to the ear.

“2nd. Good writing is of great benefit to us pecuniarily. The person who may apply for a situation as teacher, clerk, or any position where intellectual ability is required, finds a beautifully written letter the best recommendation that can be sent when applying for that position. Hundreds of instances are on record, many doubtless within the knowledge of the reader, where lucrative situations have been obtained through good penmanship, that could never have been secured had the applicant not had a good handwriting.

“And, 3rd. A mastery of the art of writing is of great service to us intellectually. Persons who can write well, taking pleasure in the practice, will write more than they otherwise would. Every time they write a word they spell it, and thus improve in spelling. Every time a sentence is written, an application is made of grammar; and thus knowledge is obtained of how to speak correctly. The subject they write about, they become familiar with; and thus, in the act of writing, they are intellectually improved. The most intelligent and influential in any community are those who can express thought most easily and correctly on paper.”

- Thomas E. Hill, Hill’s Manual of Social and Business Forms: A Guide to Correct Writing with Approved Methods in Speaking and Acting in the Various Relations of Life, pub 1888.

putthison:

This month I released a new project: the Risograph Color Sciences Multipack. It’s a set of test charts which I use to figure out multicolor risograph prints and books. Instead of printing a few tiny charts like I usually do, I made a bunch of clear, big prints to share with others. I also wrote a little booklet explaining how and why I do this. Finally, I included a couple of sample prints. I’ll be expanding the booklet and adding new prints in the future.

What I usually do is I print a small batch of test prints, and I design them fresh on-the-fly, and I try to do it as cheaply as possible. I designed the Multipack so that next time, when I’m trying out new inks or a new way to do things, I can print my tests in this format, which costs me a little more money, but I’ll hope that I’ll make my costs back when I make it available on the store. I’ll let you know on this blog when I’m doing something new.

It’s all kinda hard to explain but I hope that some of you know what I’m generally talking about, and I hope the booklet will make my process clear. But I’ll be expanding that, too - so if you have any questions, please email me (or “ask” me on Tumblr) and I’ll see if I can help, or at least I’ll try to explain it better next time.

I am a printing nerd who loves trying new things and honing my process to create cool, beautiful, and yes efficient color possibilities.

Before every color risograph book I publish, I make small test prints to make sure the machine will do what I want it to do. Or at least to give me an idea of what’s coming. I make these little tests in small quantities and at small sizes. They’re really helpful for me!

I always want to share them but they’re usually too small, or they include little mistakes that are okay for me to deal with, but a little tricky to explain for others.

Okay! So this time I made a really great little set of these prints, at a nice size, in several colors, and with different techniques! This is the Riso Color Sciences Multipack!

The RCS Multipack contains three similar (but subtly different!) screentone dot combinations, one big graph of Copic markers separated into faux-CMYK channels, and a couple example prints! I also printed a booklet explaining how I make them and why I approach risograph color this way.

You can buy this little booklet for $12. That’s four cards, two sample prints, and the booklet. I will expand this set in the future because… I’m always compelled to try weird things! I want to make new test prints using different methods. So when I do that, I will offer them for sale on the store, and you can expand your Multipack.

What’s the point of this?
1. To share information with risograph printers or people interested in how this process books.
2. To make some beautiful little cards. They’re nice looking!
3. To encourage other people to learn from my little process, and figure out their own ways to print, or at least feel like risograph printing isn’t so inaccessible. Please let me know if you make similar things like this!

Oh yeah, also! I am including Zine Field Supplement #2 with every Multipack. It’s my zine about zines and has some reviews of cool zines and an interview with Russian cartoonist Nika Vodvud.

I hope you’re interested in this little project! You can see more pictures at my store. I’ll post more about the contents soon…. stay tuned. Oh yeah follow my Instagram for a bunch of pics too. PEACE!