How I Made the Thermofax Work with the White Riso Film (Part 2)

In Part 1 I shared some of my experiences with the Thermofax.

THE BACKSTORY CONTINUED

The Thermofax Film Change

I attribute it to Climate Change. I.e. Why Riso, the manufacturer of the Thermofax film, changed the formula of the 'blue/green film' to the new, less friendly formula of the 'white film'. My suspicious self first thought that it was an exercise in obsolescence. You know, the manufacturer who makes things to last only so long... I thought that if the change was too hard, folks might be forced to go to Riso's more expensive, professional platforms. I'm sorry, Riso. I read more recently that you are committed to being environmentally friendly. It makes sense then, that you might have adjusted the formula of the 'blue/green film' to be a newer, more environmentally friendly formula of the 'white film'. You want to save the world by reducing your impact on Climate Change. Two thumbs up.

That change was in 2016.

Everyone had and continues to have trouble with that white Riso film. Folks with old laserjet printers that were purchased just for the purpose of making copies and prints that could be used with the Thermofax suddenly found that they were no longer useful for the Thermofax. Welsh Products published a list of printers they found worked: HP LaserJet P1005, HP Photosmart C4780, HP LaserJet Pro M1563dnf, HP P1102w, HP OfficeJet Pro 8600, Canon PC170, Sharp MX3501n. Sadly, my Brother MFC7220 was not on the list. Neither was the HP Color Laserjet 2605 that someone had salvaged for us from the E-waste pile. All those pencils with high carbon content that were purchased for the purpose of the Thermofax were for naught.

Two years ago I made this video:

We even ordered some of the residual supplies of an Australian company. They had some of the 'blue/green screen' in stock. Then we got distracted from the Thermofax by other, different, 'working' machines.

The Closing of Welsh Products Announcement

In September 2017, Welsh Products announced they were going out of business. The Thermofax machines were becoming harder to find. That, combined with the problems with using the film, well. Maybe the Thermofax era was coming to a close. I sent a note to Welsh Products and got this response:

"I just wanted to let you know that Riso screen and frames will continue to be available on the welsh products website, phone, and fax. The Welsh family is retiring but the business will continue. Details are being worked out now. The retirement announcement produced far more response than anticipated and for that reason, we are currently out of stock in both frames and screen. However, we do have back orders in the works and will update the website when it comes in. Thank you for your understanding."

Welsh Products continued to sell the screen, but with the reduced interest in the Thermofax - it was just a little too difficult to use - the market was much reduced, and it was not worth it for the company to even maintain the website and store.

The Second Closing of Welsh Products Announcement

I received the second closing announcement from Welsh Products in September, 2018.

"Going Out of Business
After 39 years of business, Welsh Products is closing down. Again. We planned to close last year, but the response was so strong that we decided to hold on a bit longer.
But now we do need to close for good.
Before closing, we would like to give you an opportunity to stock up on thermal screen. Starting today, we are taking pre-orders for screen roll purchases on our website."

This prompted me to do some poking around the internet, and I found a website that referred to the Thermofax, but used different materials. The post was titled "Risography vs Thermography Quick and Dirty?". It spoke of using Gestetner Master film. I thought "Why not give it a shot?"

I called up Friend Caprice (some of us need to play with others) and she came over to try it out.

The New Experiment

We sent a message to Ekk Lory who described himself this way. He apologized for his 'poor' English. Caprice and I reassured him that his English was just fine.

"I’m in Switzerland since 30 years.
I moved to St.Gallen from Germany, to establish/rebuild an old print-technic on fabric for a swiss company.."

You should check out Ekk's blog. He's definitely a Maker and unafraid to experiment and play. Some of the information will require follow up, but you can be inspired.

The New Friend from Arizona

After I posted that video on October 4th, I received this email from a viewer in Arizona. His name is Brandon. He is a dabbler, and he sent me a photo of the machine he tried to (and is still trying to) make work.

So I sent him some blue film, a bit of carrier film that we used and some of the Gestetner. I asked him to share his video so I could post it on my channel, since he is now part of my story.

The Idea

All of this playing, combined with the little success we had with the Gestetner master, plus the fact that we saw that we had some of the 'blue/green film' remaining, turned my mind back to the Thermofax. We'd forgotten about it because we turned our attention away from the Thermofax so many times.

I had an idea, but we're all busy, so I didn't get a chance to try it out for a while.

The New Friend From Kansas

Then on October 23, I received an email from a new Friend from Kansas.

My name is Natalie and I am the Studio Coordinator and Technician at the Kansas City Art Institute. We have two thermofax machines that we have used fairly happily throughout the years until the blue film manufacturers stopped producing the film and Welsh's announcement that it is going out of business. We still have some of the white film, but I was wondering if you have found any alternative film suppliers other than Welsh? "

So I sent her the video that I made with Friend Caprice, and the ebay link for the provider from Australia.

Tomorrow I will share more with you. I promise I will complete this chapter of the story.

Trish Tsoiasue is a community builder based in Long Beach, California . She builds socially responsible, grassroots communities, has many hobbies and interests, and lots and lots of ideas. She is trained in LEGO(r) Serious Play and the Creative Problem Solving Institute's methods of intentional creativity. The communities she has created and in which she takes most pride are the Long Beach LEGO User Group, Makersville and the (new) Leading Edge Multi-National Games, which she prototyped in 2018. She is the inventor of the Community Lemonade Game, a mechanism for path finding and problem solving that she plays. She's convinced that one day you will play it too.