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Why are RISO Printers and Duplicators continually popular with political parties?
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Midshire has been supplying RISO printers and duplicators to customers for well over two decades. During this time, RISO devices have proved incredibly popular with local political parties and government agencies due to their high-speed, single or dual colour printing, booklet making functions and low copy costs.
Midshire’s Daniel Bridgeman is a RISO political party specialist, supporting around 250 local party offices across the UK. Also known as ‘Dan Dan the RISO Man’, there are few around that have a greater expertise on RISO products than Daniel. We’ve asked Daniel to give some insight into RISO technology and why it’s so relevant to political parties.
What are RISO Printers and Duplicators?
RISO printers are high speed, digital printing systems that are designed for high-volume printing and photocopying. There a
re two main RISO products, ComColors and Duplicators.
The RISO ComColor is a printer/photocopier that offers both speed and reliability as well as incredibly low costs for both colour and black and white printing. ComColors are the RISO version of the office photocopier, offering the features of a copier, coupled with high output speed. With speeds of up to 150ppm, they are the world’s fastest printer, making the device ideal for those who need to print thousands of copies in a short space of time. Unlike the duplicator, the ComColor can mail merge, meaning you can print the right message for the right address.
RISO Duplicators, also known as Risographs are specifically designed to produce copies in long print runs that are considered to be too long and therefore too expensive to produce on photocopiers or printers. Duplicators use ink rather than toner, so require no heat during the printing process to fix the image onto the paper. Duplicators are the most popular device with political parties, especially the two colour range which will print in black and the party colour in one pass.
What makes a RISO duplicator so popular with political parties?
Political parties print high volumes throughout the year, particularly during general elections and other major events. Therefore, the speed of RISO duplicators enables local party offices to meet tight deadlines, with their ultra-fast output and reliability.
We appreciate that political parties rarely need to print in more than two colours – it’s usually black and their party colour, be it blue, red, yellow, green or purple. With this in mind, the RISO duplicators can print in just two colours, which are matched to the party’s brand. Not only does this ensure that the marketing materials are impactful and on-brand, but it’s also far more economical than using the four colour toner process which conventional office printers and photocopiers use.
What type of printing is usually done on a RISO printer?
Risographs bridge the gap between the standard photocopier and using an outsourced printer. They are the cheapest option on the market for print runs of between 50 and 10,000 copies.
They are able to print on a wide variety of media including, standard uncoated paper (up to A2 and 210gsm), envelopes and even paper bags!
Because RISO printers use soy based ink, not toner, printed sheets can go through a laser printer after going through the Risograph, making the printers ideal for creating letter headed paper.
How long have political parties been turning to RISO devices as their printer of choice?
RISO launched in the UK over 25 years ago, and since then they have been popular with political parties, offering a cost-effective alternative to outsourced printing.
Midshire is the largest RISO dealer in the world, providing customers with printers, duplicators and the full range of consumables including, inks, drums and masters. Midshire also provides service options for these devices, meaning engineers are on hand to provide support in the event of a breakdown.
As a company we are aware that if you breakdown or run out of supplies in election week, you need support urgently… not after the election!!
For more information about all RISO printers and duplicators for political parties, contact Daniel Bridgeman via telephone on: 07798 583 605 or email: daniel@midshirenorth.co.uk or find him at your next party conference.
