✷ Print Services ✷

Ink Star Press provides risograph printing services. We can print a big range of paper based products such as prints, zines, comics, cards, stickers and more! If you have any specific project in mind and want to see if we can do it, get in touch over at our contact form or email.

We currently provide:

✷ Prints

✷ Leaflets/flyers

✷ Single sheet folded zines

✷ Staple Bound zines and comics up to 32 pages

✷ Business Cards

✷ Greeting Cards

✷ Stickers

And more! Please get in touch if you have a project in mind not outlined here.

✷What Is Risograph?✷

We like to explain risograph as a screenprinter and photocopier all in one! It works through documents either being scanned on the scanner bed or uploaded from a computer. The machine then burns a stencil, which gets wrapped around an ink drum. As the machine pulls paper through, it rolls the drum over the paper, pushing in through the stencil just like a screenprint! Risograph duplicators typically only print 1-2 colours at a time, which creates a very unique outcome. Risograph inks are transparent, which allows for layering colours to create new colours and depth. Due to its printing method, each print is often unique and charming as layers may be shifted and slightly differently aligned.

Risograph comes from the Japanese company Riso, who invented risograph duplicators back in the 1980s. They were intended to replace the office photocopier, providing cheap and high speed printing at high volumes. While they didn’t quite catch on with offices, they have become increasingly popular with artists. Risograph duplicators provide an affordable alternative to the labour and material intensive screenprinting and lithography, while still achieving stunning looks and vibrant unique inks not possible with digital print!

Risograph is a very environmentally conscious printing method, using rice paper stencils and soy based inks. Risograph naturally prints better on uncoated recycled paper stocks, and we make sure to recycle and reuse as much waste as possible.

✷Colours✷

We currently offer 6 different colour options:

✷ Fluorescent Pink ✷

✷ Yellow ✷

✷ Blue ✷

✷ Teal ✷

✷Marine Red ✷

✷ Black ✷

You can achieve lots of different colours via layering these colours together. We recommend doing max 3-4 colours, as more than that can often result in a muddy finished product and a lot of ink.

You can order our ink samples here!

Project pricing is calculated through amount of colours used, paper stock, copies and any trimming or binding requirements.

All printing has a starting price of £20 to account for base level supplies and labour costs, and increase from there at a certain point.

When getting in touch for a quote, please include as much detail about your project as you can! Please especially include colours used, copies, paper stock, pages (if a zine/comic/booklet), binding type (if a zine/comic/booklet) or any additional unique requirements for your project. I’ll get back to you with a rough quote based on your project details!

✷Guides and Advice✷

Overview

Here is a rough overview of some basic printing guidelines and advice:

✷ Max Printable Area: 410mm x 287 mm, aka A3 with 5mm blank border. It is advised, but not strictly necessary, to do a 10mm border as the ink has a tendency to fade or be patchy on the edges.

✷ Prints and projects can be trimmed down to any size from A3 and can be double sided.

✷ Risograph can handle between 80gsm-300gsm, but all paper must be uncoated. Recycled paper performs best and is the most environmentally conscious, but not strictly necessary.

✷ Large washes of high saturation is not advised, but is possible. It may result in increased smudging and transferring, or has higher risk of roller marks on final prints.

✷ Registration will vary between prints as this is a very mechanical process. Perfect registration and perfect prints is not 100% achievable through risograph, and variations should be embraced as part of the risograph process! The more ink colours you have, the more likely registration will not be 100% perfect.

✷ Risograph inks never truly dry, and are printed on uncoated paper. Risograph is highly prone to smudging and is not weatherproof. Please bear this in mind when considering risograph for your projects!

Please refer to these following guides when considering risograph as your printing medium if you’re unfamiliar with the process: