Zine Printing Risograph

A risograph is a printing machine originally designed for schools and churches to make cheap copies. Art and zine communities adopted it because the stencil-based process produces prints with a grain and color saturation that look nothing like digital printing or photocopying. Each color runs through the machine as a separate pass using soy-based inks on drums. Slight misregistration between passes creates an overlapping effect that's accidental and beautiful in equal measure. At about $0.15 per sheet in 2 colors, riso is the cheapest way to produce small-run publications with actual visual character. The machine itself is bulky and temperamental, jamming frequently and requiring manual feeding for thicker paper stocks. Artists who use them treat those limitations as part of the medium. I find it fascinating that a technology designed for boring office documents became the preferred production method for an entire creative subculture. Aesthetic qualities that make riso prints distinctive were all side effects of the machine's limitations. A global network of riso studios operates as shared workshops, charging by the drum or by the print. Accessibility of the format means a 16-page zine can go from file to finished object in about 2 hours for under $50.