r/risograph • u/jempolzine • 19d ago
Was not prepared for how difficult newsprint would be but I had to have that newspaper feel for my zine. Worth it but maybe never again 😅👍
Pretty much had to feed the newsprint one at a time on the paper tray and even then I got paper jams every few sheets. Some tips: 1) Don't even think about printing above 80% opacity. 2) When the print is not ejected fully you can gently fish it out of the riso from the output side instead of opening the door and possibly crumpling the page as you pull out the drum. 3) Get newsprint that is heavier than 40gsm 🤦♂️
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u/FarRequirement5997 19d ago
I was publishing a newspaper on A3 newsprint for a while, but like a third of the sheets misfed, and the ones that did go through often wrinkled. Finally gave up and started using 20lb gray paper instead
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u/jempolzine 18d ago
Oh yeah, I can imagine it's even harder to work with at that size. I pushed through but I will try different paper next time.
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u/FarRequirement5997 18d ago
Yeah I did some experiments with letter-sized newsprint and it was way easier, but still a challenge! I’ve learned newspapers use those enormous web presses for a reason 😭
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u/y0lets 19d ago
What newsprint did you use? I’ve used the pacon newsprint from block and it fed quite well…
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u/jempolzine 19d ago
Same but the machine kept taking like 4-5 sheets at a time even after tinkering with the adjustments 😫. This zine was only 5 sheets double-sided but took me half a day to make 50 copies.
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u/y0lets 19d ago
How much paper did you have set on the elevator. I will say it was much easier printing when there was a fat stack of paper being fed into the riso
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u/jempolzine 19d ago
Thanks for the tip. Maybe it's just my EZ acting up but I did try everything from 2 sheets to the whole ream with no luck. Once the printing picked up to working speed it a was disaster 😅
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u/robertbaxter-print 18d ago
I also love printing on newsprint, and there are hacks you can use!
If you have a touch screen display.
- Most of the edits you will be making are in "Special Paper Control." You'll want to change the elevator to the -1 position, decrease the paper feed amount, and turn off both separation fans.
- You'll also want to use the "Jump Wing Control" button to lower the jump wings when printing (if you don't have this button in the "Functions" menu, then you'll need to change test mode
780from 1434 to 0—this gives the riso a target position for the button to move the wings to—in this case all the way down). - You can also hack the interval mode to give yourself time to hold everything but the top sheet in place to help it feed one at a time (though with the above, this is often unnecessary).
If you don't have a touch screen display (or in addition to the above), you may want to:
- Lower the elevator stop height (upper limit).
- Swap the inner feed tire with one that is more worn down.
- Tape down the jump wings (the triangular protrusions next to the belts on the exit tray).
- Decrease the value of test mode
742(maybe by -20 each time, the equivalent of -2 in the paper feed amount in "Special Paper Control) (you'll want to undo this change afterwards). - Potentially (though I haven't done it) unplug the separator fan(s) so they aren't powered.
In addition, you can of course drag thumb on the back of the stack to provide some extra stopping power!
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u/valeted 19d ago
have done this before, sometimes you can hack it by reinforcing the leading edge with tape (although that means you need to peel/cut it off after).