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IN-PERSON SESSIONS

Learn to Riso

Beginner: RISO BASICS

Buy RISO BASICS Tickets for 2025 Spring-Summer:
May 31 / June 21 / July 26 / August 30
Saturdays 10AM–1PM at Cactus Club

RISO BASICS is a foundation-level workshop designed for beginners who want to understand what Risograph prints have to offer, how the process works, and how Riso translates visual information onto the page using the scanning bed.

Students leave with: A short history of Riso, a comprehensive understanding of how the RZ1090U works, and ten copies of a single two-color 11”x17” print that they design in class using analog media.

No artistic or printmaking background necessary. Recommended for ages 16 and up. All materials are provided, no preparation needed.

Tickets are $80–$110 per student. 3 hrs. Hosted at Cactus Club (2496 S. Wentworth Avenue) May–August 2025, facilitated by BearBear. No refunds or exchanges.

Intermediate: 2-COLOR DIGITAL RISO

BOOK 2-COLOR RISO CLASS: heybearbear@gmail.com

2-Color Digital Riso is a private 1:1 class in-person with BearBear at our studio in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. 2hrs, $150.

If you've ever wondered:

  • What’s the best way to set up digital files for Riso?
  • Is working in layers better, or working with color channel separation better?
  • What is trapping?

This workshop seeks to answer those questions for illustrators, photographers, and digital artists who want to integrate Risograph printing into their practice.

Students will leave with:

  • A foundational understanding of how to prepare digital files in Photoshop.
  • Depending on what digital artwork students bring, BearBear will focus on teaching students how to separate files using spot color or layers.
  • Common Riso printing workarounds to watch out for.
  • A quick intro to Riso and how the machine itself works.
  • Five copies of a 2 ink color 11”x17” print of their own design.

Students must bring:

  • Laptop (not an iPad) with a working version of Photoshop installed
  • A digital artwork or design (11”x17” or smaller) that they want printed in 2-colors during the class!
    * Adobe Photoshop experience is required

Class size:

  • 1 person. You are welcome to bring a friend to observe only.

This experience is built to be a highly personalized 1:1 experience. Instructors Ben and Diana of BearBear will be hands-on to help explain fundamental digital concepts, best practices for preparing print-ready files, show you how to work the Risograph at a prefunctory level, and answer questions along the way.

No formal artistic or printmaking background necessary, but access to Adobe Photoshop on a latop is required. Those with minimal Risography experience are still encouraged to join. Recommended for ages 16 and up. Masks are currently optional but welcome.

No refunds or exchanges.

Self-Guided: RISO OPEN STUDIO

Book RISO OPEN STUDIO: heybearbear@gmail.com

$35 booking fee + materials. 3hrs.

A studio monitor will be on-site to help print or troubleshoot machine basics. 15 ink colors available to print with.

Prerequisite: You need to have taken RISO BASICS with BearBear to book private time on our Risograph machine.

Materials cost $0.25 per impression + $2 per master and will be billed at the end of your session.

Prepare for your visit:

Get your files print-ready!

  • Flattened, grayscale PDFs
  • One PDF per color ink
  • Saved onto a USB drive, emailed to yourself, or ready-to-scan

Bring your own paper. BearBear does not stock paper for on-site purchase.

  • Bring enough paper for your print run plus a recommended 10–20% more (margin of error).
    Bring your own paper :-)

OPEN STUDIO IS PERFECT FOR:

  • Printing 1-3 color posters, business cards, menus
  • Printing 1 color comics or zines
  • Folks who have a specific and approachable project in mind
  • PRINT-READY FILES ONLY

AND NOT RECOMMENDED FOR:

  • Printing artwork / photography that requires heavy ink coverage and impeccable registration
  • Extremely tight turn-around deliverables
  • High-stakes projects (e.g. wedding invites for clients or capstone schoolwork)
  • Intricate book projects
  • Training. Riso project consultations or learning sessions with us are separate and will be suggested at BearBear’s discretion. 1:1's are booked outside of Open Studio hours via email.

No refunds or exchanges.