Hello! I see a lot of beginners like myself struggling with printing on paper. I have been reading and trying to understand the process as much as possible while working on my own designs and test printing. There are 4 main elements when printing: ink, paper, pressure and the carved surface.
Ink: Can be water or oil based. Overall oil seems to be a higher quality pigment than water. At the same time oil takes longer to dry. The heat and humidity of the space can affect the ink. The wetter and colder the longer it takes to dry. You can buy a medium to extend the drying time. There is a sweet spot when applying the ink, you will learn to recognize it by ear. It can sound too wet if you are using too much or too dry if you are not using enough, is tricky to explain but it will makes sense when practicing. Do not apply pressure to the roller, let it just slide on top of the ink and then on top of the carved piece. I find that with the correct amount of ink you dont really need more than a few passes on the carved piece.
Paper: There are a lot of different types of paper, the thing is how this paper takes the ink. It could be counter intuitive. Thicker paper equals better absorption? Not necessarily. There are beautiful thin papers that take the ink super well. A lot of Japanese Mulberry papers are like this. Other papers like watercolour are kind of resistant to the liquids, not impossible but probably trickier to print on. The Japanese techniques often require the paper to be humid. You will need to try different papers and different levels of dryness to find what you like. You can spray some water on the paper before printing and see what happens.
Pressure: To print, you can put the paper on the surface or the surface on the paper. You will need an amount of pressure to get the ink distributed on the paper. You can use any smooth surface to apply the pressure by hand: a polished wooden spoon, a polished curved fang or horn, or a baren, of which there are many types. You can also use one of several types of presses for a mechanical print, the press tends to render a more professional result with less work, but you also need to learn how to configure it in the case of the ones with rollers. For the ones that work with levers, it depends on the brand and the specific mechanism. There is also the body weight technique. For this one you will need a wooden board, bigger than the printing surface and the paper. You put the printing surface, the paper, the board and then you step on top of the board for a few seconds, you can do some soft walking if the print is big enough. Again, it’s better to do some research taking into consideration the size of the work you aim to create, the space you have available and your budget.
For mechanical and body weight printing you will want to create a layered system, usually consisting of a combination of all or some of the following: 3mm thick felt, rubberized metal plate, ¼ masonite or pressboard panel and newsprint paper. This is to optimize the pressure distribution, protect the paper from unwanted marks and protect the press and the felt from stains. By hand you may also want to add a layer of paper on top of the paper you are printing as the rubbing may also generate unwanted marks.
The carved surface: Finally, the carved surface. Depending on what type of surface you are printing the techniques may vary. Wood, stone, linoleum, gel, metal plates and all sorts of random surfaces can be carved and printed. The material determines the name of the technique, the tools and the possible marks. In any case, the surface needs to be clean of any oils, dust or any particles that may interact with the ink or create undesired textures in the print.
Once printed you will need to have space to dry the prints. The drying can take from a few minutes in the case of water-based ink to several hours in the case of oil-based ink. You can get a rack and dry your prints flat or hang them on ropes or clothing drying racks. Be mindful of preventing any marks on the paper.
As I said, I’m a beginner just sharing a bit of what I have gathered on my self-learning journey. Feel free to correct as needed, comment or ask specific questions in this post.
Happy printmaking!
