In a recent newsletter, the AIGA (the American Institute of Graphic Arts) had a wonderful article about how the RISO is becoming the darling of art schools!
I must admit, I was just astounded by some of the work being done with the humble digital duplicator, but it proves what I have often said that the quality of communications has so much less to do with the latest and greatest technology and has everything to do with the imagination and skills of the person working on it. Artists around the world are doing incredible things with the printers and their low-cost and versatility make it perfect for printing in the church.
Below is the link to the article, and then after that, some quotes from it and then some examples of images on sites that specialize in RISOGRAPH (aka the RISO Digital Duplicator). It really is inspiring!
Design With Limitations, How Graphic Designers are Harnessing the Rise of Risograph
Excerpts from the article:
One of the unlikeliest design success stories is that of the Risograph machine, invented in Japan in the 1980s as a quick, cheap, and easy way to make multiple copies, and since adopted by the art and design community for its low-cost, speed, and versatility. Creating Riso images is similar to screen printing in terms of color separation and ink transfer, but with the rough-and-ready results of an office photocopier.
In recent years Riso’s growing international popularity can only be described as explosive, with new Riso projects and specialty studios cropping up every place we look. Now there’s Risorama, a new day-long exhibition and fair in London (the first of its kind in the UK), put on by Manchester print studio, gallery, and publishers Yuck Print House.
“People love the quality and graininess of the aesthetic of Risograph,” says Yuck’s Mark Brennan. “Initially it attracted people as it’s relatively inexpensive, so a lot of young people and students have taken to it. It seems that every art school has one now, but when I was studying it wasn’t that
“There’s still a number of people who aren’t quite sure what Riso is,” says Brennan, “but people really like the DIY aspect of it. It’s still a low-budget artwork machine that wasn’t made for this process—it was made for newsletters and high volume copying—so it’s a fun, inexpensive way of making things.”
So why the recent rush on Riso? “It all comes down to affordability and accessibility,” says Brennan. “Riso machines were fairly obscure for years, then it came from that DIY culture of using collage and Xerox machines to make work, so it was a step up from that. The work you can make is really different in terms of the color scheme and finish. The aesthetic really works well with what people are making just now, and they’re environmentally friendly too, as it’s soy-based ink.
“A lot of artists haven’t worked in Riso before, so what’s important is showing people how the prints are made and what you can achieve. It’s fun because as a process you don’t know what you’re in for—it’s unpredictable and unpretentious.”
Examples of Print projects done with the RISOGRAPH
Note: below the Gallery are the websites the images came from. Lots more ideas on each of them and a number of the sites have great instructions on how to create art prints with the RISOGRAPH. Click on the images to see them larger, then you can really see the detail in the images.
Samples of creative printing on the RISO Digital Duplicator AKA the RISOGRAPH
http://www.peopleofprint.com/general/top-15-risograph-printing-studios/
http://bellevuepress.blogspot.co.uk/ examples of projects
http://two-press.co.uk/shop/ really neat examples of projects, art prints they sell
http://www.druk.london/tech-specs/ some very good tech specs for printing with a RISO
http://hatopress.net/ ideas and instructions
Check it out for your church
Many of you may have an older RISOGRAPH at your church that you had no idea could do some of these things. Check out the websites listed, try new designs, and stretch your creativity.
If the main church office doesn't have time to do this, make the machine available to art students in your congregation and challenge them to an art project for the church. Maybe something for upcoming holidays or a special event.
If you need new supplies, would like to see some of the new machines that print at 600 x 600 dpi, or if your machine needs a checkup, contact your local RISO Dealer. If you've never seen what the Digital Duplicator can do, contact them for a demonstration. Not only are they incredibly creative, but have extremely low print-per-copy and operating costs.
Please share your thoughts, comments, questions!