we make it
We make it is a Risograph print and design studio, but also a library and exhibition space based in Equipment
Berlin. We make it is dedicated to artists, designers and people who love excellent and handcrafted
printed matter. Risograph RZ1070 (A3, 600 dpi)
Here we provide our knowledge and experience to help people to get their zines, books, j-cards, 14 color drums
vinyl covers, ephemera and other printed matter published. b/w-Laserprinter (max. Format: A4)
Mimeograph (max. Format: A4)
In this case we don’t talk about concept, design and riso print only, we have several machines
for processing and binding; like a guillotine, a stack cutter, a scoring machine, a hot foil machine, Stack cutter (cutting length: 45 cm)
several machines for perfect binding, pad binding and all tools needed for our beloved »pamphlet Guillotine (cutting length: 58 cm)
stitch«. Creasing machine (max. width: 45 cm)
Perforating machine (max. width: 45 cm)
We make it is a project by Franziska Brandt und Moritz Grünke who also founded Gloria Glitzer Folding machine (max. Format: A3+)
[Link], a small press for artists books, in 2007. Since then they published lots of Hot foil machine (max. Format: 5 × 8 cm)
artzines, attends at many art(ists’) book fairs all over Europe and curated several exhibitions on
self-publishing artists. Perfect Binder (dispersion glue)
Moritz also collects artists’ publications and founded [Link] a blog dedicated to self-pu- Wire-O Binder (max. Format: A4)
blishing artists in 2010. Since 2015 he is also part of the Miss Read ([Link]) core Coil Binder (max. Format: A4)
team. Together with Michalis Pichler and Yaiza Camps he organizes and curates the fair. Pad Binder (max. Format: 45 cm)
So we are ready for your ideas. Get in touch! Tools for hand stitching
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
the risograph
Some facts
Risography is a stencil duplication pro-
cess developed in the 1980s in Japan.
The printing process derives from the
Mimeograph.
It is a highly energy efficient, ozone free
printing method. As the colors are soy oil
based and the stencil foil is made from
plant fibers it is also very environmentally
friendly.
The Riso prints exclusively on uncoated
papers up to 300 g/m².
Risography is best used for small and
medium editions of 15 – 500 prints.
Riso is Japanese for »ideal.«
This is our Risograph RZ 1070E, from the outside, it looks just like a photocopier, but the guts are
entirely different. Similar to screen printing, Risograph printers uses a screen covered with a sten-
cil (master), which means that it prints one colour at a time. Each additional color layer requires
an additional master and an additional pass through the machine.
The prints have a hand-printed feel with a very nice texture. It is perfect for typography, vectors,
drawings but also water colors and much more. When printing images on a Riso the result looks
very different to offset. We love it but for some people the result doesn’t fit their imagination.
Riso Inks
thermal print head
Riso ink is mad from soi oil, water and
organic pigments. As it is a liquid ink it
needs time to settle.
master (stencil) So printing multi-color prints needs
about one day per color, roughly said.
drum Due to ths ink ingredients Riso ink rubs
off easily.
So its a good idea to avoid large areas of
ink solid colours for flyers and book covers.
The brighter the colour, the easier it rubs
off.
Large areas of block colour will not print
out evenly. Lighter areas will appear.
paper printing process prints
Thats how the print process works: We send the printing file to the Riso and a stencil (master) is
created by the thermal head burning holes (with 600 dpi) into thermal sensitive paper. This paper
is wrapped around the color drum automatically. Then the drum rotates at high speed which pus-
hes the ink through the screen and onto the paper as it is sent through the machine.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
printing 1
Set up
Preparing files for risograph printing is
very similar to screen printing. You need
a file for every color you like to print.
Each file must be black and white or in
grey scale with a minimum resolution of
300 dpi for images (our risograph burns
masters with 600 dpi).
If you like to use a shade of a color, just
turn this part into a greyscale.
No rasterization of this area is needed,
except you like to use a special raster
beyond FM or AM.
It is always a good idea to provide a file
with the final layout to prevent errors in
printing.
Registration
Please be aware when printing with a
Risograph the registration will not be
perfect. There will always some misregis-
tration when printing several colours or
the back and front of one sheet.
If you want the avoid white spaces
between two colors you can overlap the
colors (trapping) in your layout.
FM Screening
As we can print directly from a PDF or TIFF
file we have the possibility to influence
the screening. Our Risograph supports FM
(Frequency Modulation) — dither — and
AM AM (Amplitude Modulation) — halftone.
Large areas of block color
Please avoid using large areas of solid
FM AM color in your prints, this causes all sorts
of problems; Jams, Splashes, Smudges
and ripping of paper.
Beyond that it will cause roller marks on
your print sheets when printing more
than one color or recto/verso printing.
And be aware Riso ink rubs off easily!
Faux CMYK or multi-tone printing
For multi-tone printing: Please do not add
a halftone your artwork files, the Riso will
create a halftone automatically. Otherwise
your images may have moireé effects.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
printing 2
C 1
Size
The maximum paper size we can feed the
risograph with is 320 ×450 mm.
The max. printing size is 280 × 400 mm
when you use crop marks and bleed.
It’s 285 × 410 mm without any marks or
bleed.
Dimensions 280 mm × 400 mm · Bleed 3 mm
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
printing 3
14 colors
We have 14 colors available. If you need
a color chart to 17
Malplaquetstraße work with
· 13347 in Adobe soft-
Berlin
ware please let·us
[Link] know.
hello@[Link]
Color Chart
Yellow
Orange
Crimson
Bright Red
Pink
Burgundy
Purple
Medium Blue
Blue
Teal
Green
Hunter Green
Brown
Grey
Black
This is an overprinting sample of our 14 colors.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
Examples 1
Printing
Risograph prints have a very nice texture
which is great for graphics, typography,
drawings, vectors, etc.
Printing images on a risograph is different
to offset. We love it but for some people
the result doesn’t fit their imagination.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
Binding 1
Perfect binding (soft cover)
a solid binding for books with more than
36 pages. Pages gets glued on the back,
adding mesh for long-lasting. a soft-cover
gets glued to the backbone of the book
to protect the content and the binding.
Ota-Bind is possible, too.
Perfect binding & linen fabric
a quick and solid binding for books with
more than 36 pages. Pages gets glued on
the back, adding mesh for long-lasting. a
linen fabric gets glued to the backbone of
the book to protect the binding.
Perfect binding with colored glue
very fancy and light binding. different
colored glue is possible (red, yellow, blue,
black, transparent)
solid binding for books with more than
12 pages.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
Binding 2
Swiss brochure (Perfect binding))
Perfect bound book body glued, on the
last page, into a scored cover.
Shows an open spine.
Coil binding
long lasting binding with a plastic coil.
Various colors and diameter availabe.
Wire-O binding
long lasting binding with a metall wire.
Various colors and diameter availabe.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
Binding 2
pad stapled and taped
very solid solution for books with a back
but you’ll have some loss in the inside
margin (gutters).
Rubber
cheap, quick and easy binding.
folded sheets hold together with a rub-
ber. depending on the rubber this binding
can be long lasting and it’s still possible
to copy single sheets easily
Pamphlet stitched
a very elegant and long lasting but
expensive binding.
folded sheets stiched together with a
thread (various colors available)
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129
Binding 3
Stapled
long lasting, quick and cheap binding.
folded sheets staple stitched (various
colors available)
staple forms: plain staples and ring sta-
ples (grey metallic only)
Stapled and glued
Stapled booklet glued into a scored cover
Stapled pad
Stapled from the top into the cover.
Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke · Malplaquetstraße 17 · 13347 Berlin
Mail hello@[Link] · web [Link] · Phone +49 (0)30 91 530 129