Prefer Not to Say is a small independant publication printed on Oberlin's very own dual drum risograph printer lovingly named "Soyboy". The magazine is duotone on pastel text weight paper.
Prefer Not to Say's title comes from drop down gender menus on forms. The goal of the magazine is to represent a wide range of nonbinary experiences, including those who may not directly identify with "nonbinary" as a label. The phrase "prefer not to say" also speaks to the invisibility that gender expansive people experience, as for many of us our identities are not publically or legally recognized. This magazine hopes to help us at least see eachother and create more awareness of the variety in our experiences.
Prefer Not to Say was inspired by The Pit, a publication by Julie SharpeRISO is a brand of japanese printer from the 80s. Originally designed for and popularized by offices, the printers are known for being extremely fast and inexpensive to operate. Riso ink also comes in a variety of colors, which can be much more vibrant than what laserjet printers can achieve. These printers eventually fell out of style due to their use of a soy based ink that never fully dries. Risograph prints, while resiliant to smudging against eachother, can still rub off on your hands long after they's printed.
Risograph printers create an image by making masters which are basically some fancy stencils that the machine pushes the ink through. Because the riso is just deciding how much material to cut out for the ink to pass through, the machine intakes all images in grayscale. Pure black tells the machine to fill that space with a 100% dense flat area of ink. A light gray however, will be interpreted as a much sparser layer of ink on the page.
Risograph ink is translucent, so when multiple colors are printed on top of eachother, you can see the other color through it, similar to the multiply layer effect on most art programs.
With that said, there are three ways you can choose to plan the files you submit to the mag.
Title your file with either Indigo or Pink in the name. I will print your image in the mag in just that color.
Files without color specifications will be printed as single color in a color of my choosing!
Title your file with Duotone in the name. I will then turn the image into a pink and indigo duotone. This can have some trippy results, and look really cool on photography. I recommend adding your email to the form if you choose this option so I can send you a preview of the image and make sure it fits your vision.
If you know what parts you want to be what color, send me two files, both greyscale and have one only include the bits you want in pink, and the other only the bits in indigo. Title each file with the same name + Indigo or Pink accordingly.
All files submitted to the mag should be in grayscale.
Monet Rosenberg (they/he) is a 2nd year studio art major at Oberlin College. He has interests in digital art, electonic literature, and game design.
If you have any questions, comments, feedback etc. Feel free to send it to prefernottosaymag@gmail.com