StretchLearn Course

Design for the riso, not the inkjet

Think in ink channels, exploit overprint, and ship a layered PDF any riso studio will love.

Beginner9 hr 35 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Risograph is a stencil-duplicator process that prints one Pantone-like ink at a time from soy-based inks, prized for its luminous flats, registration drift and gritty texture. This course rebuilds your design thinking around channels rather than CMYK: you choose inks, set up overprint and trapping, master halftone angles and LPI, and prep separated PDFs to a real studio's spec. By the end you can take a concept from sketch to a press-ready, colour-marked file pack.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Separate a design into individual spot-colour ink layers for riso printing

Predict and exploit overprint colours by layering translucent riso inks

Build halftone textures at the correct LPI and angle to avoid moiré

Design within real paper, ink and registration constraints of riso studios

Export a press-ready layered PDF with spot channels a studio accepts

Brief a riso print house and read a quote, proof and registration test

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: How the Risograph Actually Prints

Understand the stencil-duplicator process, why it looks the way it does, and the constraints that shape every design decision.

3 lessons

The machine: master, drum and one ink at a timeContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Why riso looks like riso: texture, drift and grainContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Paper, ink and run-size constraintsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Spot-Colour Layer Thinking

Rewire your process to design in separate ink channels, choose a palette, and exploit overprint.

3 lessons

Designing in channels, not CMYKContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Choosing inks: the riso colour libraryContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Overprint: getting new colours for freeContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Halftones, Textures and Tonal Control

Convert continuous tone into riso-friendly halftones, control LPI and angle, and build texture.

3 lessons

Why riso needs halftonesContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Setting LPI, angle and avoiding moiréContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Building texture: grain, gradients and noiseContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: File Prep, Studio Hand-off and Proofing

Turn finished artwork into a flawless layered PDF, brief the studio, read proofs and run the press relationship.

3 lessons

Exporting a layered, separated PDFContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Briefing the studio and reading a quoteContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Proofs, registration tests and press checksContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

risographspot colouroverprinthalftoneprint designduplicator printinglayered PDFzine printing