Nx Risolve
Vintage print aesthetics for your footage.
Inspired by classic Risograph and analog print techniques.
Risograph
The Risograph (Riso) is a Japanese stencil-based printing process that works like a hybrid between screen printing and photocopying. Developed by the Riso Kagaku Corporation in the 1980s, it has since become a favorite among artists, illustrators, and designers because of its vibrant, unique colors, organic textures, and eco-friendly, low-waste workflow.
How Risograph Printing Works
Stencil-Based Duplication: For each color layer, the Riso creates a digital stencil, called a “master.” A thermal print head then burns microscopic holes into a thin, plant-fiber sheet.
Rotating Ink Drums: This master is automatically wrapped around a color-specific ink drum. As the drum spins, soy- or rice-bran–based ink is pushed through the stencil’s openings and onto the paper below.
Layer-by-Layer Printing: Each color is printed separately. For multicolor artwork, the paper must pass through the machine multiple times, using a different color drum and alignment for each layer.
Vibrant Spot Colors: Riso printers use bold, semi-transparent spot colors—including fluorescents and metallic gold—which can be layered and overprinted to produce striking blends and textures, offering an aesthetic unlike standard CMYK printing.
The Beauty of Imperfection
A hallmark of Riso printing is its “perfect imperfections.”
Because the ink is slow-drying and the paper is re-fed for each layer, you often get intentional texture and charming quirks:
- Slight misregistration (layer offsets)
- Grainy halftone textures
- Subtle roller marks or ink bleed
These quirks are not flaws—they are the soul of Riso. The result is a look that feels handmade, retro, tactile, and full of unmatched character.
💻 From Analog Print to Digital Video: Nx Risolve
While the classic Risograph machine offers unmatched tactile quality, the Nx Risolve plugin brings that authentic print aesthetic—including its “perfect imperfections”—directly into DaVinci Resolve!
Built for colorists and filmmakers, the plugin simulates the complex physical process of Riso printing, allowing you to apply the distinctive textures, color overlaps, and grain to your video footage. The plugin’s features directly correspond to the physical elements of Riso printing, giving you granular control over every aspect of the look. With this plugin, you can achieve the rich, imperfect, and tactile look of Risograph printing on your film and video projects without ever touching a physical machine.
Multi-Mode Halftone Dithering
Authentic dither patterns including Circle, Ellipse, Line, Diamond, Square, Bayer, Stochastic, Clustered Dot, Metaball for diverse print aesthetics.
Dual Ink Color System
Two fully customizable ink colors with color pickers, plus option to extract colors directly from source footage.
Color Separation Modes
Four separation modes control how ink layers interact for classic risograph color effects.
Print Misregistration
X/Y offset controls simulate the characteristic color layer misalignment found in real risograph printing.
Organic Paper & Ink Texture
Authentic paper fiber texture, ink absorption variation, and edge roughness create natural print imperfections.
Resolution Independence
Reference resolution scaling ensures consistent results from 720p to 8K without manual parameter adjustment.
Intelligent Color Separation
Seven separation modes including Ink Proximity (color-matching), GCR (gray component replacement), and Warm/Cool split.
Compatibility Across Pages
Works seamlessly across
Edit, Fusion, and Color
pages in DaVinci Resolve.
System Requirements
Works on macOS, Windows and Linux
(Metal, CUDA & OpenCL Modes Supported)
Requires DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 and Above.