A risograph prints by pressing ink through a stencil onto the paper, and the ink dries by soaking in. That one fact decides which papers work.
Uncoated, always
Glossy and silk papers have a coating the ink cannot soak into. It smudges for days. Use uncoated stock: offset, cartridge or a good recycled paper.
Not too heavy
Our machines feed paper from 50 to 210 grams. Posters print best on 120 g, zine pages on 90 g and covers on 170 g. For postcards we use 300 g on the A4 machine, slowly.
The five we use every week
- Cream recycled 120 g: posters, and the colour of most of our prints.
- Bright white 90 g: zine insides, when the ink should glow.
- Kraft 170 g: covers that should feel handmade.
- Pale pink and mint 120 g: one ink on a coloured sheet looks like two.
- Cream card 300 g: postcards and badges.
Bring a sheet of anything you like to the studio and we will run a test for free.
