Let’s start off with some basics. Remember that the machine:
- prints one colour layer at a time.
- works with 1 black and white file per colour layer (where darker leads to a more intense colour). You can work with gradients and greyscales within this file.
- the inks are semi-translucent, this means that if you print one over the other they will start to mix instead of cover each other. This gives you way more colour options by mixing, but if you want pure colours, make sure there’s no other colour underneath.
Size
- Our RISO machine prints onto paper sized up to A3.
- Our RISO machine doesn’t print up to the edge of the paper, leave at least a 5mm white border on each edge of the paper. For cleaner results, leave a larger white border.
- Make sure your files are sized properly. We always print on A3 sized paper, using an A3 sized master. So place your design(s) on an A3 sized canvas.
- If you’re putting multiple designs on one A3 sheet, please use crop marks, and registration marks to make printing and cutting easier. Please make sure that these marks are within the printable area.
- For zines, just make sure your page size is as you want it to be. We will set the rest up for your. Or impose it print-ready on A3 sized sheets.
Want to bring your own paper, but it is only available in A4?
No worries, we can still print on that, but it’s the same cost as printing on A3.
I accept a variety of file types.
Send me:
- clearly labeled PDF files (one per colour).
- or clearly labeled JPG, PNG or TIFF files (one per colour).
- please note the name of the colour you would like to use into the filename. Please use the same name for the colour as we do on the website.
Send me:
- InDesign packages, if you’re working on a zine. (either separate packages per colour, or a clearly labeled layer in the InDesign file per colour)
- or an imposed PDF (A3 size), that’s totally print-ready.
- please note the name of the colour you would like to use into the filename. Please use the same name for the colour as we do on the website.
Keep these in mind while exporting your print-ready files:
- the RISO I am working with allegedly goes up to a resolution of 600dpi. For the best quality please make sure your files are set up for at least 300ppi in your preferred printing size.
- convert your layers into black and white. I prefer working with files in RGB. While it seems counter-intuitive, the workflow I am following usually gives the best results when you work in RGB, so please make sure your images are not in Greyscale, nor in CMYK.
- I do not work with unlabeled files, nor with .PSD files, nor Illustrator files.
Down here you can find a wonderfully beautiful example of Juliane Noll’s Sunset print.
The black and white images are what we sent to the RISO, the colour layers are the separate ink layers the RISO gave us.
The fourth image is all the inks combined into one image. Take note of how the colours mix when they overlap.
For graphic design and digital illustrations it’s best to start off your design using seperate colour layers and converting them to black and white.
You could also work with black and white layers and in Photoshop use a solid colour adjustment layer on the screen blend mode and each black and white layer on a multiply blend mode. This gives you a pretty clear preview of what to expect from the print (remember screens can’t properly show fluorescent colours).
RISO works perfectly for monochromatic images. Whether those are black and white photos, or illustrations, they will work fine. Just send me your black and white images and tell me which colour of ink to use.
Sometimes you just can’t start off designing your illustrative work in seperate black and white layers. The same counts for colour photographs.
This is not a problem. Just use the Spectrolite app, it’s free, and designed for Mac OSx. And you can find it here: LINK
It makes seperating colours easy and intuitive.
[Thanks Anemone - Adam and Amelia - for developing this app!]