RISO 101: What is a drum?
In the world of printmaking, especially for those who value vibrant, eco-friendly, and cost-effective printing, the risograph machine stands out. It’s a unique printing technology often described as a hybrid between screen printing and a photocopier. Central to the functionality of a risograph is the risograph drum—a component that plays a crucial role in the printing process. But what exactly is a risograph drum, and why is it so important?
What is a Risograph Drum?
A risograph drum- also referred to as a cylinder- is a piece of equipment that sits inside your machine. For every ink color that you are running, you have to have a drum designated for that color. (No, you can’t just swap inks in and out and cheat the system. We get it, that would be cheaper, but it just doesn’t work that way. Once a drum is assigned a color, the ink is pushed allll through the drum, ink pump, and screen. If you swap out the ink in between jobs and reprogram a drum, it’s not going to just switch colors, it’s going to be a mess.)
How is works:
The drum sits inside the center of the machine, and the tube of ink is inserted into the center of the drum. When you print, the drum rotates at high speed to push ink through a screen and onto paper as it passes through the machine. The process works like this:
An image file is sent to the Risograph and burned onto a master copy
The master is wrapped around the print drum
The drum rotates, pushing ink through the screen and onto the paper
Some Risograph duplicators have one drum, while others have two. A single drum duplicator can print one color at a time, but the ink can be changed and the paper run through again to print a different color. A duplicator with two drums can print two colors in one pass, without waiting for the ink to dry between colors.
Are drums still made for my machine?
a common misconception we hear is from printers who are running slightly older machines: “Drums are no longer made for my machine, so I can only buy them refurbished. ” While there are a few machines you can no longer source the new drums for (RP/ GR)- most of the drums are still in production and available to purchase new through Hallagans. If you are running an RZ, EZ, MZ, ME, MF, MH, or SF machine, we can source new drums for your machine. The drums come new and blank, from RISO, with the carrying case and one tube of ink (your choice of color). Once the drum arrives to you, all you have to do is initialize it in your machine and you are ready to go.
While the drums are the most expensive piece of equipment when it comes to RISO (outside of the cost of the machine itself), they are designed to last the life of your machine. Many printers grow their RISO color library over time, adding drums to their collection as needed.
Can I order new drums through Hallagans?
yes! We are able to source the drums for the RZ, EZ, MZ, ME, MF, MH, or SF digital duplicators. They come new from RISO with the carrying case and one tube of ink (your choice of color). While we do not sell the drums in our online shop, you can place your order for a drum via email (info@hallagans.com) or over the phone at 773.637.0626.
Risograph Printing Infographic Poster
I have a drum that I never use because I don’t like the color, can I change it?
To directly contradict this very same post, yes, you can transition your drum color. It’s not something you should do in between jobs, but it can be done. We don’t recommend doing it more than once or twice in the life of the drum, but it can be done. Here’s how we would do it:
Pick a color similar to the color you already have, or at least lighter to darker. You are going to have way more luck transitioning a drum from yellow to sunflower than you are federal blue to yellow.
Take a soft bristle toothbrush and simple green and gently clean the screen on the drum, wiping away what you can of the current ink. The mesh screen is fragile though, so be careful.
Please, we beg of you, do not take the drum apart, unless you are realllyyyy sure you can get it back together. When we get calls from printers who fully take a drum apart and then cant get it back together, it breaks our hearts. These are expensive pieces of equipment, and while our goal is to always be a resource to you, we can’t help you if the drum is a million pieces on your dining room table in another state.
Once your drum screen is clean and dru, insert your new color of choice and enter the test more to reinitialze your drum (instructions on how to initialize below).
Once your drum is ready to run, just run it. and then run it some more. Account for about one tube of ink just for the transition between the two colors. This is a fun time to create some very original prints.
How do I initialize the drum?
Check out our step-by-step guide for how to initialize your new print cylinder below:
