D.I.Y.T. - Part I of Printing without a Press - Materials

This is the first of a series of post where I'll show you guys how I print my linocuts without having to use a printing press.



Part I of Printing without a Press - Materials



You'll need some cutting tools, I use a linoleum cutter handle with a variety of gouges, mainly the large #5 gouge, for scraping away large areas and the #1 liner cutter for fine detail.  You also need a craving knife, the x-acto #5 handle with #24 blades is perfect for scoring around your image on the linoleum; it works great on wood too.  I also have a  regular x-acto knife on hand, just in case I need to cut away small leftover pieces and it's also good for getting clean tight corners.





















You'll also need your linoleum block and your image.  I use un-mounted linoleum, instead of the mounted lino on a block of wood, it's just easier to store away once your done, and I find it easier to manuer when you're cutting away.  You can also use the easy-cut linoleum which is a grey color, they also make something called "wonder cut".
I like to have my linoleum block a lot larger than the actual image, and I don't cut all the way to the edge of the linoleum.  This will be important to create a registration mark if you're printing more than one color, and even if your not, this will allow you to print the image on the paper on the same exact spot for each print.  I'll dive deeper into this as we go along.


And finally, you'll need printing materials to print you're lino-cut.  You'll need a brayer (ink rollers), your inks (I'm using speedballs water based inks), and a wooden spoon, the barren is optional. You're also going to need an inking slab, I use a piece of glass, to roll out my inks (not pictured). You can also use pallette paper just make sure you tape the edges down onto a flat smooth surface.

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing! I love seeing how people get around the lack of a printing press.

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  2. You don't have to pick me, but I decided to be a cool cousin and direct people to this post via my Tumblr.

    :)

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  3. David, just hand me the damn print.

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  4. Nice! When I print without a press I just stomp on it. Howa bout giving me a print since it was my birthday!

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  5. i like these. i can just smell the blog traffic

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  6. I guess I am too late to win the print! I just found you when I did a Google search for "lino press printing materials" because I am looking for a press ... and I am impressed and inspired that you don't use one for such a great looking work! Maybe I don't need one either!

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  7. Thanks Leanne for the kind words. You probably don't need one, if you're printing lino cuts, even woodcuts. There are/ where a bunch of artists who didn't use a press and got some amazingly, beautiful and complex images. You should do a quick google search for the Grosvenor School artists and take a look at their work.

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  8. I need to start printing press-less. Good inspiration, thanks. This image popped up on my Pinterest feed and I was drawn to the skull! Pity I missed out on the offer

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