A Studio Visit with Perfectly Acceptable Press
We visited the studio of Perfectly Acceptable Press for a Chicago Printers Guild meetup and got a real look behind the scenes—from risograph magic to community insights.
Yesterday, my husband and I attended a Chicago Printers Guild meetup at the studio of Perfectly Acceptable Press, hosted by founder Matt Davis. His studio is located inside Mana Contemporary, an art building in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
Matt shared how he got into risograph printing, what he loves (and doesn’t love) about it—he’s wonderfully honest and funny!—and what it’s like collaborating with artists. There was a big table covered with the books he’s printed over the years, and he walked us through the behind-the-scenes stories of how they were made. Some challenges, some clever solutions, and lots of printmaking secrets!
One thing that really stood out was how openly Matt talked about being burned out—not because of technical problems, but actually because his current two-color riso printer works too smoothly, without any of the chaos or troubleshooting he used to enjoy.
It was also inspiring to hear about his role in organizing Pretty Good Fest in downtown Chicago this October. Thanks to people like him, artists like me have places to print and share and connect with others. I left feeling so grateful for this vibrant printmaker community.
We also got to reconnect with several artists we met at Chicago Publishers Fair, and the meetup had a casual, friendly vibe where people could ask Matt anything. I even got to share my Osusowake Club postcards with a new friend I met there—Emma!
