A risograph is a stencil duplicator that fuses the look and process of screenprinting with the convenience of an office copier.
This printing method is fun, inky, and sometimes unpredictable—full of lovely textures and unique quirks. It uses inks that come in vivid colors that other printers can’t produce. Riso provides a cheap and easy method for reproducing work in large quantities like posters, buttons, prints and zines. It’s a beautiful and versatile medium for illustrators, designers, comics artists, photographers, writers, and more!
Risograph printing is a fun and unique way to create beautiful art prints, posters, cards, zines, books, stationery, and then some.
Some of the rad things, quirks, and imperfections that make risograph printing so unique:
Textures + Halftones
Risograph printing incorporates halftones and can only print on uncoated paper—the dots and paper texture are unique to RISO!
Extra Vivid Ink Colors
RISO prints with actual ink so you can find colors that normal printers can’t create (like fluorescents)! Each ink is technically its own spot color.
Transparencies + Overlays
Unlike screenprinting ink, risograph ink is transparent, meaning you can layer colors on top of each other to make even more colors!
Misregistration
Because you print one ink at a time, it’s difficult to get each layer to line up perfectly. This is all part of a risograph’s charm!
Fast + Experimental
These machines can create a new stencil in seconds, meaning you’re able to experiment with your prints much more easily!
Environmentally Friendly
RISO ink is soy and rice oil based, and low VOC. Risographs use very little energy to run and consumables (like ink bottles) are recyclable.
Smudging + Roller Marks
Because the ink is oil based, it takes quite a while to dry. That means you’ll sometimes see smudging, transfer, and other marks on prints.
Uneven Ink Coverage
Risographs don’t print evenly across a page, so if you’re printing a big flood of solid ink you’ll see some variation from print to print.
