Riso is short for Risograph. It’s a Japanese printer/printing process that is similar to screen-printing, using rich spot colours and stencils to create tactile and vibrant prints, affordably and with little impact to our environment.

Prices start at £18 (This is for a one colour artwork, and one print on 100gsm paper).

Costs can be broken down into three main sections: colour stencils used, prints, and paper.

Like screenprinting, the initial set-up is where most of the production time is spent, and main cost is weighted. Therefore the most economical jobs are ones that use fewer colours (stencils) but output higher quantities. The more expensive jobs involve many colour stencils, at a low print quantity.

Riso printing isn't as speedy as you may think. It’s fast once things are set up and running smoothly, but unexpected issues (like technical failures or paper jamming) happen often and slow everything down.

Print checks, drying time and alignment are also important to us, so we take time to produce the best prints. As a basic rule, the number of colours being used = number of days to print. We only print 4 days a week - so take this into account too.

Yes! We’re based in Glasgow, so if you’re local - get in touch to arrange the collection of your prints. We’ll let you know the hours we’ll be in that week for you to drop by.

Yes - All the time. Brexit has been an issue, so please consider the new Customs fees your parcel may incur when it crosses the border. We use trusted couriers, who offer the most affordable rates.

If you're in the EU you are now liable to pay all extra import duties. If you are waiting for a parcel, please be aware that you may now have some customs charges to pay before it is released. It's important to check your spam and junk folders for any liaison from the local customs office so you can retrieve your parcel.

Duties and Taxes

Any import duties and taxes are charged once the parcel has reached the destination country and these charges must be paid by the recipient of the parcel. Unfortunately, we have no control over these charges as customs policies vary by country. If you have any questions related to customs charges you are advised to contact your local customs

If you refuse a shipment from RISOTTO, you are responsible for the original shipping charges, any import fees that are incurred on the package, and the cost of returning the package to us.

You can use our print simulator, or we can mock up your bespoke artwork digitally for you, but results can never be fully simulated - so take the plunge and see what happens once it's inked up on paper. Not everything is suited to the riso process, but if you’ve read our print bible, and your artwork has been prepared well - It rarely disappoints!

Yes - this is no problem, although printing a few extra will not cost you much more. Price per print gets much more economical the bigger the quantity.

Definitely - click here to order your sample pack, or check out our riso wall to see examples of almost every combination of inks and papers.

Quotes are calculated first by the number of colours/stencils used, then with print quantity and paper selection added on the end. Like screenprinting, the initial set-up is where most of the production time is spent, and cost is weighted. The riso is designed to be a duplicator - so once the artwork is set up, it’s pennies per print.

Yes, we have a super guillotine, so we can trim everything in house for you.

Due to the nature of the RISO process, print proofs aren't common.Most of the overall job cost is in the initial ‘master making’ and artwork set-up; and where most of the time/labour is weighted.
A proofing service therefore involves a fee of £15 per colour screen tested.

Please bear in mind this process will incur additional turnaround time, as the proofs will either be photographed, posted (costing an extra £10), or collected by appointment. 

Check out our print guide to learn about setting up artwork for riso (I think you'd be looking at a faux CMYK separation - tutorials here). You can also browse our print archive to see what photographs look like when they're printed in four spot colours (Fluro Pink, Aqua Blue, Yellow and Black).

Finally - if you've not seen risograph prints in the flesh, I'd recommend you order one of our sample packs - they include printed photographic examples and will give you an idea of what you can expect. The results are great, but they wont be a reproduction, or what you'd get from a formal print process.

There are different methods of doing this, but always make a backup copy of your file, so you can retain the layered one.

If you’re using photoshop; Make sure that all the layers you want to keep are visible, then choose 'Layer > Flatten Image', or choose 'Flatten Image' from the Layers panel menu.

For Acrobat 7; choose 'Advanced > PDF Optimizer’ and Click the 'Clean Up tab’. Select Remove Hidden Layers Content and Flatten Layers, and then click OK, and save the Optimized PDF.

Make sure your PDF is set to greyscale. Flatten the artwork so no layers are involved. And finally, ensure the file size is set to the finished output size, and no larger.

Depending on which software you are using, there are a few different options. We’ve created some tutorials on this, so head over to our tutorials page to learn how!

Unfortunately the costs are accurate to what we are charged to ship to you. You could combine an order with a friend, and split the shipping, or look through our international stockists to see if there is a retailer in your Country, and if they have your desired products in stock :)

Check out this wonderful resource by Itemzero. They released a completely new glossary of Graphic Design terms, including all print and paper words! And it's 100% Free!
It's easy to get confused and make mistakes when communicating about Graphic Design and Print – so use this tool to research, share and troubleshoot the right words with your clients and providers, teachers and students.