Riso Karma – An Epilogue

Well now.  After some adventures on CraigsList, some scams on the interwebs, some bad design and a couple of re-starts, it seems my Riso karma and dues paid is starting to kick in.

Thanks to a nefarious and unscrupulous dealer on eBay who goes by many names, but “RisoSource” and “David Lindsey Interdonati” works in most circles, I learned a whole lot about fixing drums.  (After paying $1800 and getting 3 drums that were all non-functional, I had to bone up pretty fast.). Then I started exploring the online community.  It was a pleasant experience.

On Facebook, there’s the Risograph Community group.  Then there’s Risograph Printing.  Both seem very helpful and pleasant, although a little like the 3D printing pages on Facebook – you see similar questions repeated almost weekly.  There’s the Stencil Wiki site – a source of a huge amount of information.  The Reddit subreddit is interesting too. Oh don’t forget the Discord page, though I don’t know really how it works, I was able to get on and make an occasional post.  To be honest, I’m not even entirely sure what Discord is…

There, on Facebook, I met a gentleman, and I use that word rarely, by the name of Craighton Berman.  Mr. Berman was selling some drums via Facebook, and one in particular caught my eye – a blue drum that he said was not working.  He couldn’t tell me much about it, just that a service guy had told him it would be $400 to fix it, and it was fixable, but he was getting an “ink overflow” message on it and had picked up a new printer, so he didn’t want to deal with it.

He asked me to make an offer, I offered $150 for it which he said was “more than fair”.  I was pretty confident I could fix it, but he said if it was junk, he’d refund me $75 for the trouble…  this is why I use the term gentleman.  He certainly didn’t have to do that.  I paid him through PayPal and he shipped it on the next business day.

The drum came in and I had a look.  The drum body was pretty seriously dented.  It came from a printshop, so I’m going to assume it got dropped.  I pulled it off and looked at the overflow sensor, and sure enough it was globbed with ink.  I ordered a drum body (from China, $65) and wiped down the screen and poked at the dents in the body.  Some of them came out with finger pressure.

International shipping being what it is these days, I started thinking about ways to try to fix the dents.  I did a little High-School-Shop-Class level sheet metal work, and decided to slap the thing back together and see if I could make a print.  Much to my amazement, it prints pretty well, so now I have blue, and a new friend.

Oh, one other shoutout – somehow Hallagans, the Riso supplier that I’d bought a few inks from, found out about us and sent a message on Instagram congratulating us on our “new” Riso.  It seems they may have read the blog post, but they wanted our address to send a care package.  And they did.

I was kind of shocked.  They sent a nice (Riso-printed) card, some VERY cool little book-binders that were emoji, a bag and a swatch book, and a brand-new tube of blue ink!  THESE are people who know how to build customer loyalty.  They also answered a few questions via IG – and yes, they do sell new drums for the RZ220ui, still.

In the meantime, Craighton had enclosed a couple of his pieces he’d printed and gave me some very kind encouragement on my design work.  He’s an industrial designer and illustrator among other things, and his work kind of refocused me.  I decided to take a more conservative tack, and design the brochure as a little booklet using a more minimalist approach.  It’s pretty typical of what you see a lot of people doing with the Riso.

So yeah, some interesting lessons learned.

First off, the event I’d been needed a brochure for had passed, so there was no time pressure anymore.  I could just chill and mess around, and the Riso liked that.

Second, the ink doesn’t really dry in any reasonable timeframe.  If you cover large areas with heavy ink, especially several layers of different colors, it’s going to track on the rollers, period.  An easy way to avoid that is to place heavy ink areas away from the 2″ centerline of the design.  I’m not sure how page size affects that – a bigger page with a smaller image might solve it as well.

Third, and more of a design-process observation, one that I learned a few decades ago, repeated constantly when teaching photography and seemed to forget myself, when learning a new process, start with basics.  Cue Homer Simpson: “d-OH!”

I’m really looking forward to more involvement in the Riso community – whether it’s to throw in my bit of tech advice (the drum body screws are M3 6mm stainless – the good ones that resist corrosion, for what that’s worth…) or just to lurk and try out new papers and stuff.  A handful of people have approached me about RisoSource and Mr. Interdonati, and the post has been read a number of times, so I feel like I’m doing my part to weed out the trash in the community.  More than that, though, I feel like me and my Riso are working out a nice, productive relationship.

I do whatever it demands, it does kind of what I’d like it to.

Good ’nuff!

Plans for the future?  I’d like to clean up the Yellow drum a little more – there’s still some black coming through, but I don’t think it’s a pressing issue.  Hallagans sent me Blue, and the ink I have is Medium Blue – a little more violet than the Blue – but I like it better so I’ll be switching that drum to Blue.  I think the Kelley Green drum should go to a nicer green – I’m not much a fan of that shade, so I’ll be pushing that more to the teal side at some point.  The Bright Red is fine.

The paper question is a endless path of exploration…  I’ve always said paper choice is like picking wine, and my highest praise for both is “yummy”.  My local art supply store, Artist and Craftsman Supply has a great selection of papers that print nicely with the Riso, so I stop over there with about the same frequency as my local wine place.

They’re also mildly amused by my Riso antics, so that’s fun too.

So yup, karma can be a bitch, but it can also be a wonderful thing…  hope y’all have a great holiday season, whatever you celebrate, and we’ll see you when the warmth starts to return to the cold, hard ground!

Happy Risoing!

Lynn Open Studios: What Have We Got for You?

Saturday’s the big day! Lynn Open Studios is happening once again, including the Lydia Pinkham studios, Lynn Arts, GALA, the Lynn Museum and this year, The Brickyard Collaborative!

We’re planning a “Mini Maker Fair” at the Lynn Museum, and here are a few of the things you’ll see:

Laser cutting with the Glowforge

We’re going to have a Glowforge video showing the machine in action, and samples of projects cut with it, along with handouts and your own coloring and painting projects!  The Glowforge can cut through wood, plastic, leather, and a host of other materials with ease and remarkable precision.

3D Printing – Demonstrations and Giveaways

If you’ve always been interesting in what 3D printing is all about, now’s your chance to see printers in action, along with some fairly hilarious results ( T-Rex with a top hat and monocle?  Yup, we got that!). Be sure to grab a sample before they’re gone!

The Brickyard Forge

In the courtyard, we’re setting up our forge and anvil and working some red-hot steel right before your eyes!  Blade-smithing, forge-welding, tempering and hardening processes, you’ll see it all!

Woodworking

Our Brickyard woodworkers have put together several kits for you to assemble, and even decorate!  Birdhouses, feeders, boxes and more – put them together, or just decorate and paint them, and take them home!

Electronics, Fun with LEDs and Coding

Arduino, Raspberry Pi?  LEDs and coding?  Get a hands-on introduction to this fun, but remarkably useful technology with our Pi kits and more!

Vacuum Forming and Molding

Try your hand at molding, cutting out and decorating your very own molded parts with our VaquForm machine!

T-Shirt Printing

Check out our T-Shirt Printing using a Vinyl Heat Press, and take home a shirt of your own!

and MORE!

…like, a Dog-Tag Printing Machine, maybe?  Seriously, where else are you going to find a machine like this?  Come, learn how, and make your own dogtags!  A Maker For Sale, Sale Table?  We got that too, for your handcrafted, gift-giving pleasure!

We’ll be at the Lynn Museum from 1PM to 4PM on Saturday (Nov 20th).  Be sure to stop by, learn more about The Brickyard Collaborative and check out all the other exciting stuff happening in Lynn this weekend!

See you there!

 

Chapter 4: Designing and Printing the Brochure… or not.

So, my grandfather was a pretty accomplished amateur photographer, and in the ’50s was a member of the Boston Camera Club.  He won an award for a particular photo (“Mike”, a regal Irish Setter) and was talking to the club about the photograph.  As the story goes, he was showing some photos of clouds over a field, and was asked how he knew what the photo was going to be, when he was taking it.  “From taking photo after photo after photo…” was his reply, and his advice to me, learning how to take photographs years later.

Such is Risography.

After making print after print after print, I started being able to visualize, even just a little bit.  My first stabs were pretty much trying to duplicate work I thought was Riso.  I was seriously disappointed, and though got some good responses on it, I didn’t feel it was “true to the Riso”.

I started from an offset-printing place, and tried to adapt the brochure design to the printer.  A lot of that was trying to handle the halftones.

I was able to put the thing together on what is pretty much the community-recommended stock – Mohawk Superfine Eggshell Ultrawhite 80C.  It’s yummy, and beefy…  folded up, it felt kind of strange – too heavy, but to lay all that ink on it, you needed a heavy stock.

I felt a degree of satisfaction in learning what I could do with the machine, but I felt like I was using a hammer for driving a screw.  It was trying to print an offset brochure with a screen printer.  I scrapped it all and started over.

I have started being able to imagine what stuff is going to look like – to visualize the Riso.  I decided to re-think the tri-fold brochure idea and go with a simple print – printed with an image on the front, and text on the back.  Here’s where I’m at:

Most importantly, it works – you can read it.  It also feels distinctly Riso to me.  Just for a peek into what it takes to build that, this is what the files look like in Photoshop:

So yeah…  “take your time” is Piece of Advice #1.  “Make print after print”, is #2.  Also something I learned in the darkroom – don’t be afraid to use paper.  I know, my apologies to the trees, but you can’t be stingy with stock if you’re trying to see like a Riso.

#3, or is it #4?  Visualize.

And of course, the advice from my artist friend, Jennifer…  “You’re supposed to have fun with it!  lol. Part of the process of art making!” 

Oh yeah.  Could it be that I’d forgot we’re making art?

 

 

 

Open Studios at the Lynn Museum! Saturday!

Join us for Open Studios on Saturday, November 20th from 10am-5pm in partnership with Lynn Arts, Lydia Pinkham Labs and the Lynn Museum! Head to LynnArts (25 Exchange Street) to view artist studio spaces, purchase locally made artwork and handmade goods, learn more about the services offered in the LynnArts building, and more.

Be sure to hop on over to the Lynn Museum (590 Washington Street) to view their latest exhibitions, purchase Lynn-themed goods in their shop, and enjoy a pop up by us, The Brickyard Collaborative from 1-4pm. We’ll be offering a few demos including T-Shirt printing, Woodworking, 3D printing, Coding with Raspberry Pi, Lasercutting, a working Forge demonstration, and even a Dog-tag printing machine! 

And don’t forget to swing by the Lydia Pinkham Labs (271 Western Ave) both Saturday, November 20th and Sunday, November 21st from 10am-5pm to see more incredible artworks, artist spaces, and handmade goods, all created right here in Lynn!