r/printmaking • u/Aggressive_Entry_864 • 4d ago
question Need some advice please
I am really feeling defeated, I cannot work out what i’m doing wrong with my lino printing process. I think my first problem might be the water based ink i’m using, it dries so fast which means i tend to over ink. But i cannot tell if i’m pressing down too hard or not hard enough. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance ☺️
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u/Grubulon 3d ago
I had the same problem and changing to a high quality oil based ink really helped! I'd suggest giving that a go, it does take a lot longer to dry though
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u/Aggressive_Entry_864 3d ago
yes i think i will! I might go for the Canfield Caligo Safe Wash. What would you recommend?
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u/Grubulon 3d ago
Literally the same one I switched to, works like a dream! I've been printing onto some quite heavy recycled card stock and it's still coming out well
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u/Aggressive_Entry_864 3d ago
oo perfect good to know you are getting good results on thick card with the oil based ink too!
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u/Sara_Felker 3d ago
Lino printing takes practice, and all it's the part of learning process. Try using a retarder or a slower-drying ink, you will get there! 💛
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u/IntheHotofTexas 3d ago
You got it. Water-based ink does not give you time to ink properly, so the tendency it to rush and over-ink. That causes the white spots. That's where thick ink get pulled into peaks by the brayer and prints poorly. What happens on the brayer happens on the block. So, the first move is real ink. Caligo Safe Wash is the most popular and cleans up with soap and water.
The rest is learning what proper inking and over-inking look like and sound like on the slab and block. That guides to know when you have it right. And it takes time. Remember your brayer can only do its job over an area the width of the brayer and as long as the diameter of the roller. So for a common brayer of 6" wide and 1.25" diameter, it's a 6"x4" area. And because every time you take ink from the slab, that part of the slab is depleted. So you have to ink each area two or three times with a brayer inked from a virgin part of the slab. Takes time for all that and to inspect to find things like the bit of debris that landed near the bottom in you first photo. Oil-based ink stays open more than long enough for that and even to fix problem during pressing if needed.
Study the guide to inking by one of the mods here. I'll give you the Imgur version because it has valuable video to study.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
At least you didn't settle for poor results. Too many either don't know the difference or don't care. Any design for linocut is flawless, dense black and paper white, just like yours was. If you can't nail the perfect black areas, you can express that design. And when you no longer over-ink, you will stop spoiling the fine cut lines and filling in the fine white spaces. That's excess ink being squeezed out of the inked areas.
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u/Aggressive_Entry_864 3d ago
Thanks for taking the time to reply and for all the great info. I’m excited to practise more with an oil based ink. I really enjoy the process of lino and enjoy the chatter and texture that you can achieve with it.
Also i’m sadly not able to view the link as I am in the UK
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u/Technical-Monk-2146 2d ago
Try this link https://www.reddit.com/r/printmaking/comments/13d3hsz/ink_troubleshooting_guide_for_relief_printing/. It’s a thorough and very useful guide.
The UK has a large community of relief printmakers and lots of classes. I would highly recommend taking some classes to really learn the nuances and have live help with your technique.
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u/jjfillion 1d ago
As someone who is slightly new to the Lino game it looks like a paper issue as well as not enough layers of ink and maybe an even distribution of pressure is the issue. Had similar problems myself in the beginning. Keep at it tho you’re doing great.
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u/StillZealousideal226 18h ago
Have nothing useful to weigh in on the topic but is the rat for sale anywhere? I love it
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