In our latest podcast episode, we talked about riso printing, Budapest's ZINE culture, various printing processes, the world of artbooks and many other interesting things at the most famous riso printing house in Budapest, the HURRIKAN PRESS workshop on Vásár Street , with Árpi Szigeti and Zsófi Rumi.
Zsófi and Árpi graduated in reproduction graphics and are both big fans of analog graphic processes. Together they run the HURRIKAN PRESS printing house, where they produce various prints, zines, and art publications using the Riso technique.
At first glance, the Riso printer resembles a photocopier from the 1990s. Like a photocopier, the Riso scans the graphic to be reproduced, then automatically creates a printing plate (which is most similar to the screen used in screen printing), pulls it onto the printing drum, and prints it in the desired number of copies with the ink loaded in the drum. During Riso printing, the different colors are applied to the paper one after another, in new layers, and where the colors overlap, new color surfaces are formed from the mixing of shades. Of course, they try to match the graphic exactly when printing the different colors, but this technology is not about tenths of a millimeter accuracy, quite the opposite: Riso fans like this kind of randomness, the unpredictability and small inaccuracies inherent in analog technology, as a result of which no two prints are ever completely identical.
Riso printing goes hand in hand with the world of fanzines: this printing method is perhaps the most popular in zine culture, because it allows you to create particularly exciting and creative solutions in small quantities and relatively cheaply. Zsófi and Árpi also design and produce their own publications, such as their wall calendar that appears every year, or the recently completed puzzle newspaper titled Keresztes - our favorite - which, along with many other exciting publications, are available in the HURRIKAN PRESS webshop and in the ISBN bookstore located on the street next to their workshop.
By the way, Zsófi encourages anyone who is even slightly interested in this printing process and would like to use it to give it a try! There is a lot of information about graphic preparation on the internet, but HURRIKÁN also organizes workshops where they help you learn the basics of Riso printing!
We had a great time, thank you for your hospitality, and I hope you enjoy this conversation!
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MIMMA NOSEK , one of the founders of Risoplant , is mentioned several times , and she also uses Riso printing to create her graphics. You can find Mimma's work here: https://www.instagram.com/mimmanosek/
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You can find the music of Árpi's band, MAYBERIAN SANSKÜLOTTS , here: https://mayberian.bandcamp.com/ - album launch concert on October 7th at A38, details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1050683635720008
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HURRIKAN PRESS WEBSHOP with its own publications and prints (including the aforementioned Color Guide, calendar, Levi Csordás's super Balaton prints, and lots of great stuff!): https://hurrikanpress.bigcartel.com/
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If you would like to see the HURRIKAN PRESS PUBLICATIONS live , go to ISBN —> https://www.facebook.com/isbnbooksgallery
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About the ART BOOK FAIR organized by the aforementioned PRINTED MATTER bookstore in New York : https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/
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The mentioned PARTIZÁN episode with Dávid Jancsó (among others): https://open.spotify.com/episode/24DLixTwUyl9JsnrzqGWkw?si=VVQYw-hGTl6OM8HklCa3bA&dl_branch=1