Risography, the im-perfect reproduction

Riso printing, also known as Riso printing or Risography, is a popular and unique form of printing that has gained popularity in recent years, particularly in the creative arts and design sectors.

What is Risography?

Risography is a printing technique originated in Japan by Riso Kagaku Corporation in the 1980s and was initially introduced as a fast and economical method of producing documents in bulk, similar to a photocopier. The word “riso” also means “ideal” in Japanese, reflecting the company’s commitment to creating an ideal, environmentally friendly printing solution.

Risography uses a machine called a “risograph” or duplicator, which works in a similar way to an automatic screen printer: a design is micro-perforated on a sheet, called master, ink is passed through it with drums that rotate at high speed, and is applied to the paper. Each color is printed in a different pass, allowing combinations of screens, overlays, etc.

The use of vegetable inks based on soy and rice and the possibility of using recycled paper, make risography a more sustainable printing technique than other printing techniques. The stencils are made from plant fibres too. In addition to all this, the duplicator consumes less energy compared to digital printers, since it works cold, another factor that contributes to its sustainability. And all the consumables used in the process are recyclable or reusable.

The Risograph Process: How “Imperfect” Results Are Achieved

One thing that makes risography special is its unique printing process, which is notable for its unpredictability. Each drum contains one ink and the duplicator usually loads two at a time, so more colors means more passes, more changes and more registration adjustments. This entire process is almost manual and although precise results can be achieved, the technique itself favors nuances and mismatches that are appreciated and desired precisely for this reason.

In addition, risography uses uncoated paper, which causes the ink to be absorbed unevenly, adding texture and personality to each work. And the inks, direct and with a limited color catalog, are almost all translucent, allowing new colors to be generated by superposition and effects.

So, what can I expect from a riso job?

“Retro” aesthetics, due to its weaves and the texture of the inks on the paper. Large masses of colour can generate banding and irregularities.
Colour shifts, up to a couple of millimetres (or more, if you look for it).
Stains and marks from the paper feed rollers, re-dyes or rubbing.
Intense colours due to the use of direct inks. In addition to conventional inks, there are some wonderful fluorescent or metallic inks. The colour catalogue is quite small and this limited chromatic range is also characteristic of riso work.
Accepted paper sizes A4 and A3, with a grammage between 60 and 300 (maximum).
And each piece is slightly different from the previous one, of course.

The final result is a handmade print, with a very marked aesthetic that can vary in quality from a “street pamphlet” to a work of art. Here, personal choices of inks, papers, etc. obviously come into play…

All these characteristics have made risography, far from its initial function as a photocopier, a technique highly appreciated by artists and graphic designers today and it is used in a wide variety of artistic expressions: illustration, photography, fanzines, independent publications…

How do I send a project to be printed?

As the colors are printed separately, you have to prepare your files in individual layers for each ink. To do this, it is advisable to have knowledge of Photoshop or Illustrator (if you work with vectors) to generate them. The final files must be PDFs in black or grayscale.

Each printing house has its catalog of riso colors and available papers, so you will have to talk to them to choose them. Working hand in hand with a riso printing office is highly desirable, they can show you examples of how each available screen is printed (stochastic, solid look and halftones) so that you can take them into account when planning the work, to be able to do tests on site of how the inks work on the chosen paper and to resolve any doubts that may arise.

“Im-perfecta” proyect

In my opinion, in a world where we often aspire to “perfection” (even more so in the digital world and with the latest boom in images created with AI) risography is a fresh alternative that brings authenticity to each piece, highlighting the beauty of the imperfect. Imperfection here becomes another creative tool, part of the artistic process, bringing authenticity to the work and creating a more human and real connection between the artist and the viewer. I would also add that it is a way of experiencing and accepting the spontaneity of the process, enjoying the creative path and giving up absolute control of the final result.

I was looking forward to trying risography for a long time, for all the reasons mentioned above and because I had been thinking about the concept of non-perfection for some time, especially those related to the aesthetic demands prevailing in this society. They fit perfectly. So this summer I decided to take one of the courses offered by Another Press in Bilbao, in order to fully understand the entire printing process and “think in riso” when planning future projects. From this experience was born “Im-perfecta”, a limited series that you can find in the online store in two versions: diptych and collage.