Mechanized Mules of Victory

The Paul Rand work I mentioned earlier was the brochure titled Mechanized Mules of Victory which dates from 1942. It was printed using just black and yellow ink. There's more on that publication via this link.

Anyway, the Northern Quarter's brilliant Marc The Printers shop has a risograph printer that's available and I wondered about its potential to produce two colour work with a similar feel. There are some limitations (for example, it doesn't produce blocks of colour - specifically black - very well) but its halftones and very unglossy look bears some relation to some of the material that has been inspiring me of late.

Here's the information that they supply on the service:

"If you wish to do printing for a community group, charity or other voluntary sector organisation, you can book one of our Risograph machines and print it yourself. (DIY printing). This avoids all the charges for staff labour and makes printing very inexpensive. Professional help is always on hand to lead you through the printing process.

You can also use our finishing equipment to produce booklets, guillotine paper and card, or fold your finished printing.

Risograph printers are the modern equivalent of the old duplicators. Today they are clean, easy to use and produce a much better quality finished product. They use soya-based inks and we have a very wide range of recycled paper and card. This is ethical printing at its best.

You must book DIY printing in advance, in person or by phone (not by email or fax!) - it is only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and to bone fide voluntary and community groups. Full colour printing cannot be done as DIY."