*こちらの記事は英語版のJAMの紹介になります。
Who We Are and What We do
JAM is a printing company specializing in stencil printing, located in Osaka, Japan. On the concept of “Playing is Fun,” we run two departments: RETRO INSATSU Department, the Risograph printing service (digital stencil printing machine), and Screen Printing Department, where we offer SURIMACCA, our originally developed screen printing products and Open Access Studios.
Come find us on Twitter(@retro_JAM), Instagram(@retroinsatsujam), and Facebook(@retroinsatsujam)!
RETRO INSATSU
For RETRO INSATSU, we print 7 days a week. JAM offers print service to a wide variety of individuals and organizations. International shipping is not available right now, but we are working on it to make it happen! Stay tuned!
Now, I’m going show you around our Riso Studio!
This is an overview of what we do in our studio.
Once JAM receives your order, the first thing we do is to check your submitted file. We look into the file and make sure that everything is good and ready to be printed. If anything is off, don’t worry, we will contact you and make the correction together! You can also submit your artwork on paper by mail.
As soon as the file is set, we PRINT! There are many tips and tricks that we use while printing, to make your prints as beautiful as possible.
We have a large selection of inks and paper for your print. Currently in 2021, we have 35 colors of inks (including 1 limited-offer ink) available. The paper is also very unique and various. You can choose from light to heavy weight, white to colored, and smooth to rough texture. We are very passionate about our paper selection and our staff often go out to hunt for new, attractive paper for RETRO INSATSU.
After printing is done, we cut them into the size you ordered and bind them (if you ordered so) . We have a number of printing and binding options available at JAM. Even though we use machines to process, we always have to manually operate them one by one, because every print comes out differently. Our Riso prints are very much handmade.
Finally, we double check if everything is in the way you asked for, then pack them nicely with recycled paper to ship out!
Screen Printing and SURIMACCA
Next up let’s take a look at our store in Osaka.
Our Screen Printing Department runs a store with an open access studio, where you can enjoy screen printing using our original product, SURIMACCA.
Our store is open 7days a week from 10:30AM to 6:30PM and is open throughout the year except for New Year’s holiday.
Our aim is to make printing accessible and affordable for everyone!
We run a studio and a variety of workshops to share the fun of printing, also a gallery to create opportunities for those who want to exhibit their work.
This is a full line up of the things you can do at our Osaka store::
・Screen print – Print your own T-shirts, bags or posters. Get messy and creative!
・Join workshops – There is the “Quick Workshop” which is perfect for first-timers. If your artwork is ready, it only takes 30 mins! Also we have the “MONTHLY WORKSHOP” where we offer a different program each month.
・Order screens to take home – It’s a quick turnaround!
・Print with electrolytic marking – Etch your designs on stainless steel.
・Order RETRO INSATSU prints – You can submit digital files or hardcopies. If it’s on light-weight paper and up to 2 colors, we can print them for you in an hour!
・Make your own button badges and spiral ring notebooks – Available from a minimum of one.
・Shop our screen printing goods, inks and materials – A wide range of printable materials are available. You can just bring yourself and print right away!
・Visit the gallery space – Holding various exhibitions throughout the year.
・Browse the JAM OKI spot – Take home your favorite ones as print samples.
SURIMACCA, meaning “Let’s print” in Osaka dialect, is JAM’s original screen printing frame kit, that can be pieced together like toy blocks to create the size you need. The SURIMACCA set comes with all the things you need to build the frame and a squeegee to print with.
We always check whether it’s your first visit when you come to print. If so, we will show you how to build the frame and stretch the screen, and share tips for you to print. Our screens are made by a digital screen maker, where screens are made directly from digital files. No need of photo-emulsion or exposure units, so it’s really easy, affordable and super super quick!
Our staff will always be on site to give you advice and guidance so don’t worry if you’ve never printed before!
In fact most of our customers tell us it’s their first time, but they end up with successful results at the end of the day. We also have a 1 year open access membership called “SURUME” for only 3,300 JPY. If you become a “SURUME”, you can come in every day to print for free!!
If our English-speaking staff is at the store, we can assist you in English. (Not all our staff speak English so if you want an English guidance, please let us know before you visit our store or email us!)
At the store, we have a variety of materials that you can print on with SURIMACCA.
We have wearables such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, and socks, many kinds of bags, pouches, handkerchiefs, paper and so on. You can just bring yourself to the store, and we’ve got everything you need.
We sell zines, postcards, and stationaries that people printed with our RETRO INSATSU or SURIMACCA, and books about printing and design. They are also available on our online store.
There is a JAM OKI spot in our store where we keep flyers and cards that customers have ordered with RETRO INSATSU. If the customers would like to have their prints displayed in this section, we put a couple of them here so that anyone who visits the store can take them home for free. All kinds of flyers from all over Japan gather here. We have an Instagram account (@jam_oki) for this where we scan and post them, so please check it out if you’re interested!
Other than screen printing, at the store we have facilities for Electrolytic Marking, button badges and ring notebooks.
Currently, most of our services are only available domestically, except our Online JAM Tour in English.
The good news is that we are working on making our services available for people overseas! So, please stay tuned while we get ready for it. You can find our latest updates from this website, or from our social media accounts. Come find us on Twitter(@retro_JAM), Instagram(@retroinsatsujam), and Facebook(@retroinsatsujam)!
We are very excited to see you at the store or at our events!