The Moving Finger Writes…

I bought this fantastic copper top block of a ‘printers fist’ during the winter and have been looking forward to using it. It’s quite big – 116mm from cuff to fingertip and fits snugly into the bed of the Adana 3-5, with just a bit of extra packing behind it to raise it up to type-high.

I made a few test prints a few days ago and although I did not get a really good print, I think I will with a little more packing. These light prints are very encouraging though!

So, to get things moving and give myself something to work to, I began cutting a lino block to use as a background colour:

The idea is to cut away the area of the card in the hand and the cuff. I am also considering making some cuts into the hand area too, but will leave that for later.

I was playing with pale yellows and greens, adding a little extra ink to the inkplate to give each one a slightly different colour.

I ran about a dozen postcards just with the colour block, along with a few for registration set up. I couldn’t help myself trying it out on one of my earlier test prints.

Not bad for guesswork registration! You can see the green ink overprinting the black on the image below – I used some extender medium to give the ink some transparency, but when I print the fist on top of the colour block there will be much more contrast.

Just like the one below! I am writing this post over several days – for me, this is now the third day I have worked on this! The setting up of the press was a little more problematic than I first realised. I had printed the background lino block on the nipping press and was using the Adana 3-5 for the copper top block. It took quite a lot of adjusting to get anywhere near to register…

And then realising that I had not been terribly accurate printing the background, I went for a ‘close as I can get’ approach and embraced the Japanese principle of Wabi-sabi to its full extent.

I was near enough on most prints and not exact on any. Wabi-Sabi, innit?

Most people who are involved in letterpress and craft printing tend to appreciate things like the ‘printerly’ effect of under-inking and a little mis-registration. I do anyway.

Pop quiz: What do you get after a session printing blue fingers?

Answer:

Anyway, the next day I set some type – 24pt Franklin Gothic Bold – I don’t have a full set of this, but just enough for a few little jobs…

So, of all the things I could have put in there, why ‘oops!’  Was it about the registration?

No. I printed them all upside down. If you look carefully, you can see the impression in  the centre of the card!

Wabi-sabi, innit?

Printmaking Video

When I last posted a printmaking entry, I filmed the process with the intention of posting them here, but discovered that I needed to pay for an upgrade in order to do this. Being mean from Yorkshire meant that it wasn’t an option, so I posted stills instead. However, I was pointed in the direction of Vimeo by regular visitor Christian and have since loaded four short videos. You can see them here.

Linocut printing (Part 1) Inking up a Lino Block from Lestaret on Vimeo.

Linocut Printing (Part 2) First Pull from Lestaret on Vimeo.

Linocut Printing (Part 3) The Good Prints Come from Lestaret on Vimeo.

Linocut Printing (Part 4) A Good Print from Lestaret on Vimeo.

You can also see a short film that Christian made last year for the 48 Hour Film Project called Seduced – its short, beautifully shot, and has a great ending…

Seduced from Christian Bird on Vimeo.

More Linocut Printmaking

The last time I posted a printmaking entry I set out to see if I could achieve clean, even prints from a linocut block on my nipping press. It wasn’t a scientific test, but I was generally methodical and got a couple of quality prints from what I hoped was based upon experience and on a growing understanding of the pressure required for consistent prints. It was time to see if I could do it again. This time with two new blocks, both of hands again.

I filmed all of these processes in small one and a half minute bursts with the intention of uploading them instead of stills, but I am too cheap financially cautious to pay for the video upgrade. So I have pulled some frames out that record each stage, from inking to end. (The quality of the images is not as good as some of the previous posts.)

First, the ink is rolled out on a flat smooth surface to an even thickness. I am using a water based relief ink which means cleaning up is easy and there are no fumes to worry about. This ‘rolling out’ usually takes just a couple of minutes.

The ink is then transferred to the block. I will keep re-rolling on the ink plate to refresh the roller until the block looks evenly coated. It is best to apply the ink thinly over several minutes; too much ink on the roller will fill up the shallow cuts in the block and spread beyond the raised edges.

When I think the block is fully inked it is then carefully moved over to the press. Usually, I have found I have underinked the first time around, but I would rather be under- than over-inked at this stage.

The block is placed face up centrally on a pre-marked piece of stiff board. This is not a great image, but it does show the proximity to the press at this stage; I have a ‘dirty’ inking area which is out of shot directly behind me in the image above, and a clean area around the press. It is best to be careful at this stage – I don’t want to get an inky thumb print on a fresh piece of stock. I have a pack of wet wipes on the side next to the press to keep wiping any ink off my fingers.

The stock is then carefully laid in position over the block and covered with a piece of felt I am using as a press blanket to spread the pressure evenly.

The whole pile is then (very) carefully transferred into the press and positioned centrally by eye.

A few turns until the platen reaches the base and then a firm pull. I tend to make a sort of “Gnnnh!” sound as I do this. If I don’t make this involuntary noise I find that I have not used enough pressure. Other noises, like “Uurgh!” and “ UUerrr!” tend to mean that I have exerted too much pressure, and the prints are to ‘forced’. If I make an “Arrgh!” noise it usually means I have had a hernia or left my finger in the press.

Again, carefully remove the pile and place back at the side of the press in the clean area.

Remove the felt and carefully (I’m going to stop typing in the word ‘carefully’ now – everything I do is careful!) lift up the stock from one side.

It’s a good ‘un! In this series, I printed three off before this one and pulled another two good prints after. The last one a smudged as I was removing it from the press. It was ok as a print too, but I wasn’t too disappointed. I then inked up my second block and began the process again. This time I achieve a good print on the second pull, followed by two more good ones and a patchy one.

This is the full amount of prints pulled last saturday afternoon. Three good prints from each block, thats a neat 50:50 out of 12 prints in total. I think that’s pretty good for a beginner.

Here are two of the good prints. Click for an enlargement – the originals are about half the size.

All three images have been added to the projects page.

Hand Printed

I’ve been experimenting with my press and trying to work out if I can get a good, clean, consistent print with crisp edges. I have done quite a few prints now (not all recorded here) and have been pleased with many of the results, but have, by my own admission, just been playing at it and enjoying the process and the fact that I can do this at home. I have been just as happy with the under-inked, over-pressed, thumb-printed prints as I have with the nice clean ones, as I like the ‘printerly’ element, where the process is evident in the artifact.

This time I decided to be a little more systematic, cut a more complex image that tested out a number of elements. What I wanted to achieve (or try to) was to get a couple of prints that had all of the following:
1. a solid area black area
2. a solid white area with no cutting marks showing
3. thin lines/detail of deep and shallow cuts
4. clean edges

The first prints were under inked, or were not subjected to enough pressure. They were quite clean and reasonably dark in tone, which allowed me judge the inking and how much ‘pull’ to put on the press as I went on. This one is the first one, and the lightest:

As usual, these images can all be viewed larger by clicking on them. The prints got progressively darker and ‘flatter, with more black tone and plenty of clarity in the details, but I wasn’t being terribly consistent in the inking up of the block, particularly around the edges.

 

Again, I quite like this effect of the edge breaking up for the reasons mentioned before, but I really wanted to get a solid black and white image. A more generous inking this time, being careful not to ‘fill’ the shallow cuts and lose any detail. I was also aware that too much pressure can force ink outward from under the block and spread the image. I had just about worked out the right amount of ‘pull’ but didn’t want to mess up as I felt that I was getting close. I succeeded in getting a really good black this time and was really excited, but noticed a patch on the thumb that I handn’t inked properly!

The air turned blue.

Yep. That blue. Good job the kids were in bed. A clean, crisp print, that I had not inked up fully. Mad as I was that I had missed abit, I was encouraged by the general quality everywhere else.  The next print showed that I could ink up the block properly (!) but in doing so I had put some ink into the white area of the cup. As I was printing onto stiff card and the surface of the lino had been cut reasonably deep and smoothed out, I didn’t think it would pick up, so went ahead:

Again, a good clean print – this was going well, but the ink in the cup had transferred lightly to the card. This is not a real problem, and these types of mark are often sought in linocutting, but I had a very clear end result I was aiming for. I considered cleaning the block and trying again in a few days, but felt I had come so close, so I tore a small bit of parcel paper to roughly the size of the area of the cup and stuck it to the ink that was already on there!

The next two prints were spot on. Careful inking (learn from ones mistakes!) and consistent pressure, along with a steady supply of baby wipes to keep my hands clean – I was picking up the block by the edges, which were largely inked – and I didn’t want a thumbprint or a smudge as I was transferring in and out of the press. The next image is photographed just as the previous ones for comparison, but the one after is a scan that is slightly larger than the 150 x100mm actual size.

In summary, I did just nine prints and got two that I felt achieved what I originally set out to do. I also enjoyed the process (despite the frustration in the middle!) and learned quite a lot about how to use my press, as I guess all small hand presses will have their own tolerances and quirks. I also developed my own approach to inking and printing, which I believe will allow me to improve  the results each time I do this. I have also decided to get a bit more ambitious too; I have a couple more images of hands I want to do in black and white first to make this into a small series. After that I think I’ll do a bit of reduction cutting, where the image is overprinted in another colour after re-cutting into the block. Eventually, the block is ‘reduced’ to print on the last colour. Needs plenty of time, and I need to consider how I will register up the prints each time! I can feel several more Pantone shades of blue coming on!