Ready to get a Risograph print job started with us? Request a quote using the form below, or shoot us an email at martianpress.riso@gmail.com.
Prefer to come by and print it yourself? Consider booking open studio time with us, or (if you’re new to Riso) learn how to print at one of our monthly workshops.
Keep in mind that if you want a color to print at 100% density, the corresponding element in your grayscale print file should be 100% black. This means that if you create your design in full color, simply turning each layer to grayscale will not be adequate for generating print-ready files. For example: an image with bright yellow shapes set to grayscale without further adjustments turns those shapes roughly 25% gray. When that file is sent to the Riso, the machine will create a stencil for the yellow drum based on that light gray value it reads in the file, thereby printing the yellow ink at 25% density instead of full 100% density, resulting in a much much lighter yellow than what was intended in the original full-color design.
If all of this is making your head spin, we do offer color separation/print prep services! We charge a $50/hourly design fee if you aren’t able to provide us with the seperated files ready to print. However, if you feel like—with some guidance—you could do the separations yourself, we are happy to answer any questions, address any confusion, and offer thorough file prep advice free of charge.
When placing a print order, please remember that the medium of Risograph is charmingly imperfect. Misregistration and skewing will happen to at least some of your prints, along with instances of other marks, artifacts, inconsistencies, and oddities. In my opinion, these quirks are all part of what makes Riso printing so unique. At Martian Press, we take pride in the quality of our work and try to minimize these eccentricities as much as possible, but please be aware that your print/zine order may still have some naturally occurring imperfections.
◆◆◆ Further Reading & Riso-urcesStencil Wiki — helpful Riso equipment information and maintenance/printing advice, global atlas of Risographers/presses, list of upcoming fairs/fests
[color/shift] — Riso color profiles for Photoshop by There There Now
Spectrolite — Riso color separation app
North American Risograph Conference (NARC) — biennial Risograph conference