The Risograph printer, is based on the stencil method of printing, much like screen printing. While the machine looks very much like a photocopier, it functions quite differently. Black & white artwork is sent to the Riso either from the connected desktop pc, or on the scanned on top of the machine. The image is ‘burnt’ on to a paper-like master, which can then be used to duplicate it up to thousands of times. The master wraps automatically around an ink drum. The ink is pushed through the screen/master, and then prints onto paper that makes contact with the drum.

There are various reasons, but perhaps the biggest one is that the Risograph allows you to print with ink colors that digital printers simply cannot achieve—rich blues, fluorescents and more.

The Risograph also allows you to explore printing in a more basic sense, as it requires you to print each color individually. This allows for exciting overprinting possibilities as well as unexpected ‘happy accidents’.