What even is a risograph?

A risograph is a stencil duplicator that fuses the look and process of screenprinting with the convenience of an office copier.

It provides a cheap, easy, fun, and unique method for creating beautiful art prints, posters, zines, cards, buttons, packaging and more. RISO printing is hands-on & experimental, yields super textures, extra vivid colors, transparent inks & overlays, and is also fast, affordable, and environmentally friendly!

You can find more details and a list of all the things that make riso fun and unique here!

How can I print with you?

There are two ways to print with us!

You can print with us remotely, or make an appointment to print with us during open hours. In order to print with us during open hours we ask that you take our Risograph Basics Workshop first. If you’re not local or don’t have time to take our workshop, fill out a quote form to print with us remotely and have your prints shipped to you.

To learn more about how to print with us, check out our printing page!

We also offer private printing workshops for individuals, small groups, and businesses! Please fill out our contact form to talk details!

Can I print more than one color? Does printing more than one color affect how the layers line up?

Yes! Much like screen printing, risographs print one color at a time using dedicated ink drums. That means any 2+ color prints must be fed back through the printer (which often causes some misregistration for multi-color prints).

Because multi-color prints are fed back through the printer, the layering of each color may shift a little—or a lot! We will do our best to ensure a perfect print every time, but it’s good to account for misregistration when creating your print. This is part of the charm of the risograph!

We generally recommend sticking with 4-5 colors max per print, but are open to trying some wild 5+ color combos!

How many ink colors do you have?

22 ! We’re obsessed with color and frequently adding to or changing our offerings.

Check out our ink color page for all the details, like RGB & pantone codes.

How large can I print? How small?

Janet and Corita can print up to 11 × 17” size paper, and anything smaller (in standard sizes). Lil’ Tina prints up to 8.5 x 14”.

Risographs can print down to about business card size (3.5 x 2”) but we recommend not going smaller than 8.5 x 11” for prints (the master costs the same, so you get more bang for your buck this way—just set up multiples on a letter-sized sheet).

Please allow margins of at least 1/8” (preferably 1/4”) on all sides.

What about printing something full bleed? Without a margin?

Risographs do not print full bleed.

If you’d like to print a full bleed image, you will have to print on a larger page size than your file—with crop marks and a bleed included—and then trim it down to size.

How do I set up a file for print? 

For optimal print quality, photos and illustrations should be set up in black and white (grayscale) at 600 to 300dpi (600 preferred). Artwork should be separated based on the color inks you’re using (all fluorescent pink artwork on one layer, etc.). Type should be set in vector based programs like Adobe Illustrator or InDesign (not raster). We recommend keeping text larger than 8pt for legibility. Photographs with a lot of detail may benefit from being converted to halftones before printing.

All artwork should be delivered as PDFs or JPGs with the color ink desired clearly stated in the filename (i.e. BLUE_print1.pdf).

Check out our file setup guide here!

Our friends at Anenome Studio in Seattle also made an amazing free program called Spectrolite than can help you separate your layers and set up files for prints and zines!

What sort of paper should I use? Can I print on things that aren’t paper?

Risograph printers can print on 13# text to #110 cover. We recommend 20# text to 80# cover.

Papers with a slight tooth work great with riso. Paper has to be uncoated; any kind of coating, gloss, or finish doesn’t work (the ink has nowhere to go and it becomes a smudgy mess). We carry an array of papers that you can check out here, and there’s a list of our favorite papers on our resource page.

As for things that aren’t paper—we’ve been able to print on paper bags, matte sticker paper, matte labels, envelopes, and uncoated translucent vellum. We even printed on a bit of book-binding fabric once!

Does Outlet sell paper?

Yes, Outlet carries a variety of paper stocks!

We’re always finding new papers, and are down to experiment with whatever you’re wanting to print on (provided it’s uncoated—riso can’t print on coated papers).

You can find a list of our regularly available papers here, but we also thrift and randomly find papers that we’ll sometimes have in the shop as well.

Is risograph printing archival?

The short answer—unfortunately, no.

That being said, we’ve stumbled upon posters that have been out in the rain and sun for months and the ink is surprisingly vibrant and intact. All but fluorescent inks seem to stand the test of time well! We’ve also had success using spray fixatives on riso prints to protect them.

Can I print double-sided?

Yes! All of our machines can print on both sides of your paper. Keep in mind that both sides might not line up perfectly, and to avoid heavy ink coverage on both the front and back as there is always a little bit of ink transfer that happens.

What about large fills/fields of solid color and ink?

Large fills of dense ink can cause smudging, very visible roller marks, and sometimes jams and tears in your paper. We recommend setting large fills of color at 70-80% black to avoid a big ol’ inky mess.

If you do want to try printing a big field of 100% opacity ink, we ask that you put at least a 1/2” margin around the edge of your print. And be prepared for some smudging and roller marks!

Does the ink smudge? How long does it take to dry?

Yup, the ink definitely smudges. Try not to handle it too much at first and allow for it to dry just a little. The ink never truly dries, and will rub off if handled too roughly. It’s one of the many charms of risograph printing!

We like to allow 1-2 hours between printing layers, though it’s not always necessary.

How can I come visit your space?

We would love to meet you! You can book an appointment to come say hi, shop in our shop, or peruse our zine library!

How accessible is Outlet?

Outlet is a ground-floor space with a single-stall ADA accessible bathroom! You can find more accessibility info here.

We will do absolutely everything in our power to accommodate your needs and the needs of event attendees. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns!

Who the heck is Barbara?!

Barbara (an RC 6300 born in 1993) is the original risograph that started it all! She was found in a church basement by our dear friend Jason Sturgill, and brought back to the studio that Kate and Jason were sharing. They decided to start experimenting with her, and the rest is history!

Barbara is in retirement now as RISO stopped making parts for her awhile ago. She remains in our space as part of our unofficial risograph museum (and also sometimes standing desk).

She’s also our mascot! We love Barbara!

Do you offer binding services for my book or zine? What kinds?

Yes! Check out our binding and finishing page for more info! We have several saddle stitch binders and a long arm stapler here, as well as a coil binder that you’re welcome to make an appointment to use.

As part of our remote printing options, we offer several binding and finishing services like trimming, folding, scoring, collating, saddle stitch binding, and coil binding. You can select any of those options when you request a quote!

Do you offer consignment in your shop? Can I sell with you?

Absolutely! We’re always open to selling more goodies in our shop. We evaluate sellers and items on a case-by-case basis, and usually ask that some element be riso printed (this can be the backing of a pin, part of a label, etc).

You can read more about our consignment options here!

What about wholesale? Can we purchase some Outlet merch in bulk?

Yes! Just contact us and we can talk about our available options!

Can you help me design my project? I need more than just file setup help.

Sure! We’re open to taking on design projects on a case-by-case basis.

Outlet is staffed by a talented crew of graphic designers with lots of experience designing for riso printing. We don’t always have the availability, but when we do we would be more than willing to help you design your print project!