Riso Machine
About the Equipment
Risographs or Risos (pronounced ree-so) are specialized printers and duplicators that use a screen-printing technique to create an image. When you print an image, the Riso burns it into a thin rice-paper screen. Soy ink is then pushed through the burned areas onto paper, creating a print.
Risos are known for their rich and vibrant colors. While our Riso can only print one color at a time, different colors can be quickly switched out. Previous prints can be run back through, leading to vibrant color combinations. While the Riso was mainly an office tool of the 80's, it has gained a new life with artists & printmakers for its unique print quality, vibrant color selection, and slight shifts in registration.
Reserve Equipment
- Reserve up to four hours per week
- Reserving more than one piece of equipment is not permitted
- Equipment that is not reserved is available for same day reservations
Using the Equipment
Printing details:
Maximum Print Size: Up to Legal (8.5" x 14")
Maximum Paper Size: Up to Tabloid (11” x 17”)
Available colors: Fluorescent Pink, Yellow, Aqua Blue, and Black Riso Color Drums
Other tools:
- Long arm stapler
- Two paper cutters
- Loup, rulers, x-actos, and erasers
What to Bring:
- A black-and-white file (PDF, JPEG, etc.) or physical black-and-white artwork to scan.
- To print in multiple colors, create a separate file for each color layer
- Paper
- We recommend using paper between 60lb text weight and 110lb cover weight
- Uncoated paper only, no photo paper/transparencies.
- Make sure to bring extra paper for registration mistakes.
Inspiration
From the Makers
Tutorials and Resources
Maker Tutorial: Riso Printer
Resources
- Spectrolite - a free (Mac only) color separation tool for Riso
- Jacqueline Colley Blog- Designing for Riso.
- Printshop Inspiration - a selection of Riso print shops from around the world. Note that colors, paper size, and setup will be different that the MakerSpace.
Risograph FAQs
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Nothing! We do not provide paper. If you are working from digital images, you will also want to bring in black and white prints for each color pass.
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Because the Riso prints one color at a time, you will want to have a separate file for each layer of color. There are a variety of different ways to achieve this:
- You can use Spectrolite to split an image or design into different colors.
- You can make separate artboards in your design program and divide up your design parts by printing color.
- If you are working by hand, you can use tracing paper to add additional layers of color.
Each of your color layers should be set up in black and white for printing. Remember, dark areas will receive more ink than light areas.
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The Riso can print on most uncoated papers. Our recommended paper types are:
- Text weight paper (60–80 lb): Good for zines, flyers, posters, and general printing. Think of standard printer paper and slightly heavier options.
- Cover stock / Cardstock (80–110 lb): Best for covers, art prints, and anything you want a bit sturdier. Look for uncoated varieties.
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- Too stiff - materials that are too thick or rigid to feed through the rollers, like chipboard, heavy cardstock, cardboard, will cause jams.
- Too textured - Material that is fuzzy, bumpy, or otherwise textured can damage the machine.
- Too slick - anything that can't absorb ink, such as coated paper, vellum, plastic or photo paper, will cause a big mess inside the machine.
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We recommend printing from Adobe Acrobat, as it has good control over certain settings. You can create your images on a computer using any design software as long as it can export as a PDF. We also have a program called Spectrolite on our computers that can automatically split your image into different colors for printing.
MakerSpace FAQs
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The Black & Veatch MakerSpace hours are slightly different than the Central Resource Library open hours. For up to date information about the MakerSpace, please visit the main MakerSpace page.
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The Black and Veatch MakerSpace is located at the Central Resource branch.
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You cannot create anything designed for or capable of causing harm, such as firearms, knives, swords, and other items that could be used to inflict injury or intimidate. If you’re unsure whether your project might fall under this rule, please ask a Maker staff member before starting. Library staff reserve the right to stop any print or job at their discretion if it is deemed unsafe, violates library policies, or is otherwise inappropriate.
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Questions? We're here for you.