Welcome to our Risograph Basics course: a printing, collage, experimentation, and mark making extravaganza! Get to know Outlet and our RISO sisters (Barbara, Janet, Corita, and Tina) and learn the basics of this fun and unique print method with Kate Bingaman-Burt!

This workshop is a great place to start if you’re new to riso, or if you’d like a refresher! We’ll take a deep dive into risograph history, an overview of how these machines work, the stencil-duplicator process, and the quirks and fun (sometimes unpredictable) outcomes of riso printing. The main focus of this class is EXPERIMENTATION. We’ll share print and zine inspiration, favorite mark making tools and how to use them for riso, and we’ll walk through a print demo on two of our riso printers! This class is led by Kate Bingaman-Burt and Leland Vaughan, with the help of the rest of the crew at Outlet and our riso sisters—Barbara, Janet, Corita, and Lil’ Tina (yes we named all of our printers).

Depending on the workshop ticket tier you choose, this class culminates in making a 2-color riso print edition that is mailed to you, along with a copy of everyone else’s prints from the class!

Supplies Needed

• A laptop or similar smart device with Zoom downloaded.
• Blank paper or a sketchbook (we’ll also provide a mark making worksheet before class).
• Your favorite darker mark making tools (colors closer to black, dark blue, red, and green work best with the riso—try to stay away from yellows and other light colors).
• We encourage you to try using only analog tools for this workshop (working with your hands and getting messy is part of the fun!) but you can also use your favorite digital tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, etc.
• Not required but also fun: collage materials and cut paper to play with!

Skill Level

• Any! This a good introductory class if you’re looking to get started with riso, but we also dedicate some time to details and set aside Q&A time at the end of the workshop for more seasoned riso enthusiasts!

Workshop Fee & Ticketing

To make this workshop as accessible as possible, we're offering several tiers of participation based on what folks can afford. The ticket price is donation so please input your price at check out.

Tier 1: $15 to $44

• Access to the full online Zoom workshop.

Tier 2: $45 to $69

• Access to the full online Zoom workshop.
• All downloadable materials (including presentations, guides, swatches, and templates).

Tier 3: $70 to $100+

• Access to the full online Zoom workshop.
• All downloadable materials (including presentations, guides, swatches, and templates).
• One 2-color 8.5x11" print edition of your workshop print shipped to you! You'll have a week to finish the print, then submit it to us—we print and ship* to you! You'll receive a set of your own prints plus one of each other Tier 3 participant's prints—your own starter print collection!
• *We are not able to ship internationally at this time.

Your ticket fee helps keep our small print business afloat during these uncertain times. We can't thank you enough for supporting us!!

Next Steps:

• After you register and pay your ticket fee you'll get a confirmation email from Eventbrite.
• If you don't already have an account, sign up for and download Zoom (https://www.zoom.us/) and make sure you're able to log on. If you've never used Zoom before you can find tutorials here.
• After registering for the workshop you'll get access to our online event page, which has info about accessing the Zoom room on the day of the workshop.
• Click the online event page link a little before 10am PST (UTC-8) to give us time to check you in and then we'll get started!

About the Space & Instructor:

Outlet is a risograph print shop, community maker space, and the studio of Kate Bingaman-Burt. We host workshops, pop-up events, and other projects and offer an array of services from printing, button making, binding, and more! We're also the home of a zine library and tons of art supplies, making tools, and collage materials. When not socially distancing we also rent our space and offer in-person open hours when folks can print, make buttons, and hang out. Outlet is based out of Portland, Oregon and was founded in 2017.

This workshop is lead by illustrator and educator Kate Bingaman-Burt and Outlet's studio manager Leland Vaughan.

Kate mostly draws, letters, documents, and collects, but she also does a lot of other things that involve energy, conversation, and exchange. As a critical component of her creative practice, Kate is a full-time educator and makes illustrations for all sorts of clients all around the world. She is a Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University. Kate owns Outlet which hosts workshops, pop-up events and a risograph print studio. She also sits on the board of Design Portland and has been scheming with them since 2012.