Hello, I'm a complete newbie at Risography. I'm coming at it from an art point of view and I want to provide an alternative to fellow artists looking to make multiple affordable work for their fans and patrons. I'm also looking to make some literary and art journals as well.
I actually used a Risograph way back in the mid '90s but I can't even remember what model it was. Since then I've always wanted to get one but never had the room.
Now that I moved to a big loft, I recently picked up an FR3950 in great shape with 74K masters and just over 1M copies. Already been doing a few things with the single black drum it came with. Nothing serious going wrong... but I can't wait to get new drums and inks.
Which leads me to this: I found someone who is selling an old GR3750 with 13 drums (some redundant), most still containing ink, 13 extra ink tubes all at a ridiculously low price. The only catch: it's all been sitting in a garage for "a year". I say "a year" in quotes because, well, we all know it's probably been more than a year, but that's what the seller says. I actually went down to take a look at it really quickly today. Stupid me, I forgot to check how many masters and copies it has, but I did open two of the drum boxes. Many of the boxes are clearly covered in "garage gunk" like spider webs, dead animal shells, etc. Inside the two boxes I opened, I noticed grime and even some corrosion on the metal ring that touches the large end of the drum to the cylinder of the drum.
I don't want to say the price because I don't know if it's bad etiquette to do that here, but let's just say that if I bought thirteen refurbished GR drums plus shipping on eBay, I'd be paying around 2X as much as what this guy is asking for the machine, the drums and extra inks altogether. The guy just wants it all gone.
I guess my only concern, which is where I'm hoping someone might offer some pointers or links to discussions, is whether I'm getting myself into a lot of headache. I already anticipate that I will be spending time cleaning everything... cleaning the drums themselves especially. And I already anticipate that I'll have some drums that probably won't work. But I would think that out of 13, even if only six or seven work, this will still be a great deal and I won't have to buy drums on eBay, pay shipping, etc. etc.
I may not even use the GR3750 unless it's better at something than the FR3950. Am I right to assume that the GR drums will work in the FR machine? I heard somewhere that the "blacks aren't the same" between the GR and FR.. not sure what that means.
If anybody has any pointers and advice for this total newbie, I'd greatly appreciate it!
--Jeff
I actually used a Risograph way back in the mid '90s but I can't even remember what model it was. Since then I've always wanted to get one but never had the room.
Now that I moved to a big loft, I recently picked up an FR3950 in great shape with 74K masters and just over 1M copies. Already been doing a few things with the single black drum it came with. Nothing serious going wrong... but I can't wait to get new drums and inks.
Which leads me to this: I found someone who is selling an old GR3750 with 13 drums (some redundant), most still containing ink, 13 extra ink tubes all at a ridiculously low price. The only catch: it's all been sitting in a garage for "a year". I say "a year" in quotes because, well, we all know it's probably been more than a year, but that's what the seller says. I actually went down to take a look at it really quickly today. Stupid me, I forgot to check how many masters and copies it has, but I did open two of the drum boxes. Many of the boxes are clearly covered in "garage gunk" like spider webs, dead animal shells, etc. Inside the two boxes I opened, I noticed grime and even some corrosion on the metal ring that touches the large end of the drum to the cylinder of the drum.
I don't want to say the price because I don't know if it's bad etiquette to do that here, but let's just say that if I bought thirteen refurbished GR drums plus shipping on eBay, I'd be paying around 2X as much as what this guy is asking for the machine, the drums and extra inks altogether. The guy just wants it all gone.
I guess my only concern, which is where I'm hoping someone might offer some pointers or links to discussions, is whether I'm getting myself into a lot of headache. I already anticipate that I will be spending time cleaning everything... cleaning the drums themselves especially. And I already anticipate that I'll have some drums that probably won't work. But I would think that out of 13, even if only six or seven work, this will still be a great deal and I won't have to buy drums on eBay, pay shipping, etc. etc.
I may not even use the GR3750 unless it's better at something than the FR3950. Am I right to assume that the GR drums will work in the FR machine? I heard somewhere that the "blacks aren't the same" between the GR and FR.. not sure what that means.
If anybody has any pointers and advice for this total newbie, I'd greatly appreciate it!
--Jeff
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