How to Screen Print Risograph Style

How-To Guides

This guide demonstrates how to create a risograph-style effect using screen printing. Risograph (or Riso) is a technique where each colour is printed separately in layers, often slightly off registration, creating a distinctive textured and handmade look. This approach works well in the classroom, encouraging experimentation with colour, layering and composition.

Learning Outcomes:

- Pupils can use a range of techniques and processes, including stencil cutting and screen printing, to create layered images.

- Pupils can develop and refine ideas, simplifying a design into bold shapes suitable for printmaking.

- Pupils can demonstrate control of materials and tools, such as using a squeegee effectively to transfer ink.

- Pupils understand how colour can be built through layering, including how overlapping inks create new visual effects.

- Pupils can experiment with registration, including intentional misalignment to achieve a specific aesthetic outcome.

- Pupils can evaluate and adapt their work, responding to unexpected results and using them creatively.

- Pupils gain knowledge of printmaking traditions and contemporary techniques, including risograph-style processes.

Step by step - Let's Create

Create the Design

Begin by sketching a portrait that will be used as a stencil. Keep the design simple, using bold shapes and minimal detail so it prints clearly and suits the layered, slightly unpredictable nature of risograph-style printing

Cut the Stencil

Use a knife to carefully cut out the stencil. Keep all pieces intact, including both the positive and negative shapes, as both will be used later in the process.

Prepare the Screen

Tape up the screen to block any areas where ink should not pass through. This helps control the print and keeps the image clean.

Position the Stencil

Line up the stencil by using the negative as a guide to accurately place the positive in the correct position on the screen.

Print the First Layer

Apply ink to the screen and use the first print to help stick the stencil in place. Then, using a squeegee at a 45-degree angle, pull the ink across the screen. Repeat this to create multiple prints, keeping the angle consistent to ensure smooth ink transfer.

Prepare for the Next Colour

Remove the stencil, wash the screen, and prepare it for the next layer.

Print with Offset Registration

Reposition the stencil slightly off registration before printing the next colour. This intentional misalignment creates the characteristic risograph effect.

Use the Negative Stencil

Because multiple prints are available, use the negative version of the stencil to print background or contrasting areas. Line it up over the existing print, again slightly off registration to enhance the layered effect.

Finished Piece

This process shows how risograph-style screen printing can be used in the classroom to explore layering, registration, and creative decision-making through hands-on experimentation with colour and form.