11"x17" (ledger) is the largest size of paper we can print on, but we can also trim down to smaller sizes. The maxium image area we can safely print is 10.5"x16.5", which will give a 1/4" border all around the sheet. Need bleed? We will need to trim down to 10.25"x16.25".

When printing more than two colors, the same sheet is run through the press again. Because of this, the rollers that feed the paper through can sometimes pick up ink and leave track marks down the center of the page. The track marks can be minimized on our end with careful print planning and adequate dry-time, but be mindful of this possibility when designing and avoid heavy ink coverage in the center 1" of the sheet.

Risograph printing uses rice paper stencils that have thousands of tiny holes burned to allow ink through. But if too much ink is printed over too big an area, the paper can stick to the drum and cause a jam. We can avoid this without drastically altering the look of the final artwork by taking the ink density down from 100% to 90%.

Risograph printing uses spot inks as opposed to RGB or CMYK process. Artwork should be created with spot color separations in mind as you would for silkscreen printing. This means for each color in your art, you should provide a grayscale image, where 100% black indicates maximum ink, and 0% (or white) indicates no ink coverage. Confused? Don't worry, we can help make separations from your artwork for a small fee.

Trapping is when one ink color slightly overlaps another ink color to hide misregistration between inks. Risograph registration is tricky, skew is almost unavoidable, and if there is no trapping, a sliver of paper may show between two colors where the layers are not quite lined up. Adding trapping to an image will keeps those little slivers of paper white from showing. This is especially important with thin linework.

Risograph inks are slightly transparent. While we have 10 colors to choose from, a design that incorporates layered inks can have an even greater color range. Seafoam + Sunflower Yellow = Bright Green. Sunflower Yellow + Bright Red = Orange. Ask about other combinations.