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Risograph Printing in the Knowledge Lab

The Knowledge Lab has a SF5130 Risograph printer, this is a guide that provides information on colors, file preparation, and general information about how to create prints with this specialty printer.

How to Prepare Files for the RISO

A RISO can typically print 150 pages per minute, so while the printing part of using a RISO is quite fast, the bulk of the work when creating a risograph is in the file preparation done in advance.  

The RISO printer in the Knowledge Lab is a single drum printer and can only print one color at a time. The RISO does not recognize colors in a file, it only reads tonal value (black and white) so files have to be converted to grayscale for printing. 

There are many different ways to prepare files for RISO printing but regardless of the technique used, the final file (or multiple files if printing more than one color) needs to meet the following requirements:

  • Correctly sized. The maximum printable area is 8.25x14in and the RISO printer can't print full bleed- meaning the print can't extend to the edge of the paper. Make sure the document has at least .25in margin on all edges. Borders can be trimmed after the print is made. 
  • Converted to grayscale and resolution needs to be between 300-600dpi. 
  • Completely flattened.
  • Saved as a PDF and printed through Adobe Acrobat for best output. Files can be sent to the printer through programs like Photoshop but it is not recommended.

File preparation can be done in programs like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator. 

  • Photoshop is great for editing raster based photographs and other images.
  • InDesign is great for editing text and images, especially for flyers, books, and other publication forms.
  • Illustrator is great for vector based graphics and text.

Purdue provides access to the Adobe Creative Suite on campus in Purdue IT supported computer labs, this map will show you where on campus you can access Adobe programs. The computers in the Knowledge Lab can also be used to access Adobe programs though most computer stations in the lab are connected to specific equipment so computer availability is limited to when that equipment is not in use. 

For raster images that will be printed in a single color to make a monochromatic print, it is easiest to prep the file in Adobe Photoshop following these steps.

  1. Open the image file in Photoshop, make any edits or adjustments as needed (levels, curves, hue/saturation, etc.).
  2. Resize the image to be the size you want the image to be for the print.
    1. Image>Image Size, then make adjustments to the width, height, and resolution as needed. 
    2. If printing on 8.5x11in paper, the maximum size the image can be is 8x10.5in.
    3. Set the resolution to 300 or 600.
  3. Save the edited image with the adjustment layers as a .psd (photoshop) file. This is important if you want or need to go back to adjust any of the edits.
    1. File>Save As>Rename the file in a way that makes sense to you> select .psd from the Save as type drop down menu.
  4. Flatten the file.
    1. Layer> Flatten Image. 
  5. Covert to grayscale.
    1. Image> Mode> Select Grayscale.
    2. Click discard on the popup window, your image should now look black and white.
  6. Create a new document.
    1. File> New.
    2. Create a document that is the size of paper your image will be printed on and set the color mode to grayscale. Set the resolution the same as your image.
  7. Go back to your image file and either drop that file to the new document or go to Select> All> then copy the selected image (Ctrl+C)> Paste the image into the blank document (Ctrl+V).
    1. Your grayscale image should now be on the blank document, you can move the image on the document where you wish as along as the document maintains a .25in margin on all sides. 
  8. Change the opacity of the image layer to at least 90% or lower.
    1. Files should not be printed at an opacity higher than 90%- this helps prevent ink coverage from being too heavy on the paper and helps prevent the paper from sticking to the ink drum.
    2. There is very little (if any) perceptual difference between 100% opacity and 90% opacity, so save ink and prevent the chances of issues with printing! 
    3. Adjust opacity slider in the Layers panel.
  9. Flatten the document with the image.
    1. Layer> Flatten Image. 
  10. Save the file for printing!
    1. While files can be printed directly through Photoshop, it is not advised. It's better to save the file as a pdf then open the pdf in Adobe Acrobat to print.
    2. File> Save As> Name the file in a way that indicates this is a print ready file for riso> Select .pdf from the Save as type drop down menu.
    3. Click Save PDF in the popup window. The file is now ready for printing!

 

 

Risograph prints can be made with 2, 3, or 4 colors but each color layer needs to be saved as a separate grayscale pdf file. Below are tutorials for how to do color layer separations using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Note: some video tutorials will have requirements or information that is specific for the studio that created the tutorial that are not applicable to the Knowledge Lab.

Two Color Print aka Duotone Printing

This is a great tutorial on how to create a two color print with full color and black & white images. 

3 or 4 Color Printing (CMYK)

Full color photographs and other images can be created in RISO by doing CMYK channel separations using Photoshop. RISO inks do not directly translate to traditional Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (Key) ink so a RISO CMYK print will not be an exact reproduction of the original colors of an image but that's part of the fun and unique quality of RISO printing. For printing CMYK with the inks available in the Knowledge Lab, the usual choices are Cornflower Blue for Cyan, Fluorescent Pink for Magenta, Yellow, and Black which is used in the example below. 

Example of a cmyk print showing each of the individual color layer images and the final image of all four layers combined.

There are multiple ways to create separate files for different color layers, below are a couple of tutorial videos that demonstrate different techniques using Photoshop and Illustrator. Note: 2, 3, or 4 layer printing can be done with any combination of color ink of your choosing and does not require using the CMYK equivalent inks. 

CMYK Color Channel Separations

Photoshop Separations 

How to Prepare Files in Adobe Illustrator 

There are risograph studios around the world that can be great resources for tutorials and examples of the kinds of projects that a RISO printer makes possible. Below are also some other great resources that can help you take your risograph printing to the next level.