How I made my book⑤ Printing

Before Printing

Previously, the text was decided to be printed by risograph and colour by laser. 

Risograph printing: A master film is created for one page. The master film is more costly than the ink, so the cost per copy decreases when more copies are printed. 

Laser printing: Ink is expensive, and the cost increases per copy. 

Initially, we could have printed laser at Neutral Colors for one copy, but when I decided to increase copies, time and cost came into consideration. The price reference for fifteen copies with the laser would use up all four CMYK colours, two per colour. One ink is 8,000 JPY from Amazon, which costs 64,000 JPY (406 euros) in total. It was expensive, but I wanted a high-quality print for the book, so I was fine with the price. Eventually, we could not print at Neutral Colors, since the consumer model takes up time. 

We struggled to find a printing shop because: 

• Hardly any Internet or offline printing shops can allow you to bring your own specific paper. 

• For Internet printing, the paper is folded when they deliver, and it's difficult to print risograph when the papers are folded.  

In our conversation, not using risograph was an option, but I was keen to print at Neutral Colors no matter what, so it was fine to give up on the machine-made washi paper I found. 

I’m extremely grateful that Katoh-san (extremely busy with his exhibition at Nagoya) and Nakagawa-san were finding printing solutions from midnight to 3 a.m. Ultimately, we found a printing shop that allowed me to bring my paper. In the end, for nine copies, the cost was 27,759 JPY (176 euros). Risograph printed was not calculated yet. 

I learned that for laser, the colour, speed, and ink vary greatly depending on the printer. 

Laser Printing

I was still doing imposition under Nakagawa-san’s kind guidance. 

When I saw this screen on the massive business laser printer, I was soooooo excited!!! Years of work and exploration are going into print. 

The first copy was printed! Eh? The warm colours became grey, different from the test print at Neutral Colors.

“Yellow. This image is so yellow...”

I was drowned in a yellow swamp. I was asked to check the colours of the first copy, but there was no time for adjustment. The printing slot was reserved in advance, Nakagawa-san came to assist me after work on a Friday evening, and risograph printing was in two days. It’s not just about my convenience, many people are involved. The print was distanced from the ideal colour, and yet I had to proceed.

I looked at the paper and chuckled. Yesterday, I was going to bring my massive suitcase to the paper shop, but the reality was “lots of paper” could fit in my backpack.

When we left the printing shop and said goodbye to Nakagawa-san, I headed to Ginza Line station, hugging the stack of paper. A feeling of deep discouragement crept in. I zoned out from the bustling streets; the tears streamed down my face. I walked down the stairs for the metro, but it was in the wrong direction. I went up and crossed the road, went down the stairs, and returned to the same spot. Urgh, where is the right train? 

On the train, I recalled the washi craftsman Senda-san’s words that I should document my feelings now, so I began scribbling while crying.

The quality and colours were far away from what I Imagined. I poured everything into the layout and the book. In the end, the quality is different. One after another, it’s a compilation of my failures. The printer from Neutral Colors had beautiful colours. I’m so disappointed. For the cover, I still have a chance to do something about it. But, when it’s printed, it’s over. I don't even want to see, open, or show anyone. I’m not proud of it. I was so excited. Perhaps I should’ve stopped when the first copy came out. There’s no time. The photos are blurred.

I returned home with puffy red eyes, hugging my paper and standing still like a tree bark at the door.

“What happened??” my photographer housemate asked me.

“...”

“Show me”, and he took the papers. “These are great! I'm telling you, this is quality print!”

“You're just trying to make me feel better.”

“No! I don't care about your feelings! I'm saying the truth, these are great prints.”

“... But, the colours are not right, and the images are so blurry. I think I fucked up when I converted the files.”

“This is normal! You cannot compare digital image with printed image!”

“Oh?”

The Next Morning (Saturday)
“This is too yellow” looped in my mind as I woke up, then I recalled Akiyoshi-san’s words, “This is not yellow.” By coincidence, her photograph became too yellow, which matches her iconic album “Long Yellow Road.”

I have no time for negative energy. I still have to edit my Japanese and English writing and complete what I began.

Then, I received a message that the risograph master film had run out. Maybe we cannot print on Monday.

At night, I got a message that the film will arrive from Kyoto on Monday morning. Also, I received the Japanese edits from Katoh-san of the entire book on the old layout (Thank you!) The new layout had a completely different design, so I had difficulty finding the characters or the punctuation marks. 

While fighting over crunchy peanut butter on Sunday morning, my housemate told me, “Your foreword is not polished. I feel like five people are talking to me simultaneously. If it’s not perfect, it shouldn’t go to print tomorrow. Can’t you postpone it?”

“No!!! I have to print tomorrow!!” He paused at every sentence with a baffled look. I spent hours on the English texts again and then the Japanese. 

At noon, while having soba with Long Email Lady and her husband, “Everything is your first time; it will not be perfect. Just get it done. Stop thinking about unnecessary minor things. Look at it from a broader view, where you're printing and making your book. That’s incredible! Enjoy the process!”

Time became my biggest enemy. What should I prioritise? Foreword, layout, or writing. Aren’t they all important? 

Risograph Printing - Day 1

6 am. I thought there was still time, and I checked Suzuki-san and Akiyoshi-san’s English articles and added more memories. Ah, I still haven’t changed the Japanese number font. I thought copying the edited English from Google Docs to the InDesign layout would reduce mistakes, I realised the italicised titles were gone. 

While walking to Neutral Colors, I knew rather than adding more, I should have polished what I already had.

Arrived at Neutral Colors. The master film that just arrived doesn’t work. Maybe we cannot print it today. 

(Yes!! I have more time to fix my layout!)

Twenty minutes later, we could print today. Katoh-san drove into town to fetch it. 

(Ahhh, there’s no time!)

When Katoh-san returned, I was still fixing the layout. I cannot let them wait any longer, I need to start imposition. 

(I was fully concentrated on printing that day since I didn’t want to make more mistakes. On the train back home, I realised how rude I was that I made them wait for hours, and my incapability bit me until now.)

After Imposition

We took out the white paper during laser printing to reduce the printing cost, as an empty page that goes through the printer is also counted. We covered the printed page numbers with a white square on the risograph imposition PDF layout to avoid double printing. Then, physically put the white papers back in the correct order.

There were 56 PDF pages after the A3 imposition. Laser prints in the order of one copy from pages 1~56 (both sides), and nine copies took less than 30 minutes. Whereas, risograph prints the first page for nine copies, the second page, and so on. 

That day, we printed the smooth side of the machine-made washi paper, 28 pages x 9 copies = 252 pages, which took five hours. The other side was printed the next day since the ink was not dried. 

Risograph Printing Begins!  

First, print two sheets of regular A3 paper, then place one sheet (text only) over the laser-printed washi paper (photo only) to check the orientation. 

The consequence is fatal if the orientation of the paper is wrong. All nine copies can be ruined within a few seconds. 

Then, look at the black line in the middle of the two sheets of paper to adjust the vertical and horizontal positions on the risograph printer in millimetres. Fine adjustments can be made in 0.1mm increments.

If unsure, try printing again on normal A3 paper, and repeat the same process. If minor adjustments are needed, print one sheet of washi again. If you are happy with the result, the remaining seven sheets can be printed all at once with the same setting. 

I saw my layout mistakes during printing, and they don’t come off even if I rub them. Once printed, Command Z no longer works. 

We came out from Neutral Colors at 10:30 pm. Nakagawa-san said, “Usually, several people make a book together; it’s amazing how you came this far by yourself.” Even with her warm words, the pain lingered. 

Today, we only printed half of the data, which means I can still fix half of the mistakes in my book?!

Risograph Printing - Day 2 

After fixing the data, I had to redo all the impositions myself for the first time. If I cannot succeed by 5 pm, I plan to proceed with the data from the day before.

I saved time for imposition, but an error occurred when I tried to export the A4 version. Unable to resolve this issue, I needed to head out, so I continued on the train while walking (dangerous...) Finally, I proceeded to the A3 imposition, and the error occurred again.

No explanations. What's ＾！?

I sat on the staircase outside Neutral Colors, still battling against the mysterious error. Then, Katoh-san walked out and told me it was okay to go inside. Awkward...

Finally, imposition was done. When I checked it, how come the fonts are like this...

5:15 pm
“I planned to correct the writings, but when I checked it with the files from yesterday, it didn’t match. I cannot make you wait any longer, so let’s print the data from yesterday.”

“I think you should fix it. I have time. I can do other work meanwhile.”

“Thank you!!” (Katoh-san was so generous.)

The Day After Printing

I headed to the washi shop, Paper Nao, for inspiration to fix my handmade washi cover. I visited the nearby jazz kissa Eigakan after a long time.

I came out from the toilet with dripping hands, he said to me. “There’s an air towel, but people don’t know about it”, so I returned to the toilet to use it.

“That’s self-made, more like a work of failure”, he said.

(Wow. That’s exactly how I feel right now. His words pierced through me.) “How did you make it?”

“Two vacuum motors, one hair dryer, and a light sensor.”

Then, he recommended me A City of Sadness again.

Next Chapter: Bookbinding