What is RISO printing? A Beginner's Guide - By Martin Rose - Illustrator, printmaker and art-educator.
If you've spent any time browsing my portfolio or shop - you’ll see I mention RISO, a lot. It's one of my favourite printing techniques and is behind pieces like 'The Key To The North' - Pontefract Castle, as well as 'Mt Fuji: Hanami Festival' and 'The Duplicator: RISO Of The Machines'.
With vintage machines becoming harder and harder to find - it's still a bit of a mystery to a lot of people, so I wanted to write a little bit more about this fantastic process for anyone interested…
So, what actually is RISO printing?
RISO (short for Risograph) is a stencil-based printing process — think somewhere between screen printing and photocopying, but with its own distinct character. A Risograph machine burns a stencil ("master") for each colour in your artwork, wraps it around an ink drum, and pushes soy or rice-bran based ink through it onto paper, one colour at a time.
You can read about the history of RISO here - direct from the inventors website.
How does it work?
Because each colour is printed as a separate pass, RISO prints have a hand-crafted feel that digital printing can't quite replicate: slightly imperfect registration, visible ink texture, and colours that can layer and blend in ways you don't fully control until the print comes off the drum. That unpredictability is exactly what a lot of illustrators — myself included — love so much about it.
Why I print this way.
I was first introduced to RISO printing at Uni (University of Huddersfield). Unfortunately, I missed the proper introduction along with my group due to inguinal hernia surgery. Thanks Ehlers Danlos Syndrome!
That was probably the best outcome in the end though, because I spent time learning, experimenting and making mistakes. There are also the obligatory paper jams and fault codes that happen for no apparent reason - but I soon learned that this is all just part of the fun of RISO and what helps to make this process so unique.
I have my own RISO machine (RZ370EP) in my studio here in Pontefract, and it's become central to my artistic practice. My process usually starts traditionally: hand-painting or hand-drawing a piece using sumi-e brushwork, linework or linocut blockprint, then scanning that original artwork and running it back through the RISO to separate and print the colours.
Layering each colour can be very complex - my latest piece - 'The Key To The North' - Pontefract Castle has different shades of blue and green, along with blends of green and red to create brown. Each of the colours that are blended have been purposefully printed one over the other, in specific colour-to-colour ratio of my choosing.
You can see this combination in a few pieces I'm particularly proud of:
* The Duplicator: RISO Of The Machines — a hand-drawn character piece where the RISO printing itself became part of the concept, not just the finish. The idea behind this print started at uni - during a 10 minute sketch warmup where I thought of it and drew a quick, crude version, which stayed in the back of my sketchbook - Until I re-drew and RISO printed it.
* My four-piece body of work that I originally created for the mental health charity SANE, blended sumi-e brushwork with RISO printing and was shortlisted in the Antalis Creative Power Awards 2022, judged in Paris.
That project is probably the best example of what cemented this technique into my repertoire — the layering of traditional brushed ink work and RISO print gave the collection a depth that neither technique would have alone.
Why RISO is worth knowing about, even if you're just browsing...
If you're looking at original art or open-edition prints, it's worth knowing what you're getting with a RISO piece versus a standard giclée or digital print:
* No two prints are truly the same. Slight variation in registration and ink coverage is part of the process, not a flaw.
* The colours are vivid in a specific way. RISO ink sits on the surface of the paper rather than soaking in, giving colours a slightly luminous, almost fluorescent quality in certain shades. Some inks are available in fluorescent colours too. Personally I have had fluorescent Orange and Pink drums in the past.
* It's a genuinely eco-friendlier process. The soy and rice-bran based inks are lower-impact than standard offset printing inks.
Want to see it in person?
October - December at Pontefract Castle - my second SOLO exhibition. I am part-way through an artist residency at the castle, and this new body of work is being informed directly by my time there, amongst the ruins and the dungeons - reading and hearing stories and legends of the castle's long and dramatic history.
The completed work will hang in the castle's gallery space on-site and will include information about the piece, its concept and my processes. A large portion of this work is RISO printed and you will get the chance to see them up close and to purchase a limited edition RISO print of your own.
Otherwise, you can browse RISO-printed originals and framed canvas prints — including the pieces mentioned above — in my shop and portfolio.
You can also see more videos of my process on my Instagram feed. Enjoy!!
Comments