Outlet’s Terms and Conditions

Hello! Thanks so much for your interest in printing with us! The following is an outline of what to expect when printing with a risograph as well as some of our policies. It’s a long list about managing expectations when it comes to riso printing, but most of these things are part of what makes printing with these machines so cool!

By printing with us you’re acknowledging and agreeing to all of the following:

1—WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN RISO PRINTING
2—THINGS THAT GENERALLY DON’T PRINT WELL
3—QUOTES & PAYMENT
4—PRE-PRODUCTION
5—FILE SET-UP
6—DESIGN SERVICES
7—PRODUCTION, TIMELINES, & RUSH ORDERS
8—SHIPPING & HANDLING
9—USE OF WORK & PORTFOLIO RIGHTS
10—REFUNDS & CANCELLATIONS
11—APPENDICES

Risograph printing is a stencil-based duplicator print process that has many quirks. It yields beautifully rich colors and textures but also comes with some unique characteristics and unpredictabilities. As a rule we recommend loosening ideas of perfectionism, embracing the process and having fun!

The process of risograph printing includes:

1. Smudging Inks/Ink Transfer

   Riso ink is made of soy/rice oil, water, and pigment and can smear and smudge just like newspaper ink! There is no heat-fixing process in riso meaning your prints have to air dry. We do everything in our power to prevent excess smudging but some is bound to happen—especially with heavy ink coverage. Also, ink transfer to the backs of prints is common—something to consider if you’re printing double-sided! It’s usually not enough to affect type legibility or be too visually noticeable but something to be aware of.

2. Registration Errors/Misalignment

   Similar to screen printing, riso prints one color at a time. A single sheet of paper can run through the machine several times and because of that it can be difficult to line one color up to the next. We work hard to make sure your prints are properly aligned but can only control this so much. Your edition is bound to have a few prints that are misregistered—this is all part of the process and can yield some unexpectedly awesome results! 

3. Needle Marks

   Sometimes you’ll see a little nick on the edge of the paper or a drag line down the center of the page when printing with dense, large fields of ink. This is because a needle pulls each sheet through the machine. To avoid this try printing with slightly lighter opacity of ink (we recommend 70%-85% black for large fields of color) or moving the flood of ink away from the edge of the page. 

4. Roller Marks

   Because smudging is an issue with riso printing, you’ll also occasionally find roller marks or “tire” marks down the center of your prints. This is caused by ink build up on the rubber rollers that move your print through the machine and is unavoidable, however these marks are typically erasable. The denser and darker the ink coverage, the more likely you are to see roller marks. 

5. Uneven Ink Coverage

   Particularly in wide fields of ink you’ll see uneven coverage that can include flooding, pinholes and peppery areas. This creates a nice texture and usually isn’t super noticeable. The more textured your paper, the more noticeable the ink coverage variation. 

We are experienced with these machines and do our best to avoid the above effects but can never get rid of them entirely. We hope that when printing with us you’re open to the unique characteristics and uncontrollable variables that make riso printing so enjoyable!

In addition to the things to expect listed above, we’ve learned from experience some things that don’t work well with risograph printing for a variety of reasons. We try to catch these when you submit your designs, but can’t always, and aren’t responsible if this affects the outcome of your project.

Some things to avoid:

• Printing facial details in multiple colors—even the slightest misregistration can move someone’s lips or pupils way off track.

• Really thin lines or slender typefaces in knocked out text.

• Using type sizes or line weights that are super small (anything smaller than 6pt text and 0.5pt lines).

• Using a raster program to set up type—try to use programs like Illustrator or InDesign otherwise type can come out blurry or pixelated.

• Trying to set type in two different colors of ink on the same baseline. It’s just not going to work, trust us on this one.

• Printing text on top of metallic gold—metallic pigments clog up any drum printing on top of it, and text can become hard to read.

• Not having a 100% white background in your files—RISOs will try to print light grays and you’ll see some speckles all over your print.

• Using low resolution files (under 300 dpi). Your print may come out pixelated.

• Printing a multiple color print but not overlapping anything—it’s super hard to register and you miss out on all the fun overlay effects that risographs have to offer!

Quotes: Quotes are valid for up to 30 days. Once you receive a quote that will function as an estimate for your project and can change depending on how your project changes. We’ll let you know if additional requests will affect the quote in advance before charging.

Payment: In order to start a project we may require a deposit or payment in full for larger jobs unless other arrangements have been made. We’ll send you an electronic invoice that is payable via Credit, Debit, PayPal, or Apple Pay. We do not accept personal checks.

Invoice: Before beginning production, we’ll send you an invoice that includes all current details of your project (such as color, paper, number of copies, etc). Please look over your invoice carefully before paying it! It gives all of the details of your job and if you catch an error let us know immediately! By paying your invoice you’re agreeing that the details listed for your project are correct.

Digital Proofs: Upon request, we can email you a free digital mockup of your print, or 1-2 pages of your booklet/zine. Please check over the proof carefully for errors! Digital proofs are decent representations but not exact matches of RISO ink colors. If you want to really know what the colors are going to look like we recommend you order a hard proof or a sample pack (includes all colors we offer). If you want a true color match sample, we recommend a hard proof be purchased. By approving the digital proof and paying the invoice, you are accepting full responsibility for the order and agree that the information and images provided are what you want. Once approved by you, any changes or reprints thereafter will be at your expense.

Hard Proofs: Printing with a risograph requires that you create a new master for every print, meaning that creating a hard proof is essentially the same as printing the entire project. We recommend sticking with a digital proof if possible. If you really need a hard proof we’ll provide a separate quote for this.

We’re working on developing a comprehensive file set-up guide and video! In the meantime, you can find some tips on our FAQ and some excellent guides from other presses on our Resources Page.

We’ll provide 30 minutes of free set-up to prepare your files for print. If your file requires more than 30 minutes, a separate invoice for file set-up services will be quoted and sent. We will not be responsible for any delays caused by errors in file set-up.

Outlet is staffed by a crew of talented illustrators, printmakers, and graphic designers specializing in everything from book design to branding. We’d be happy to work with you on a project and can offer hourly or project-based design services on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you’re interested!

Production Schedule: Our production schedule can vary greatly depending on the volume of work at the time. We generally require 7-14 business days to complete most projects. Items requiring binding or complex finishing services generally require 15-20 business days. Production time starts after we receive print-ready files and the agreed upon payment. Shipping is not included in production time. 

Rush Orders: Please tell us your deadlines at the time of your order. If the deadline is less than 10 business days, it may be considered a rush job depending on the scope of the project. We can usually accept rush orders but may charge a rush fee depending on a number of factors, including need for specially ordered papers, current production loads and overtime, holidays and expedited shipping costs. Please contact us so we can discuss your options with a specific deadline.

We currently are only able to ship within the US and charge standard shipping rates through USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Shipping will be included in your quote when requested.

We package all items with the utmost care in order to prevent them from being damaged. If you do receive a package that’s damaged you will need to file a claim with the carrier. We’ll assist in any way we can but claim no responsibility for goods damaged during shipping. We work hard to ensure your package is shipped in order to reach you by your deadline, however we are not responsible for any unforeseen delays that may occur once your package is out of our hands.

Note: We are taking necessary precautions surrounding COVID-19 in order to slow its spread, including rigorous hand washing, sanitizing surfaces, and wearing gloves while handling prints. We are currently operating with a skeleton crew with no more than 2-3 masked people in the studio at a time in order to limit exposure. Current sources (1, 2) do not show the virus being effectively spread via packages and mail but we are taking every step possible to ensure everyone’s safety.

We reserve the right to document and display your project for our website, portfolio, and/or social media. You will always be credited and will have the option to have a link to your website or shop within our portfolio. Let us know if confidentiality or privacy reasons require that your work not be shared and we will honor your request.

You can receive up to a full refund during the pre-production stage of the process, minus any file set-up, design, or consultation fees. Once we have started the production phase (where the printing happens!), no refunds will be issued. Regardless of when a cancellation happens, any material costs such as paper, binding supplies, ink, etc. that we had to order for your project are non-refundable.

By printing with us you agree to all of our above policies and acknowledge that you have read them in full.

We are also not responsible for certain errors pertaining to communication errors, design, layout, or copy editing such as any of the following:

• Errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar

• Low quality or low resolution images

• Design errors present in the file submitted

• Errors in original quote such as wrong product type, size, finishing options, or quantity

• Color match discrepancies without a hard copy proof

• Incorrect dimensions, image orientation, or linked files

• Any delays due to incorrectly prepared files

• Any delays in timely submitting of files for print, or in responding to questions/emails

• Duplicate orders