Design a poster from a photo you already have
A poster is for the people who walk past it. Start from a photo, give it the look of a risograph print (a few bright inks, visible dots, colours a little out of line), then add the title, the date and the place.
One poster, from a photo to the wall.
The Skate Jam poster, made in the studio as you see it here. The buttons are easy; these are the five small decisions that make it look finished.
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The skater is small and the concrete fills most of the frame. That empty ground is where the words will go, so the picture and the type never fight.
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A3, upright. The photo goes to the top and runs to the edges; the bottom third stays paper. Once the ground is decided, every word after it has a place to stand.
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The title is six times the size of anything else, and its blue is the print's own blue plate, so the type looks as if it came off the same drum.
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The details are set in two sizes and no more. The badge is the only thing on the sheet at an angle: one tilt reads as a decision, three read as a mess.
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A warm stock with a little grain. White paper makes a print look like a screen; paper with a tone makes the inks look like ink.
From a flyer to a wall.
The A sizes, or any size from 30 to 600 millimetres a side, upright or lying down.
- Flyer
- Small poster
- Poster
- Large poster
Common questions
- Is the poster maker free?
- Yes. The whole studio is free: every look, font and size. A free account exports a 1-megapixel picture with a small retro-print.com mark. Plus and Pro export the full size, with no mark.
- Can I take it to a print shop?
- Yes. Plus and Pro export a PDF at 300 dpi, in RGB or in CMYK for a press, with bleed and crop marks when the shop asks for them.
- Is it a real risograph print?
- No. It is a picture made the way a risograph prints: the photo split into a few inks, each screened into dots and laid down slightly out of place. Any printer can print it. The guide is about the real machine.
- What sizes can I make?
- A5, A4, A3 and A2, or any size from 30 to 600 millimetres a side, upright or lying down.
- Can I use the poster for my shop or my event?
- Yes. The photos you upload stay yours, and so do the prints you make, commercial use included.
Posters, and prints for a wall.
Each one started as an ordinary photo. Some carry words for an evening or a shop; some carry none and are simply a print to frame.
A café
A3, for the window by the door.
New Year
A3, for the noticeboard on the pier.
A paddle club
A3, for the boathouse wall.
Mt Fuji
No words at all: a print to frame.
Parrot
No words at all: a print to frame.
Church of St. Primus
No words at all: a print to frame.
Old Hong Kong
No words at all: a print to frame.
Bradley Beach
No words at all: a print to frame.
Think of the wall it goes on. Then begin.
There's no rush. It's free to start, and the photos and the prints stay yours.
Also: the card maker · what a risograph print is · the pattern book