Form – Riso Printing

Riso Print Submission
Want to submit your Riso submission?
Complete the below form to submit!

What is a Risograph: A Risograph is a digital stencil duplicator designed for the high volume reproduction of designs. As a printing method, a risograph printer sits somewhere between screen printing and offset lithography. It uses brightly colored inks, or “spot colors” allowing a wide range of bright and beautiful colors. A Risograph is a cost-effective self-publishing tool and is ideal for posters, graphic prints, comics, zines, or art books. 

If you are looking for photographic quality reproduction, we recommend using the Imaging Center’s laser or inkjet printing services instead.

Print Ready: The Imaging Center does not alter your file in any way. All files must come in ready for print. The IC prints the actual size. Please make sure your print is no larger than 10”x16” to allow for registration and crop marks. (We will add these for you.) 

File Type: Files submitted must be saved as a black & white, multi-page PDF file. Files should be color-separated and flattened. Each color should be black & white and on a separate page.

Your flattened PDF file should consist of 1-5 pages, one page for each color. In the example below there are 3 pages in the PDF file.

Naming Convention (required): Name_FileName_Risocolors-in-Print-Order.pdf Example: RachelDeBoard_PlantLove_Black-Green-Yellow.pdf

Breakdown: Name = Rachel DeBoard | File = Plant Love | Color 1: Black; Color 2: Green; Color 3: Yellow

Colors Available: The Imaging Center recommends no more than 4 colors per Riso print submission. Overlapping colors (Overprint) is a great way to make new colors. (e.g. Fluo. Pink + Blue = purple). We have 16 colors available: Blue, Federal Blue, Bright Red, Yellow, Black, Burgundy, Mint, Mist, Teal, Green, Light Lime, Hunter Green, Fluorescent Pink, Sunflower, Copper, Orange. Color swatches are available here: Fall 2023 – Riso Colors.

Resolution: 300 d.p.i. or higher. 600 d.p.i. is recommended.

Turnaround Times: Your print job will be completed in the order received. The standard turnaround time for the risograph printer is 3-7 full business days depending on the number of colors. There are no “Rush” options for laser print jobs. Please allow an additional 48 hours (2 business days) for each color beyond two, as copies need to cure, or dry between runs.

Color Alignment: Riso printing is never perfect, and is registered (registration = color alignment) by hand. For a “perfect” print, we recommend using the inkjet printer or the laser service.

Double-Sided Project: Keep pages in order together, rather than keeping colors together. Example: PDF Page order for a Double-sided sheet:

Multi-page Project?
Please make an appointment with an IC staff member to review your job before submitting it. Especially if you have a book or a double-paged project you’d like to print.

Make sure you have a pdf page for every color of every book page. For example, if you have a 3-color book, (Red, Green, Blue) and page 6 uses only Blue, you need to have 2 blank pages to hold the place for pages 6-Red and 6-Green:

We also recommend printing out a B&W version of your composite book for free in the 24-hour labs so that you can proofread and check the page order. If you want to drop off a B&W composite mockup of your book to the IC, this will help the IC staff print your book, especially if you have other materials in the book put in outside of the Imaging Center. 

Paper Resource List: Check out our permanent & rotating paper list HERE

More Information: For further information on file setup and Imaging Center policies and procedures, please review The Imaging Center Main Guide. For more information on risograph printing, please click HERE!

Need Extra Help: Set up a 10-minute Google Hangouts or Zoom consultation with Imaging Center staff. We’ll even use a funny face filter. To schedule an appointment, visit our Calendly site: calendly.com/ccs_ic 

Need to approve a proof copy? If you’ve already picked up a proof copy, fill out the approval form HERE!

Disclaimer: Risograph printing is an imperfect process. The IC will not reprint for inherent printing imperfections. Smudges, roller marks, and misregistration are a part of the nature of Riso printing. The IC takes all the necessary measures to minimize ink transfers and misregistration. We suggest that you take these design precautions into consideration. Remember though, no Riso print is ever perfect (and that is what makes Riso printing so awesome!).

Trouble Uploading? Please visit our Troubleshooting Guide HERE.

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