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Printing the Future: The Riso Revolution

The SVA RisoLAB is thrilled to participate in Printing the Future: The Riso Revolution, a wide ranging Riso-focused gallery exhibition featuring 250 artists and over 300 Riso printed works at dieFirma gallery in NYC curated by RisoLAB co-founder, manager, and faculty member Panayiotis Terzis in collaboration with Book Dummy Press! On view from November 17-December 22, 2022.

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Risograph printing: A low cost printshop in a box

The RisoLAB at the School of Visual Arts in New York City is the only dedicated educational Risograph printing facility of its kind, offering classes and workshops in Risograph printing for designers, illustrators, cartoonists, photographers, and creatives from all corners of the art world.

Learn More about: Risograph printing: A low cost printshop in a box

Print Power: RisoLAB at MoCCA 2022!

The RisoLAB will once again be participating in the Society of Illustrators’ MoCCA festival on April 2nd and 3rd along with the MFA Visual Narrative Program! As always, we will have a Risograph duplicator on-site and will be inviting participants to try out the process for themselves, creating a two or three color print using the drums we have available.

Learn More about: Print Power: RisoLAB at MoCCA 2022!

RisoLAB featured in Design 360° magazine

The RisoLAB was recently featured in the June 2021 issue of Design 360° magazine, a leading design publication based in Guangzhou, China! RisoLAB co-founder, faculty, and manager Panayiotis Terzis discussed Risograph printing in the context of art education, the history and impact of the SVA RisoLAB, and his own Riso printing and publishing practice, in English and Chinese translations.

Learn More about: RisoLAB featured in Design 360° magazine

Print Slam 12 poster by Heesang Lee

Artist in Residence

Poster for our 12th Print Slam, our end-of-semester print sale and exhibition. Designed by summer 2019 Artist-in-Residence Heesang Lee.

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Riso poster by Wren McDonald

Risograph poster by Artist-in-Residence and Faculty member Wren McDonald for his 2018 workshop at the RisoLAB

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Online Classes at the RisoLAB!

Our brand new RisoLAB Remote Series is a suite of online courses that focus on the design, file preparation, and conceptual work that goes into preparing a Risograph print project. Register for our Summer 2022 courses today!

Learn More about: Online Classes at the RisoLAB!

SVA RisoLAB

Since 2015, the SVA RisoLAB has offered Risograph print based classes, workshops, an Artist-in-Residency program, and Open Lab Access for current and former students. We are dedicated to providing a high level of technical and aesthetic training in Risograph printing for artists, designers, illustrators, photographers, and creatives of all backgrounds. Our classes are offered both to the general public as well as matriculated students at the School of Visual Arts. The RisoLAB has been featured on Atlas Obscura, The Comics Journal, and in a video showcase shot in our studio in 2018 by Riso Kagaku, Inc., among other venues.

The RisoLAB is closed to students for the Fall 2020 semester, but we are offering Online Continuing Education courses, and have a number of new initiatives that we will be announcing soon.

This website is in the process of being updated to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What is a Risograph?

A Risograph is a compact, high speed printer made by the Riso Kagaku Corporation of Japan. It fits into a category of printers known as duplicators. While it may resemble a photocopy machine, a Risograph prints using soy-based ink rather than plastic toner. Designs are printed in individual spot color layers, which are passed through paper stencils that are automatically created and wrapped around ink-filled drum cylinders. While originally designed and marketed to cater to schools, churches, restaurants, and small businesses, the Risograph has been adopted by artists and designers interested in self publishing over the last twenty years. The Risograph’s speed, low cost of materials, ease of use, and vivid spot colors make it the perfect tool for printing and publishing small editions of zines, prints, books, and flyers.

Browse our gallery of Risograph prints, zines, and Riso based works. Our archives draw on the work of over 700 artists, designers, illustrators, photographers and other creatives who have used the RisoLAB since 2015.

View Gallery

We offer both online and in-person classes and workshops during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Check out our current and upcoming course offerings.

View Program

Printing the Future: The Riso Revolution

Printing the Future: The Riso Revolution November 17th-December 22nd, 2022 dieFirma 32 Cooper Sq. New York, NY 10003 The SVA RisoLAB is thrilled to participate in Printing the Future: The Riso Revolution, a wide ranging Riso-focused gallery exhibition at dieFirma in NYC curated by RisoLAB co-founder, manager, and faculty member Panayiotis Terzis in collaboration with […]

RisoLAB at MoCCA

The RisoLAB will once again be participating in the Society of Illustrators’ MoCCA festival on April 2nd and 3rd along with the MFA Visual Narrative Program! This event brings together hundreds of small publishers and independent artists and collectives from the worlds of illustration, independent comics, zines and artist books.

Visual Narrative & RisoLAB Spring Continuing Education Info Session

If you missed our Spring CE Info Session you can catch the recording of this event below. Hosted by RisoLAB co-founder and faculty member Pan Terzis, this virtual event featured RisoLAB faculty Aidan Fitzgerald, Wren McDonald, and Pan in addition to Visual Narrative faculty members Bob Walles, Susanne Reece, and Sarah Shaw. Registration is open […]

RisoLAB featured in Design 360° Magazine

RisoLAB Revival: Summer 2021

After a long year, the RisoLAB team is thrilled to announce that we will reopen to the public for Lab Access on July 6th! Students who have previously completed in-person Continuing Education or Undergraduate courses or Graduate training workshops are eligible to sign up for access to the RisoLAB, including unlimited prints and masters […]

Hello World!

Welcome to the brand new RisoLAB website! To mark five years in existence, we decided that it was time that we had a site that truly matched the RisoLAB’s spirit, graphic sensibility, and community.

The RisoLAB Logo: An Evolution

When the RisoLAB first opened in September 2015, there was much work to do on the logistical front. How would the RisoLAB operate? Would we charge fees for hourly usage, or would students pay per print and master?

Riso Circles Exhibition at SFSU

In the fall of 2019, the RisoLAB was invited by San Francisco State University student Maxwell Lohr and SFSU Faculty member Christensen to contribute Riso printed zines, books, editions, and ephemera to an exhibition on campus documenting and explaining the Risograph printing phenomenon.