Most printing hides the paper. Risograph ink does not: it is thin, soy-based and see-through, so whatever is printed underneath shows through whatever is printed on top.
A third colour for free
Print fluorescent pink, let it dry, then print medium blue over part of it. Where the two meet you get a deep violet that is on none of our drums. Yellow over blue gives a green, pink over yellow a hot orange.
Two drums, three colours. Four drums, as many as eleven.
Planning an overprint
Draw each colour as its own black-and-white layer. Where you want the mix, draw on both layers. Our file check shows you a preview of the overlap before anything is printed.
The slip
Each layer goes through the machine separately, so it can land a millimetre away from the last. Some designers fight that with thick outlines; most of our members leave a little room and let it slip. It is the look people come to a riso for.
