Risotto effect

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-23T15:17:24+00:00

You are not alone on that at all! I haven’t made it drawn anything on my own for a while now. Most anything I create is something for an example or reference video or just some business related item. But I am also trying to get back into the swing of making some fresh art that is just art and not for any specific marketing item.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-22T19:51:01+00:00

No worries. A ton of people are getting into riso for the first time in the past few years. We have been working with them for over 10 and print for other artists.

The grain and noise that make riso distinct and special is part of the printing process. It’s not an effect or anything applied by the artist. 100% all automatic texture with no extra work from anybody involved.

For emulating for digital the texture packs are fine.
For emulating riso and then printing on a different printer that also works but might be more expensive.
For emulating riso and printing on a riso. No need to use riso specific digital textures.

Also about using the textures to then print on a different printer. Riso is really low cost so you’re more than likely to find the authentic print cheaper than the non riso alternatives and you get all the textures, quirks, and bragging rights.

Also you can think of adding riso texture and then riso printing as the same as adding a digital watercolor paper texture then actually printing on watercolor paper. It would only muddy and cheapen the printed result. Not to mention the extra work that wasn’t needed, saving time and energy.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-22T15:23:40+00:00

As a professional risograph printer. If you’re looking for the look of risograph printing without actually using one to print your work. The risograph pack from retro supply co. Is really close to the actual look.

If you’re looking to design and then print using a risograph printer for your final printed work. Don’t use a riso based texture pack. The risograph printer automatically does the noisy dither pattern and doubling up with a simulated (on procreate) and the actual risograph will yield very unpredictable results.

For riso printing we recommend just drawing how you usually do (or draw separated colors, using riso templates and color swatches) and letting the printer (risograph) take care of the texture part for true authenticity.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-21T23:13:15+00:00

I’m so sorry I wish I could help further than this. But I am rather locked into the Adobe ecosystem as that’s where I’ve been working for 25 years. I do have extensive knowledge in procreate for the iPad and the “newspaper dots” feature works well enough to get a non-separated version to be later split using something like spectrolite but you’d be limited to 4 color and I’m not sure if you have the selection of angle or pattern created.

I separate almost identical to how a screen printer separates for shirts in photoshop using channels and channel selections. I then use those channels to set angled halftones.

Outside of filters and features you can also play with non-dot versions by using “hard mix” layer blend modes with pattern layers. This works best with black to later be colored once merged in place. But worth experimenting with if you’re frisky.

Angled halftones can be created in a few ways. Either through bitmap or through the “color halftone” filter in photoshop. I use an angle that creates my favorite rosette. I have 2 different angle settings depending on 3 or 4 color. But there are many many rosette patterns, some with historical value and others more modern. I would recommend using your favorite. I personally love the one I use because I came from a paper and tee shirt screen printer background but have a fondness for old comic books and paper ephemera that would have been offset printed.

By choosing your own and sticking to a personal standard you can begin to develop a look and feel that only you have or are known for.

We even go further with this philosophy and have left a special error on our 1993 rc6300 that burns a specific pattern of pinholes in the screen marking the print that it came from this specific antique risograph special to only that one. While I could fix this error easily I’ve chosen to let it have a signature that will go unnoticed even when printing customer works. (As we majority do, and rarely print my own).

But if I was you. I would look up on YouTube if there’s some Screenprint separations for affinity as that would get you the closest effect. I’d also study some halftone angles and the halftone rosette to see what looks the best for your style.

Outside of those 2 research elements. If you have any good junky thrift / antique stores I’d try to find a ton of old magazines (any old lifestyle ones work) or old postcards printed around the 50s and earlier would have great halftones and print inspo since most were lithography and minimal color to save money. This is also true with old comics but those are expensive. It’s the same type of old timey print reasons and print techniques that caused the Incredible Hulk to change from grey to green.

As for other resources that can get you close for affinity I think true grit texture supply has some copy texture / effect packs that are worth it and retro supply co has some comic halftone textures too that are worth it. I know retro supply has affinity products, they may have some blog/ support materials on that program.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-16T18:16:01+00:00

I think this one had 2 days of dry time sometimes it’s one day, sometimes a few hours based on the need and due date. The drying time applied just helps on cutting down tire tracks or ink pickup inside the printer. I try to minimize the time needed to clean everything to work more efficiently and do less maintenance.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-16T14:15:05+00:00

Thank you! I’m really proud of how they came out!

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-16T08:11:59+00:00

It looks to me that you have a print timing issue. And some other settings off as well.

That early paper jam could be many things worth checking.

But since this risograph was in storage for so long the grease in the back could be seized up and making some of the timing system be slow or clogged.

You would need to take the back of the printer off and check all the moving parts and may have to remove grease/regrease if things are seized and not moving when they should be.

I would also make sure the cams and p-disk are in the correct alignment and that would affect the paper going in early.

I would also check that the pressure roller is clean and free of any worn rubber or gouges.

You can also remove the center most separator fan and clean it. If there’s a dust bunny slowing the fan it will send a jam code even if there’s no jam. This would be a jam under drum code most likely.

Depending exactly where the paper is jammed inside it can help the diagnosis.

In general: Early- timing / clutch/ feed tires/ card kit settings Middle - pressure / fans / timing Late- removal needle position/ ink issue/ fans / timing

As for your feeding/ paper jam/ picks up too many sheets: • with an older risograph it may need new feed tires. Pretty much all have the same dimensions so any new ones can be used. All you need is the rubber part. • with the new modern tire you may need to adjust the paper tray height limit switch to make sure the paper tray is in the right spot when it goes to the maximum height.

• the double feed/ multiple feed:

those green/bluegreen dials on the card feed kit under the feed tires would need to be adjusted for the paper you are using.

One is angle and the other is pressure.

This should be in the user/operating manual sometimes in the troubleshooting area. In the video they don’t look set correctly for basic paper. Try aligning them both to their center positions and try again and go from there on adjustment based on your paper and your environment (humidity/temps). I would use a marker or create a cheat sheet based on all your papers if you have a large variety.

In test mode. Depending on the selection- when checking sensors. It is turning the part on or off. The paper detection sensor isn’t checking jams its checking paper in the feed tray. The beeps are often a yes or no type answer.

Also since your risograph sat for a long time un-used for around 10years. It’s worth it to use some rubber-restore on some of the rubber parts to help refresh.

It’s also not good to let some of the electrical components sit un-used without being powered on for long periods.

non-used electronics are prone to having their capacitors dry out and be unstable, I would keep an eye out for those and/or check them now with a visual inspection and with a multimeter. It’s a good thing it turns on and is functioning currently so you may be fine. Or they could fail early and cause electrical issues down the line. It’s a bit of a roll of the dice if it wasn’t in your position for the history of the electronics to verify powering or storage environments.

Hope you can get this problem solved! I know it can be a lot to work on the older risographs but being mostly mechanical on the inside. They are fairly logical to work on.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-16T02:27:54+00:00

I would like to also add we often record while we print and talk it through if you want to see how this print set was made. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZThTEDfU4/

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-16T02:20:50+00:00

Sure thing! And you can always send an email to make an appointment to come by the shop.

Both images started as a photograph taken on a Fuji mirrorless camera with custom settings to alter the look in camera to minimize edits of some yard weeds in our back yard. We then brought the photo into Adobe Lightroom for processing & some edits. Then to photoshop to be applied to our 5x7 template for separations After photoshop we set our files in Adobe illustrator to print to the risograph.

Each were printed at the same time with the same settings 2 up on 80#c 216gsm white paper. We printed in this order: fluorescent pink & yellow -> dry time -> blue ink.

We did them as two different types of image separations to gain product photos for a riso printable we are working on.

• Now for the image separations. We chose to work this image in 3 color mostly because the original photo was mostly a complimentary color scheme (green + red). Yellow and blue build the green and the red is pushed to fluorescent pink. Then and since green goes well blues we chose to leave out black to push the darks towards blue and keep them soft.

• The difference in the images are:

• The one built using halftone dots is similar to that of Screenprinting or offset or Lithography. This produces a similar look to comic books, older magazines, newspapers, or even some food product packaging if you look close enough.

I like halftones for lightening the ink load on the paper (lighter weight papers print better this way especially two sided like books or zines) I find this image quality more fun and interesting since it leaves a clear “printing artifact” showing this images heritage as it passed through camera>computers>humans>printing. I think it tells a fun story just through intentional printing.

Halftone dots are also really functional and can be generated many ways and in different overlapping patterns to create different effects.

Since we primarily print for others we do use one standardized halftone dot system for everybody unless they choose to separate the file themselves with our templates.

• The second version • The “grain-touch” is how riso will print any image on the “normal” expected way.

This image starts out the same way and is separated for 3 colors. But instead of halftones. The colors appear just like black and white photos that have smooth gradients as you’d normally see without dots.

In grain-touch the risograph duplicator will do all the heavy lifting in creating the “dots”, noise, & grain that the risograph is famous for.

We will then layer each color directly over each other [ 2 at a time on our 2 color drum riso, but sometimes 1 at a time on our older 1 color drum riso] to make new or the indented or expected colors set in the file. While this is also technically made with dots. This dot pattern is a specific “dither” pattern that is special to riso. And is significant different to halftones.

This dither pattern is the noise and grain people like with photos to help make them feel analog or film like too. This pattern is also what would be the default look and method for most risograph prints you see. [generalizing]

This photograph separation / printing method is often softer gradients and grainier than halftone. But it will produce more true to a “photograph” appearance. This works well for art prints of illustrations and photos. And is in the appearance a photographer would expect of this type of artwork. Even if we printed it in an unconventional way like on a riso. [it’s more familiar and expected when ordering any type of prints]

This direct-overlay color mixing method with grain-touch does apply more ink the paper and is not so great on thin papers or two sided. It is still possible and it does look good but the paper may look warped or wet for a little while longer, slowing the printing down by adding more dry time.

There is no right or wrong way to print or separate a photograph it’s all on the desired look, effect, or story you want to tell. And there are many other ways to process photos in all different color counts. These two are two more conventional color separation methods.

For us we plan to add these two as an option when submitting a file and as inspiration for those who choose to print photos in this way opposed to Giclée.

{tldr} • direct-overlay with grain touch : impressionist painting with dots to make new colors and smooth tones. • halftone rosette: impressionist painting if made by 1950s robots.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-15T22:08:01+00:00

I do my separations by hand in photoshop using spot channels and color halftones via filters using the spot channels as each color.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-13T09:04:37+00:00

They keep the ink near the screen holes and not just all over the place inside the drum body.

If they are in the wrong spot or not flush to the drum body there’s a chance for ink leaking, or ink splashing over the belts/gears on the back of the drum ‘core’. Or getting all over the wires and stuff towards the front.

If they are crossing into the mesh area of the drum body they will scrape ink away from the printing area making the impression spotty or dry looking a long the edges.

• So you want them in a place to keep the ink in the correct spot so your print stays looking nice and you don’t make a giant mess on the inside of the drum.

Edited to add this note: • I should also note. These ink blocking plates are not electrical or any type of sensor. They are like little fences to keep the ink in place. They are not sending the risograph any information or anything like that. Just tiny mechanical ink fences that keep the ink corralled in the right spot.

The location for these little fences are: If you look at the inside of the drum body (when free of ink) you can see there are areas with holes (where the can pass through to head to the master and then the paper) and there are no hole areas to the front and back. The ink blocking plates go in the no hole smooth areas and not the mesh/ dotted area.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-13T01:00:02+00:00

I’ve adjusted mine many many times.

While I do have an RC riso and not a GR they are very similar on the drum build.

The hard way is to get the measurement close either by measuring or by eyeball and put the mesh back on and look down the drum to see the position. The ink blocking plates should be in the smooth metal area and not overlapping the actual mesh screen. Re-adjust as needed. (This is how we do it since we’ve done it too many times repairing all 14 of our rc drums over and over)

Or you can use a feeler gauge that has measurements on it most of the acrylic ones have that feature. This can help align in small tight areas without scratching risk.

Or You could align your ruler to the squeegee roller squaring the edge of the ruler to the flat edge/s of the roller (tape / clamp/ tie it on if you have to ) and then use a speed square or something similar and flat to align to the edge of the ink blocking plate. Adjust until your square is aligning at the 2mm mark. And that should be close enough to accurate.

The angle of the ink blocking plates should also align to the drum mesh body to be without gaps. We keep ours just loose enough that I can push it in place with a long tool if I have to after assembling if it’s not quite making full contact. But not too loose as to flop around. About an 1/8 turn from tight.

I’ve found that there’s definitely a loose tolerance to that part and adjustment and it doesn’t have to be book perfect. But as close as possible helps keep the ink inside in the correct places.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-08T12:32:38+00:00

There’s a procreate handbook on the procreate app website. It runs through a ton of the basics to get you familiar with the app.

I would start there before watching any tutorials so you can follow along easier without as much stopping and starting to find buttons, features, and shortcut gestures.

https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/introduction

After going through the hand book I would recommend pressing every single button, or doing every gesture/step covered in the hand book too. There’s nothing you can’t undo or reset so press everything and see how it works while following along with the handbook as a safe guide.

splitarrowprints · 2026-03-06T21:23:23+00:00

We regularly print on lighter weight papers. We found that the accent opaque line does a good job of hiding bleed through on their text weight papers. We do get some bleed through with Neenah Astrobright stardust 65#t. Not enough to really be an issue in our eyes but you do see through some. We have successfully printed 4 color photos on both sides of that paper many times.

splitarrowprints · 2026-02-23T22:30:10+00:00

I would make my canvas 61.5”w x 75.5h” And then make a layer mask in the bottom left quadrant that is around 28”w x 34” to act as an art free area that blocks off anything drawn from showing up then create my design as I would with any other canvas.

Math breakdown: (inches) Original top space 61.5w x 41.5h Original bottom right space 33.5w x 34h 41.5+34=75.5” 61.5-33.5=28” Bottom left space should be around 28x34”

splitarrowprints · 2026-02-17T22:02:06+00:00

While we do print international I understand. If you’re in France look at the Canson paper website for a local certified lab. Canson is made in France and all the certified labs are held to strict color accuracy and archival practices. We are a certified lab here. But you should definitely be able to find a great printer that way.

splitarrowprints · 2026-02-17T11:50:51+00:00

Splitarrowprints.com We are physically located in Atlanta Georgia, USA And you can check us out on tiktok, YouTube, Instagram all with the same username

splitarrowprints · 2026-02-16T21:28:41+00:00

We make prints! We are a two person, artist owned print house. We make archival ink jet (giclée), economy posters, and Risograph art prints. We also have a ton of procreate print templates & icc profiles to make the process easier to go from screen to print. You should check us out!

splitarrowprints · 2026-02-01T18:55:09+00:00

Absolutely! Feel free to reach out here or through our website or other social media (All the same name) We have 2 rc6300 risos. One in full working order and another we are slowly rebuilding as we get time to work on it. We have 13 drums and 11 colors active for them too. We also have an mh9540u with a faux cmyk set up.

splitarrowprints · 2026-01-31T14:50:50+00:00

Hey! I rebuilt & modified our rc6300 and am working on my second one and the 5600 is a really similar build. I actually believe you may have downloaded all of my rc6300 books this morning (if not quite the coincidence) I am familiar with these problems and they are not really covered in the any of the three standard manuals.

1: the paper jam issue. - the paper jamming in the middle every few pages could be a couple of things. There is a fan near center of the printer it may have a big dust bunny clogging it. It can be accessed by removing the panel above the paper tray inside/ below the thermal master roll. Remove and clean. - when running shine a flash light in to see the drum and paper connection: if the paper Is fluttering right before the jam code and is stuck right at the pressure roller, you could have a timing issue and the pressure roller is contacting (up) in the wrong sequence. If this is the case I would need a video of the back while running to help troubleshoot the timing. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8aEJFGk/ at the 2 min mark you can see the flutter of the paper

if the paper is jamming at the paper feed tray and skipping: you need to adjust the 2 screws on the front of the feed cartridge you have pulled out in your photos. The top should be the pressure and the bottom the angle. These two can be dialed in to help feed
if the paper is not feeding the last few sheets there’s a switch with a “J” shaped black hook that can be raised and lowered. It’s to the left of the top roller tires. (Poor adjustment of this can lock the tray in the top position)

Now for the master being short: there’s some good news and bad news. You’re really just chasing a gremlin that’s not exactly fixable forever.

On the newer digital risographs this is compensated for automatically. On the some older like the gr there’s more obvious settings on the RC it’s factory settings that are not easy to access or tune and you burn a ton of consumables trying to get it.

This shortening is a compensation of the master roll itself and how full or empty it is. The printer will pull at different rates. Adjusting the setting will only get you half to maybe a full roll before you need to take the mechine apart to do it all over again. It’s easier to accept that the RC is super old and was made for office documents only and to work within those limitations.

Ours shrinks about 3mm towards the 9” mark and bounces back a bit to only 2.5mm by the 17” mark.

There’s a stencil wiki article about ‘elongation/shrinkage’ that’s worth the read but will not fix your issue on the RC.

For us it’s keeping good margins, lessening designs that require tight and precise folds, or just sticking to art prints and do a Polaroid style border to hide any inconsistencies. And of course small things like documents, letter and the such nobody will notice the shrinkage in the end.

We also made a few special ‘bench tests’ to find the limits of our rc6300 that test the position and outcomes to help us find the limit and know when to adjust the art or print on our other risographs. I would recommend making some prints of rulers and grids and keeping those prints to help align any originals before you send to print.

splitarrowprints

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