Artists and designers love it ー Risograph Printing. Riso printing is one of the traditional printing methods. Due to its special printing effect and unique color expression, this monochrome printing technology has been rediscovered and modified by some art lovers in recent years, mostly used in the production of independent publications. Riso is also unique in that it produces varying degrees of typography, or misplacement of patterns, during multi-color printing tasks, a feature that has proved invaluable to artists around the world. Because the wrong version produces multicolor overprint, often bring unexpected creative effect.
What's a Risograph?
The Riso Press is a high-speed stencil press. We can think of it as printing between screen printing and photo printing. Riso can only print one or two vibrant colors at a time. It is suitable for posters, print, independent magazines, comics and Other Visual Arts. The machine was built for mass photocopying and Printing in the mid-1980s. It can scan files from a built-in scanning bed, but it can also be used as a web printer, which is very attractive to designers and illustrators when creating editions or self-published comics, magazines and books.
How does it work?
Riso print input files can be scanned or digitally entered to transfer ink from the drum to passing paper. The artwork is transferred to the motherboard by a series of hot spots on the hot plate, which burn off the artwork's shape, leaving a void in the motherboard. The master paper is wound around the cartridge so that colored ink can be pushed through these gaps onto the high-speed paper.
Each print using this original will have the same color. If you need to change the color, you must remove the interchangeable cartridge, replace it with the desired color, and create a new master to wrap the cartridge. Riso is the only form of eco-printing. Most of the inks are semi-aqueous inks made from soybean oil, which is relatively affordable compared to screen printing RISO, especially Riso's monochrome overprint which uses the ink primary color directly on the roller, and ink color selectability far more than CMYK four.
For designers, the ink has other appealing qualities, as the texture and appearance of the printed product varies depending on the paper. The transparency effect of RISO printing can also be used to overprint colors, forming a color overlay. This extensibility allows it to function like a palette. In addition, the best features of Riso are the ability to print fluorescent ink and colors that can not be copied on the screen or printed digitally. Riso's few misprints and overlays also become more valuable and uncertain aesthetic for book printing and a lot of poster printing than screen printing. This imperfection has a special appeal, but it differs from the ancient woodblock printing aesthetic. Like most printmaking, however, it is difficult, but not impossible, to locate the image perfectly.
Why Use Riso?
This printing method is a more affordable alternative to other reproduction processes such as screen or offset printing, but you can get similar aesthetic effects and nice color coverage. You can pass a sheet of paper as many times as needed to create different color layers. The beauty of Riso printing lies in its warmth, personality and range of bright colors. It is also cost-effective for publications of shorter duration.
Riso Print History
Riso used to be mainly used for printing presses sold to schools and churches. In 1946 in Japan, only through the import of emulsion ink can be obtained, the price is not cheap, but still by a small number of artists concerned. With the rise of national pride and business acumen after World War II, Hanayama hung a small sign on his front door called Riso, marking the birth of a new ink company. In the mid-1980s, Riso Kaagaku (the ideal science and industry joint-stock company, or Riso) released the first fully automated, all-in-one speed printer, called the Risograph. The company's marketing activities also began around the new, affordable emulsion ink. The company has its eyes on every school and church, and it aims to make Riso printing fully involved in the day-to-day educational needs of the school.
In terms of design and usage, Risograph was able to save money in three ways compared to other quick printing methods in its day: first, their inks were cheaper and easier to use than toner; and second, this machine does not need high temperature operation, so more power, the machine does not need too much follow-up maintenance and maintenance. With the advent of the school and a number of printing studios, Riso printing has gradually become known to the wider design and art community, moving from the school into the public eye.
