Meet Rosy: we brought Riso printing in-house!
It’s been a long time coming, but we’re so excited to finally introduce you to Rosy the Riso, our new MH9450 Risograph machine and the newest member of our Heartell studio family! 🌸
Up until now, we’ve been outsourcing our riso designs to be printed through another studio which gave us the confidence we needed that you like this new format as much as we do. We’ve had so much fun (and success!) with our riso projects over the last three years that we decided it was time to bring the process home.
So you may be wondering, what is Riso?
Riso (short for risograph) printing is a process that sits somewhere between screen printing and photocopying. Each color is printed one layer at a time through a stencil made by the machine using rice paper, giving the finished print a beautifully imperfect, hand-touched look.
It’s also one of the most eco-friendly print methods out there, it uses soy-based inks, stencils made from natural fibers, and creates very little waste or energy use compared to traditional printing. The result is vibrant, textured color that feels alive on the page.
There’s still a lot to learn. Riso printing has its own quirks, rhythms, and surprises, but Rachel has been having the time of her life experimenting with all that this glorious printmaking machine can do. She's loving the way she's able to use new materials and processes both traditional and digital to integrate the looser feel of the drawings and paintings she makes with the more refined printmaking style that you know and love from our letterpress designs.
We can’t wait to show you what’s next. Most of our winter release will be printed on Rosy, and the studio is already buzzing (literally!) with color and excitement, and maybe a few holiday playlists.
Stay tuned for more updates from Rosy soon!