About the Print Studio

Shandaken Projects' new print studio is available for use by all individuals affiliated with organizations working on Governors Island during the public season. The studio boasts many tools but is primarily focused on the Risograph—a digital reproduction technology that uses soy-based inks to make offset prints. In keeping with Governors Island's environmental stewardship goals, all studio waste is compostable.

The Risograph was invented by Noboru Hayama in 1986. Combining digital and analog processes, the "Riso" (translating to ideal in Japanese) ingests images digitally, then creates a fiber-based screen through which ink is extruded one color at a time. Prints with multiple ink colors require multiple passes through the machine. The final product is very similar to a silkscreen print, however Riso prints cannot be accurately registered—their "wabi-sabi" aesthetic has been become a beloved hallmark of the medium.

Shandaken Projects is pleased to welcome any artist or individual currently working on Governors Island to utilize the studio by appointment for free, after attending a free training led by our Printer in Residence. Trainings are offered about once per month in the public season. Invitations to attend trainings are circulated from the Trust for Governors Island directly to artists working on island. Once trained, participants receive a link to book studio time.

While working the studio, individuals are invited to use materials at cost—15 to 50 cents per print, depending on ink and paper choice. Information about how to reserve studio time is circulated at each training. Trainings will begin for the 2022 season in June.

The Shandaken Projects print studio is well equipped to create prints up to 11 x 17 inches, zines, books and booklets, and other ephemera. In addition to the Riso, the studio also features:

• A perfect binder
• A paper jogger
• A stack cutter
• An 16 x 20 inch light table
• Cutting mats up to 30 x 40 inches
• A booklet stapler
• A black and white laser printer
• An iMac with a current Adobe Suite license
• An 8 x 10 inch laminator
• House ink colors including: Black, Red, Yellow, Fluorescent Pink, Metallic Gold, Green, and Medium Blue
• Additional colors requiring a $35 set-up fee including: Light Grey, Violet, and Cornflower Blue

Shandaken is pleased to offer print studio users the opportunity to bring their own FII-type ink for use in our machine. New ink colors require a set-up fee of $50 per use. Please be in touch with Shandaken before you order ink (and at least one week before your print studio appointment) to make arrangements to change ink colors.