👾 WHAT IS ULTRA MEGA? 👾
For a print studio, it's kind of a lot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
>👾 Custom screen printing and Risograph services❗
>👾 Live screen printing demonstrations❗
>👾 An open studio for artists to use together❗
>👾 Event planning (check out @liczfest )❗
In 2025, we had a BUNCH of goals and we smashed through most of them. Here's a list of the stuff we wanna do AND keep doing:
>👾 Screen print gig posters and band shirts❗
>👾 Offer in-depth Risograph workshops❗
>👾 Organize screenings of cool indie films❗
>👾 Get a vending machine and stock local artists❗
>👾 Help Lansing self-publish their comics and zines❗
>👾 Paint a building BRIGHT yellow (this'll take a while)❗
Thanks for having loads of fun with us this year. :) While Ultra Mega is technically run by one person, it wouldn't be possible without the absolutely insane amount of support it's gotten to get things up and running. These days, every week is an exciting new project, and I'm convinced it's only gonna get cooler from here.
Get ready for a lot more fun! Don't be a stranger. 👾
Very pleased to be hosting another venue for @stoopfest 😎
We're gonna be going alllll Saturday. But tickets are close to selling out! So get yours NOW, and see you then!!
Sometimes you get to be your own client (▰˘◡˘▰)
Made ~40 or so shirts for volunteers and attendees who wanna snag one. $20 each at the LICZ! welcome table this Saturday! Snag one fast if you want one! I probably should have printed more 😅
If you've done work with me, you know I'm always pushing tie-dye options. Sooo glad to finally get the chance to print on some again! Maybe this one convinces a few of you to hop on the train with me 👀
For the fellow printers: this one's a three color water-based print with hand-mixed Green Galaxy inks on a tie-dyed Gildan tee.
👾👾👾
#screenprinting #lansing #michigan #tshirts
Our SECOND flyer design from local artist and LICZ! exhibitor @chris.mattei_ !
Listen, I'm gonna break out of the semi-professional voice for a second. I'm in love with these things. Oh my god. I asked Chris to draw some thumbnail designs for a poster, and his sketches blew me away. We went with three designs, because I couldn't choose. And the final prints are just nuts!
I am a big fan of comics artists in general. Getting to work with an artist like Chris for a project like LICZ! feels like, I don't know, something that is totally unreal! He's going to think I'm exaggerating, but I am not. It is dreamlike for me. I tear up if I look at them for too long. And I think that they lend a lot of legitimacy to LICZ!, which I am grateful for.
If you're a fan as well.. good news! Chris will be featured front and center at LICZ! this year, and will have a number of copies for sale! These are Risograph printed locally at Ultra Mega, from the same run that you may have seen hung up around town.
Stay tuned for the alt color variant of this design, our third flyer for this year's LICZ! Okay, back to being semi-professional.
Jimmy "Soup" Coyer
LICZ! Organizer
(Whoops! Looks like Insta ate our original pinned post?! Here it is again!)
LICZ! is BACK! 💥
The Lansing Independent Comics and Zine Fest is a FREE-TO-ATTEND one-day celebration of all kinds of printed matter--hosting over 50+ self-published creators with paper, staplers, and moxie!
Drop by Grewal Hall on Saturday, April 18th from 11:00am – 5:00pm to browse a variety of works ranging from poetry to photography, how-to’s to cartoons, auto-bio to horror, and more! Then grab a drink and read your new zines on the Grewal mezzanine, or hang out and meet other fans of comics and zines!
We’re so excited to host this event again, especially in a venue as cool as Grewal. It’s gonna be a blast! Looking forward to seeing you there. :)
Poster art designed and Risograph printed by @chris.mattei_ ❗
New shirts for @fifthstringfood ‼️
Love getting to work with folks that I know, and doubly for folks that make seriously good food. I need to catch 'em when they're at @thegreendoorlive more often.
March has been busy! Lots of print orders (both screen printing AND Riso!) and of course I've been working on @liczfest . I've got a lot in the backlog for the ol' social media pipeline, so hopefully I'll get to share more with you soon! In all likelihood, that'll be after LICZ! is over.
I'm getting lots of folks on recommendation, so thanks for talking about me with your homies, and thanks for keeping me busy!
Whoops! A little late on this one! 😅👾
Here's what to know before dropping by:
👾 You don't need to know anything about Risograph printing! In fact, seeing it firsthand is the best way to get a feel for it!
👾 Riso can be cheap, but printing still costs money. Expect to pay for materials so we can keep open studio running!
👾 Paper selection is important! Our machine can handle printing images up to 8.25" x 14" (about legal size) and requires UNCOATED paper. We have some cheap stuff on hand for you to experiment with!
👾 I'm actually just one guy! While education is my goal, it'll be impossible for me to walk everyone through all their projects step by step. Be open to experimenting and shove perfection out the door!
👾 Ultra Mega is home studio, operated out of my living room. If you don't know the address, please DM here or ask a friend who does!
Did I miss anything? Shoot me a message with any questions you have! Looking forward to seeing what you guys make. :^)
Heard there's some new @magnolia_ave_farm shirts floating around...❗
Sources say there's a variety of colors and styles... All thrifted shirts and sweaters. And screen printed by hand with soft and breathable water-based ink?!
But that's just a rumor.
Folks in the know MIGHT be able to rifle through all forty of 'em at tomorrow's @allenfarmersmarket . But that's IF you get there quick.
J-cards, business cards, tape labels, and CD inserts for TOAD-EATER‼️
Was really stunned to see these come out. Everything just worked. Great designs that account for the tendency of Riso to misregister prints, and excellent color matching between the green (cornflower blue + yellow!) ink and green cassette.
These are SO cool. I'm going to be shoving them in the faces of everyone interested in printing here in the studio for a long time to come. ✌️
Sweatshirts for @brewittcafe ‼️
Erin is amazing.
I needed a bit more time than either of us anticipated to figure out printing on polyester blends. My water-based ink didn't like to stick to these sweaters, so it took a lot of experimenting (with some tips from @altprintingco !) to get it right.
She was incredibly, incredibly patient while I worked out the kinks. It's a huge boon to work with folks like Erin, who give me the opportunity to try new kinds of projects (and expand what Ultra Mega can do!) when there are unknowns at play.
Also, @brewittcafe is straight up some of the best food you can get in Lansing. The rotating menu is always a hit, and the classics are reliable and sooooo good. Super thankful to be in the same neighborhood. Always try to snag one of their baked goods when they're available!
P.S. 📸
My phone camera is a little broken, so parts of my pics always turn out a bit blurry / out for focus. That's bad news for promoting a visual medium!
Getting another phone isn't in the cards, so let me know if you have other camera recommendations. Got some really cool projects coming up, and wanna do them justice in the photos!
Thanks guys. ✨
600 of these bad boys printed 👾
A while back, @cadlibrary reached with a huuuuge order for a small studio: 600 tote bags, single color print, with a very fun design drawn by one of their in-house staff.
It took hours and hours and hours. And it was the greatest opportunity UM has had to date.
When you do the same thing 600 times in a row, your regular processes break down. Some tools wear faster then you expect, and you notice just how slow your normal routine is when stacked up. Stuff you might not catch only doing print runs of 10-25. A great chance for a hard look at how to make jobs quite a bit easier in the future.
A big print run like this is the # 1 way that you can support Ultra Mega. This particular job got us materials for our Open Print days, along with some new tools for screen printing. Future jobs will help expand our Riso colors, put on more events that connect artists in Lansing, and maybe (one day!) move out of my living room.
We're in a great spot right now, having a lot of fun, getting to work with great artists. Excited to keep on doing it! 👾
Next round of Risograph open studios! 👾
Here's what to know before dropping by:
👾 You don't need to know anything about Risograph printing! In fact, seeing it firsthand is the best way to get a feel for it!
👾 Riso can be cheap, but printing still costs money. Expect to pay for materials so we can keep open studio running!
👾 Paper selection is important! Our machine can handle printing images up to 8.25" x 14" (about legal size) and requires UNCOATED paper. We have some cheap stuff on hand for you to experiment with!
👾 I'm actually just one guy! While education is my goal, it'll be impossible for me to walk everyone through all their projects step by step. Be open to experimenting and shove perfection out the door!
👾 Ultra Mega is a home studio, operated out of my living room. If you don't know the address, please DM here or ask a friend who does!
Did I miss anything? Shoot me a message with any questions you have! Looking forward to seeing what you guys make. :^)
