Who the heck is Radix Media?
Radix Media is a publishing operation and offset community print shop. We are dedicated to producing and disseminating radical literature and beautiful propaganda. This includes but is not limited to zines, pamphlets, books, posters, and postcards. We are also a design studio, allowing us more creative freedom in producing our own work and more skill and flexibility in producing yours.
Where, how and why did Radix Media form?
Radix Media officially came into being in 2010, though we had operated on a sporadic, unofficial basis before that. Since our inception, we have been based in Portland, Oregon amidst a vibrant independent publishing and artist community. Our initial focus was on activism; many activists organizing workshops, book tours, action camps, demonstrations and other events often didn’t have the time or resources to design elegant flyers and posters promoting their events effectively and in an attractive manner. It can be extremely difficult to communicate a message or get people out to an event if it’s not presented in a way that looks good, that’s why we decided to offer our design skills to friends that were putting on these events. Everyone was happy – they had more time to handle the nuts and bolts of organizing and networking, and we got to sit in front of a computer for hours on end, listening to Bruce Springsteen or Godspeed You! Black Emperor and pushing letters around for hours on end. That tradition continues, even now.
But isn’t print dead? I read everything on my iPad!
No, print isn’t dead. To be fair, the commercial print industry certainly is collapsing in on itself. Many companies are millions of dollars in the hole with terribly expensive equipment gathering dust on their shop floor. The economy being what it is, especially in this digital era, most of their corporate clients aren’t as willing to drop thousands of dollars on full-color glossy annual reports when they could just as easily circulate a PDF. Even paper retailers are converting their price lists to digital formats (think about that one for a second). But like most industries, small printers and publishers thrive in the shadows of corporations. The machines they throw away because they want something newer, we take and fix up. The clients they reject become our best friends. They spend tons of money and time chasing the 4-color process while we drool over tasteful spot colors. We have lots of friends in print shops that seem to be doing just fine.
Print is changing, yes, but it’s not dead. Our audience is not the corporate executive or the chain grocery store, it’s not the Hollywood celebrity or the newest hotshot writer. We strive to prioritize the work of the next generation of subversive voices, and those of typically marginalized communities. It may be hard to believe, but not everyone has the money to buy an iPad or a Kindle. Even harder to believe is that not everyone has a smartphone or internet access at all. Without a doubt, printed material is by far the best way to reach people. And, of course, you can take printed material anywhere, whether it’s on an airplane or a bus or into the forest or the bathroom. There’s also something real significant about having keepsakes to pass down to generation after generation, rather than settling for an overwhelming amount of disposable “news” and other media.
Ok, fine. But why should I give you money to print things for me? There’s a Kinkos down the block from me!
If you’re an independent, do-it-yourself activist, living below the poverty line and working a service industry job during the day to fund your subversive artistry, do you really want to give money to a huge corporation like Kinkos? Think about it honestly, for a second. We’ll wait….
Okay, so maybe that was a cheap shot. Sorry. But consider this: the average zine printed by independent publishers is around 24 pages, and they usually do a run (often a dozen or so at a time) of 250-500. It costs about 9 cents per page to do it at Kinkos, and the quality is subpar. At the price Radix offers, it costs about 4 cents per page – less than HALF of what that corporation will charge you – and the finished product looks a hundred times better. This price, of course, also includes collating, folding, stapling, and trimming.
And anyway, a recent trip to Kinkos shows us that their new space-age photocopiers are designed to give you the fewest options possible, so more of the work must be done by their own workers behind the counter. They even charge for colored paper now. Yikes! When we spend money on things, we prefer to do it at smaller, local stores, thus stimulating our own local economy. It helps the small folks stay afloat while the big guys are getting bailouts. We hope you’ll do the same!
You make a convincing case. I want you to print EVERYTHING FOR ME NOW. Can I send you my proposal? Can you print my business cards? How about…
We would love to talk to you about your projects! We are not currently accepting unsolicited proposals / manuscripts, but keep checking this page often, as that may change in the near future. If you are inquiring about a print job or looking to purchase something we’ve already printed, please e-mail us at printing@radixmedia.org. We can’t wait to hear from you!
