I Printed 200 Posters In A Kitchen And Survived

The plan was simple: two colours, one afternoon, two hundred posters. What actually happened took three days, used every towel in the flat and taught me more about printing than a year of reading did.

If you are about to do your first run at home, here is the version of this story I wish somebody had handed me first.

PAPER IS THE WHOLE GAME

Cheap paper drinks the ink and everything goes muddy. The jump from the cheapest stock to something slightly heavier cost about the price of a coffee per fifty sheets and made the colours twice as loud.

Buy less paper of a better kind. A short run that looks good beats a long run you are embarrassed to sell.

REGISTRATION WILL NEVER BE PERFECT

The second colour will sit a hair off the first one. Stop fighting it and design for it — a deliberate offset outline turns the wobble into the look.

• Mark the corners before the first pull
• Print all of colour one, then take a break before colour two
• Keep the worst three prints — they are your notes

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN

Already booked in. Next run is three colours on a smaller sheet, which is either an excellent idea or a very expensive Tuesday. I will report back either way.