As Summer 2011 slowly moves towards its end, the air starts to feel a bit more crisp these days. The dry heat of the afternoons seamlessly melds with the chilly evenings. And we can’t really complain about the weather too much. Our days have been filled with short-shorts, bike rides, coconut juice, garden vegetables and big dreams.
Unfortunately, they haven’t been filled with much printing.
The printing press we do all of our work on, an AB Dick 9850, is currently down and as of this writing has been down for several weeks as we wait for a crucial part to arrive in the mail. This has affected the completion of our Kickstarter rewards that our wonderful backers have patiently waited for since December. It has also put an indefinite hold on future projects, the list of which gets longer and longer by the day. And of course, we haven’t felt too good about building relationships within our community and soliciting work, when we’re not sure if the press will even be running on a given day.
August 12, 2011 marked the one year anniversary of Radix Media’s official operation. On that day in 2010, we began reprinting issue number one of When Language Runs Dry, a zine for people with chronic pain / illness and their allies. Though that was the beginning, it was by no means the end. Since then we’ve printed hundreds of copies of other zines, as well as hundred of flyers, business cards, postcards, and record inserts. We’ve published three titles, one of which was a co-publishing effort with our friends at Eberhardt Press, a shop that inspires us and keeps us moving forward. We’ve built the beginnings of potentially long term friendships with other incredible shops, including Stumptown Printers and Red Sun Press. Over the past year, we’ve learned a lot, we’ve grown as designers and printers and have clarified in our minds the future of Radix Media, both as a radical print shop and a publishing operation for typically marginalized people. The thing we need now, is equipment.
Our Kickstarter campaign was successful, which was a wonderful and pleasant surprise. You’d be surprised how fast that money goes, though. One upgraded two-color press that breaks every other day, one bookletmaker that now sort of staples things all by itself (watch those hands!), and one terrifying guillotine paper cutter from 1905 later, we’ve realized that we need to take the next step to equipment that will be more reliable and ensure the highest quality possible for our clients and our own published works.
So we’re asking our community for support!
If you have the means, please consider investing in Radix Media with a personal loan. Even small loans of $300+ are helpful. We are happy to pay reasonable interest rates on small personal loans and we are willing to negotiate terms that suit your needs. Our business plan is currently nearing completion – once it’s finished, we will be more than willing to show it to potential lenders.
And if you don’t have the means to loan money but you need your business cards, stationery, band posters, zine or whatever else printed, please consider choosing Radix Media. We are vegan owned and operated, and firmly placed in Portland’s radical community. We are actively struggling for a world free of oppression and exploitation and love the printed word so dearly, that we will go to our graves with ink in our veins. Though the Internet has given the world of printing and publishing quite a scare, we are confident that it will persevere.
Please send an e-mail to info@radixmedia.org if you would like to discuss making a loan.
Thank you, friends. We appreciate your support!
For revolution,
Radix Media