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s s e c o r P s s r c e e i o P r k r r i e kir u A AQuiQ
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table of contents
THE risograph risograph IS A stencil stencil
DUPLICATOR DUPLICATOR DUPLICATOR DUPLICATOR DUPLICATOR DUPLICATOR
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duplitac ing since the mid-1980s
4 Riso brand digital duplicators were invented by the Riso Kagaku Corporation in the mid-1980s in Tokyo, Japan. A digital duplicator is essentially a modern-day mimeograph machine or stencil printer. The Riso internally creates a stencil that is laid onto a drum filled with ink which then spins at high speed, forcing the ink through the stencil onto the paper. This process creates a unique textured print that cannot be replicated.
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(at the same time)
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Riso is and is an
easier y a w is r a to o r p duc e heirow n rk
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is ideal o f r prints posters & zines
the riso
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it r p i n t s onta ea o ctimo le r
Spot C o Spot lor Col
12 Riso printing is elu xc siev ly s theer is pot co no opti lor base o n to print the ecr at d. Unliek d in standd iev pos igital printi r a sibiliti ink colors ng, printing, a o es with liek CMYK. This me f u-co r lor art o c s n a o l r ear endle print wil er unique i ss. Si quier 4 nk stencils milar to i s a m ( d n t i e i v print o dual inks s r ) ecr ated secr en pr duct and 4 . Coearmp d o f r ehac co to ot lor to secr en print ecr ate the her spot ing or o set print color bas nal smal runs o i , g n e R d i s f 100 u o is ge print metho p to 10 nealy r ev ry o ds liek a d r able o 0 , 00. f r
ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY
14 All of Riso’s inks are vegetable oil-based. Riso ink dries through absorption into uncoated paper stock rather than through heavy chemical dryers or heat. Because of this, power consumption remains very low throughout the printing process. Each ink resides in its own portable drum that is moved into and out of the machine
as needed. This eliminates ink waste and the need for toxic chemicals or washing stations between production runs. The Riso drum is simply removed from the machine, the stencil is discarded, and the drum is stored until the next use. Combine the above with the use of FSC certified and high post-consumer waste recycled papers, Riso is an environmentally conscious and sustainable print process.
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the riso isspreey tty quirky
16 Riso printing can be an inaccurate and unpredictable print process. The machines were designed to make office copies and not for high precision printing. Imperfect registration, smudging, and uneven coverage are a few of the many quirks that come with this print process.
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If you are open to embracing imperfection and experimental results, Riso will be a perfect fit.
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t u b W HOdoesK it ? R
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nA image is sent either digitaly o fr m the attahec d PC, or o fr m a yshp ical original via the scaner bed. The master is ecr ated by burning the image onto the master o r l inside the printer. This stencil is then apewr d o ar und the ink drum.
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The machine feeds paper under the ink drum as it rotates and ink is pushed out through the stencil to create an impression.
ink
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The Risograph uses a rice oil-based ink that does not contain a drying agent. As a result, the ink never fully dries. Like newsprint, rubbing the ink with your finger, even after it is “dry”, can result in smudging. Prints that will be heavily handled (such as book covers) can be finished with spray fixative to help prevent smudging. Ink smudges and roller marks can often be lightly erased with a plastic eraser.
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For Riso printing, it is usually reccomended to go with papers with a weight between 60 and 300 gsm. This is to prevent ink from bleeding to the other side of the page. Coated papers such as inkjet or laser paper, or papers with smooth or glossy surfaces do NOT work well for Riso printing.
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e s n f o r i t e c p rfep imem -QUALIT Y O T O H P , TING. CCURATE N A I R R P O F R E G S E LOOKIN ET OF LA J R ’ K R N I U Y O Y R IF ,T PRINTING
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24 The Risograph prints one color at time. Therefore, your final print files should be separated into individual grayscale images for each color that is to be printed. This is similar to preparing files for screen printing. 100% black in each color layer, will print out as 100% of whichever color you are printing. 90% black will print as 90% and so on.
Your final file should be 11x17 in portrait orientation. The top of your file is the lead edge of the paper when loaded in the printer. When working with a CMYK file in Photoshop, when your file is ready to print, open the Channels Menu and select Split Channels. This will create new grayscale files, one for each color channel from your template.
For images prepared in Photoshop, separate out each color layer or channel into individual grayscale files. For images prepared in Illustrator/InDesign, separate out each color layer into individual grayscale PDFs that can be printed from Acrobat.
Alternatively, if you have prepared your color separations in layers instead of channels, you can use the File > Export > Layers to Files function to split them into individual files. Then open each file, convert it to grayscale, and print it.
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When sending o y ur print, o y u evha seveal r “Scer ening” options in the Image tab. This wil conto r l how the Risoghap r -thalf ones o y ur image to coevn rt it o fr m a digital le to a yshp ical stencil. aiGr n-touch is a and r omiez d diusion dither atp tern. Scer en-Coev er d ecr ates las c sic halftone atp terns. Scer en eFr quenyc wil conto r l the size of the dots o pr duced (higher numbers = smaler dots). Scer en Angle wil conto r l the angle that the atp tern is set to. o N te: o F r CMYK o pr cess prints, o y u wil antw to arvy the Scer en Angle to o va id moire atp terns. A good rule of thumb is eY low 0%, Pink 75%, Blue 15%, kBlac 45%.
k y cm Risogaphr pritn ing was designed to taek adtavn age of spot coo l rs. o H weev , r with u lB e, Fu l orescetn Pikn, eY o l , w a n d l B c ka , o y u c a n a po r ximta e YCKM o pr cess pritn ing o f r o ph togaphrs or other fu-co l o l r images.
The most direct method o f r m ka ing o y ur coo l r septar- ions is to open o y ur image in Po h toshop and coevn rt it to YCKM . o Y u c an adjust each chanel u -man yla using the Leev ls adjustmetn or the Chanel Miex r tools in Po h tosho.p Once o y ur image is er ad, y select Split Chanels fo r m the Chanels M eu n to genetar e o y ur individual gyas r clea files o f r pritn in.g
26 The Chanel Miex r tool is laso efef ctive o f r im xing fu-co l o l r images down to just two or ther e chanels o f r pritn ing duotone or tritone images. tlA ernta ive, yl theer ear sevelar epr mad - e o pr files iav lb a le in the D+ A lb a so f r m ka ing 2- or 3-coo l r pritn s on the Risogaphr. o T use these, open o y ur image in Po h tosho.p Select Edit > o C evn rt to Po r file. Click Adavcned. Select one of the R [ ISO] options under the Mutl i-Chanel drop down and click ok. Then use the Split Chanels tool in the Chanels M eu n to septar e out o y ur coo l r eyla rs.
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