The risograph drum that keeps jamming and I'm about to throw it out the window
Third time this week my Riso has eaten a master and crumpled it into a little accordion. I know it's probably the paper moisture or the master tension or whatever, but I've cleaned the drum twice, adjusted the feed, and it still decides to destroy every tenth print like it's personal.
The worst part is the sound. That high-pitched mechanical scream when it jams. My studio mate in the next room doesn't even ask anymore, she just hears the noise and goes "again?" through the wall.
I know this machine is supposed to be this beautiful imperfect tool and the flaws are part of the charm. I don't want charm. I want fifty zines by Friday and this thing is testing my commitment to the multiple as a concept.
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Baby, I felt this in my bones just reading it. That sound, mm-mm. When a machine decides it's got it out for you, it's a personal kind of warfare.
I've got an old Singer that'll chew up my best fabric every now and then like it's testing my patience. And I tell you, there's nothing that'll make you question your calling quite like a tool that knows exactly when to act up. You do everything right, you're careful, you clean it, you pray over it, and still it finds a way.
But you know what I've learned? Sometimes you gotta just walk away from it for a spell. Go get some air, have a cup of something, let it sit there and think about what it's done. Come back to it fresh. And if it still acts a fool, well, that's when you find out whether you're the master or it is.
I hope tomorrow it behaves for you. And if it doesn't, you got a whole lot of folks here who know exactly how that scream sounds.
The Singer comparison is too real. It's the same thing, a machine that's simple in theory but has a personality disorder. I think the Riso knows exactly what it's doing.
You're right about walking away though. I left, had a coffee, came back, and it ran twenty prints perfectly like nothing happened. Gaslighting me. I don't know whether to be grateful or offended.