BOOK A PRINT SESSION

Come in to use our Riso ME9350 to print your own projects with a volunteer.

HOW TO SET UP YOUR ARTWORK

Check out print specs to find out more about setting up artwork, colours and more.

ESTIMATE COSTS

Use our handy cost estimator to find out your project printing costs.

BOOK A PRINT SESSION

Please check here if we can print the ink colour you need and check with us what paper we have in stock. You can email us at workshop[at]rizzeria.com.

ARTWORK SETUP

If you have never riso-printed before, we recommend you do a Learn-to-Riso workshop with us.

How does the riso work?

The Risograph machine works by creating a stencil that is automatically wrapped around an ink drum. It then duplicates an impression of the image onto paper by rolling it over the drum and through the machine. It’s all automatic, like a photocopier.

It prints one or two layers of colour at a time. Thich means if you want to print more than two colours you need to feed the paper through the machine more than once.

The Riso ME9350 can print on many different paper stocks (up to 250gsm).

The Riso wasn’t designed to be an artistic tool, but it has been adopted as such by people looking for affordable methods of colour reproduction and people looking for less mass-produced methods of printing. The machine’s flaws, such as slight mis-registry and a sometimes uneven coverage of ink over solid blocks, are often embraced by its users.

Riso Illustration by http://press.atto.si/
Illustration from Italian Riso printers press.atto.si

Colours available at the Rizzeria

Setting up your file

  • The artwork you provide needs to be black and white or greyscale (the colour will be selected on the printer.)*
  • Each colour of your artwork needs to be saved as a separate PDF file.
  • Save your work as a flattened PDF, ideally with 300-600dpi.
  • Try to keep your file size below 10MB.
  • Save each file with the name of the colour (i.e. blue_front_1.PDF).

*black will be 100% of the selected colour, for lighter shades of colour use grey. Large areas of colour should be a maximum of 80% black. 

What kind of paper can I use?

The machine prints well on a variety of uncoated stocks. It’s best to keep weights under 250gsm, and above 60gsm (like newsprint).

Line Art

Line art images should be scanned at a 600dpi and at the actual size to be printed.

Registration & Trapping

Designing for the Risograph takes into consideration trapping and overlay. Allow for 2mm trapping.

Print & Paper Size

Please note the riso cannot print full bleed A3. 

You will need to leave a 5mm border around the edge of an A3 page. 
The maximum printable area is: 287 x 410mm.

Other notes & tips

  • Internal rollers can leave marks, which are erasable.
  • Ink density will vary and be a bit patchy/noisy over solid shapes.
  • The machine cannot print large amount of solid-coloured areas.
  • The machine can be finicky. Being ready to accept the eccentricities of the machine is an important part of printing on the Riso.
  • Even when dry, the soy ink can smudge a bit, rather like newspaper print. A plain eraser can take the smudges off, and I’ve found varnishing prints with heavy coverage helps to minimise smudging.
  • Printing on the Riso can take a bit longer than you’d imagine. It is fast, once things are set up, but if you’re tight on time, remember to factor in drying time between layers and allow for errors in registration if it is tight on your work. Remember that you can book more than one hour at a time.

But don’t be scared! Check out our samples box on site, and our Instagram to see what beautiful works have been printed with us.

ESTIMATE COST

  • $25* per hour. Printing by, or with, a volunteer 
  • $10 per master (stencil). One master is needed for every colour
  • Paper from 50c to $2 per A3 sheet or BYO (uncoated)
  • Impressions: 30c per colour imprint on page

Typically, people who print with us pay between $65 to $85. That depends of course on quantities and on how many colours you want to print. You can get an idea of cost from our package deals.

We can usually print up to 4 masters per one-hour booking, depending on your quantities.

To give you an idea, a standard 1-hour print booking is often a two-colour print with 20 -50 copies.

(*all prices are in Australian dollars)