Workshop: Risography for Photography

Risograph's clever technology makes it extra fun to experiment with photographs. At the workshop, you will learn what conditions the risographer needs to transform a photograph into a risograph image. We test different ways of printing photographs from monochrome to fake cmyk. This workshop is primarily experimental and you will not receive any finished images but a sample catalog to build on. Risography is a Japanese printing technique based on printing through stencils. Simplified, it can be described as a copier that does a type of screen printing. The process is largely mechanical and is based on paper being fed through the machine with various feed wheels and belts and pressed against the template that sits around a kind of pressure roller. As each paper is fed separately, small variations in fit between layers, or coverage of ink may occur from copy to copy in the run. The printing takes place with ready-mixed so-called decorative colors, but they can also be printed together with each other to produce new mixtures and shades. Risography is a printing technique that invites experimentation and exploratory work. During the course, the participants will get to test different ways of working and challenge themselves to find new ways through the limitations and idiosyncrasies of technology. After you've concluded the workshop you are eligible to join Riso Community Studio, a platform where you can use our studio and equipment to work on and print your own projects. More information is given in the workshop!