Author: handprinted

We’re really excited to show you this new Japanese stamping kit that has just arrived. It contains everything you need to carve your own stamps and start
printing them! We couldn’t resist having a go ourselves so here’s a little tutorial on how to use our new Japanese Stamp Carving Kit. 

The kit contains a green carving block, knife, V Gouge carving tool, small flower shaped stamp, small heart shaped stamp, kneadable eraser for cleaning,
Versacraft small ink pad in Chocolate Brown, cutting mat, mini card frame, tracing paper and instructions all in a plastic case. The only other thing
you’ll need is a pencil and something to stamp on. You can boost your kit with more Versacraft Ink Pads to have lots of colours to choose from. You can print these on fabric too! 

Start with your drawing. A little smiley apple seemed appropriate! Use the tracing paper provided to trace over your design.

Turn your tracing paper face down on your craving block and rub all over the back with your finger to transfer the design. 

Roughly cut out around your stamp. You can use the knife provided or a craft knife. 

Use the knife provided in the kit to carve around the outside of your shape. Carve at an angle away from your shape all the way around. Use the pink cutting
mat included in the kit. The block is soft and very easy to cut. 

Turn your knife the the opposite angle and crave a little away from the edge to peel out the edges. This is like using a V tool one side at a time. 

When you have peeled away the outline, use your knife horizontally to cut off the rest of the unwanted green surface revealing the white underneath.

Use the V gouge to carve any fine detail.

Ink up your stamp using the Chocolate Versacraft Pad provided or any other colours that you have! Gently press the stamp pad onto the face up stamp. 

Press your inked up stamp onto your printing surface!

This kit also comes with two pre-cut stamp shapes for you to add your own details to.

I loved printing with this Japanese Stamp Carving Kit.
Everything you need is right there in the A5 sized kit ready to whip up more stamps for cards, labels, clothes, bags. You can keep topping up your
kit with more carving blocks and Versacraft pads!

I’m a full time printmaker living in Bristol. Originally from London; I trained as a ceramicist at Bath Spa University and I completed an MA in Multi Disciplinary
Printmaking at the University of the West of England in 2011. I predominantly work with Lino using the reduction method. I also teach Lino Printing
and Block Printing onto Fabric at the Bristol Folk House.

Describe your printmaking process.

I use a mixture of reduction lino print and mono print (using the rollers like paint brushes) to produce variable edition prints. I start by drawing directly
onto the lino with pencil, rubbing out and redrawing until I’m happy. Then I will carve away the first bit, which is normally the background. Then
I will stick my Lino down onto some board and making a registration frame around it. This assures the lino remains in the same place for each print.
For some of the layers I will only ink up sections of the block with multiple colours and do this for a number of layers to build up texture and tone.
Because you need to print the entire edition with the reduction method I usually print 20 or less and it can take several weeks to complete. I use
oil based inks on Japon Simili 100 gsm paper. 

How and where did you learn to print?

During my Ceramic degree there were opportunities to try different supporting subjects which printmaking was one, but it wasn’t very inspiring. During
a time of illness I did attend some evening classes to keep from going insane. A printmaking course which covered all methods was where I got into
printmaking. I joined Spike Print Studio and was mainly etching and screen printing. It was here that I was seeing what other printmakers were doing
with Lino that I just began trying it. It wasn’t until after my MA that I began using Lino as my preferred printing medium and I haven’t looked back
since.

Why printmaking?

I find it can be a calming thing to do. It’s very methodical, the carving of the Lino, to the building up of each layer and the repetitiveness of the inking
up/printing process which I find very pleasing.

Where do you work?

I have a studio space in Hamilton House, Bristol. It’s a multi use community centre in the
heart of the city. Home to over 200 creative and community lead businesses it is a great and inspiring place to work. However I don’t know how long
I will have this space as the building is currently under threat of redevelopment, which is worrying and stressful.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

I don’t really have a typical day. It really depends on what time of year it is or if I have any events to prepare for. So apart from the designing and
making of my linocuts, I may have classes to prepare for, admin for exhibitions/events and posting off sales from my online outlets.

How long have you been printmaking?

For about 15 years, but I would say it’s only been the past couple of years that I have been completely happy with the work I’m producing.

What inspires you?

Plants, some would say I have too many. I would say you can never have enough. I have loads all over my studio and home. I’m drawn to their architectural
shapes and contours. It’s the wide range of leaf colour and pattern in these cacti, succulents and leafy plants which allow me to develop layers of
texture and tone within my linocuts.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

I really like using traditional lino,
the battleship grey stuff. I much prefer it over the easy cut and soft cut vinyls. This might make me sound weird but I like the smell of traditional
Lino and I personally find it nicer to carve into and to work with, it does what I want it to do.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I’m pretty pleased with how my Haworthia Fasciata Lino Print came out. At the time it was my largest Lino I’d attempted at A2 (I’m currently working on
an A1 block). The initial cut took several hours and took 3 months to complete.

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?

I currently have an exhibition on at the Prema Arts Centre in Uley, Gloucestershire until 21^st October 2017.

My next event will be Made by Hand: The Contemporary Craft Fair at City Hall, Cardiff,
3^rd to 5^th November 2017.

I also have selected prints on show and for sale at the Craft Centre Leeds, The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle. I also sell online at Rise Art,
Wychwood Art Gallery and through my Folksy online shop.

What will we be seeing from you next? 

I’m currently working on a series of still lifes which include my love of plants with stripy mugs. I’m hoping to have them ready for Made by Hand in November. 

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

I use oil based inks you and use vegetable oil to clean up with instead of white spirit. You don’t need much, and it’s much kinder to the Lino. To degrease
I have a water spray with added washing up liquid and this does the job. Oil is also good if you’re having trouble getting ink off your skin, rub in
then wash as normal. 

Keep up to date with Kerry Day’s work on her website, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

.

Following Shirley’s visit to Japan earlier this year, we are expanding our Japanese Woodblock Printing and Relief Printing range! We’ve had great fun testing
out new products and have loved opening each parcel as it arrives from Japan with new stock. There are lots of new things now available on our website
(and more still on the way!) Read on to find out more about some of our new products from Japan: 

These Japanese Inking rollers are available in a hard or soft rubber.
They’re beautifully made and come in four sizes. We’ve been using one in our studio and absolutely love it!

Our new range of Japanese Woodblock Cutting Tools contains five types of tools in different sizes, all available to buy individually so you can build up
a set that’s perfect for you. Choose from V Gouges, U Gouges, Aisuki Chisels, Hangito Knives and a Kento Chisel.

Use these Japanese Water Brushes to keep your paper damp when woodblock printing. 

We’ve expanded our range of Japanese Inking Brushes with this 60mm brush.
Use with watercolours or gouache and nori paste for woodblock printing. Our new nori paste will be in stock soon!

We now have a choice of six barens to choose from for hand burnishing your relief prints including this new coiled bamboo baren. It’s traditional coiled internal structure makes it hardwearing and its large 13cm diameter enables you to
transfer pressure from your arm more effectively. Also in the shop are our two ball-bearing barens like this one below.

Possibly the most useful new items in our shop are these rubber ink scrapers. They clean up inking plates like a dream and wont leave scratches! If metal is more your style, try this new
50mm ink spatula:

Our Japanese vinyl is restocked and available in a new smaller 100 x 150mm size and the extremely popular HoSho paper pad is back!

Even more new stock is on it’s way so keep your eyes on the Japanese Woodblock and Relief Printing sections of the website! 

Sarah Campbell has been involved with colour and pattern for the whole of her life. Sarah will be joining us at Handprinted for a weekend of workshops in May 2018! 

The first fifty years of her career were spent working alongside her sister Susan Collier, starting with working for Liberty of London Prints in the ’60s.
In the late ’70s they founded the original Collier Campbell, the internationally influential design company. Their primary work was the inventing,
painting and commercial production of textile designs for apparel, furnishings, bedlinens, wallpapers for themselves and many other companies in the
UK and worldwide.

Since Susan’s death in 2011, Sarah has worked under her own name, painting designs on paper for production. She’s also developed other aspects of design
work – making and painting on many different surfaces, running workshops and courses, mounting exhibitions of work past and present, writing a blog,
developing her online shop….

Describe your process.

I paint, draw, write or make every day. I always keep a notebook for daily tasks and thoughts and write my tomorrow’s ‘to-do’ list every night before I
sleep so that my brain can process it. I tend to write in the front of the book and make sketches in the back. I work mainly on my own, and there are
a lot of different aspects to my work.

How and where did you learn to paint textiles?

I have only come to paint directly onto fabric in the last ten years or so; it’s been an extension of my long career as a painter of designs in repeat
on paper. I’m not sure why I started, but I very much enjoy the different processes. I taught myself, working on the kitchen table.

Why painted textiles?

Having been a fabric designer painting repeats on paper all my life, it seemed a natural progression.

Where do you work?

I work in my studio – a room in my flat.

What inspires you?

Everything and anything – from a flash of colour in the corner of my eye, to the new study of an old textile, to seeing a red bus against a green hedge
under a grey sky, to the slanting rain in a Hokusai print….

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I’m most proud of having made a life, and a living, in design and colour – and am still doing so!

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?

Currently I work with WestElm and Michael Miller Fabrics in the US, and Magpie and Selvedge magazine here in the UK. All of this work can be seen online
and in their stores and outlets.

My own products are shown and for sale online in my own shop, and at The Fashion and Textile Museum in London.

And of course there’s a comprehensive overview of the first fifty years of our working life in the book ‘The Collier Campbell Archive; fifty years of passion
in colour’ by Emma Shackleton and myself.

What will we be seeing from you next?

A new collection for MichaelMillerFabrics will be coming early in 2018 with rather a different look… new work for WestElm includes some interesting ceramics….I’m
just starting a relationship with Renaissance Ribbons in the US….I continue to add to my own range at Sarah Campbell Designs….I’m working on new
furnishing fabrics for myself and others….and I’m increasing my reach as a teacher and talker.

Do you have any advice for other creatives?

Be brave, listen hard and follow your intuition.

Find out more about Sarah Campbell via the links below, or sign up to Sarah’s Exploring Patterns for Textiles Workshop, Painting Textiles Workshop or BOTH for a discount!

website: http://www.sarahcampbelldesigns.com

blog: https://sarahcampbelldesigns.wordpress.com

twitter: @SarahCamDesigns

instagram: @sarahcampbelldesigns

facebook Sarah Campbell Designs – SCLtd

Fashion and Textile Museum: http://www.ftmlondon.org

There is something really compelling about miniature objects. A miniature print sounds just too good to be true. Don’t worry about carving tiny detail
– this project will shrink it down for you!

Start with a sheet of Shrink Art Plastic – we’re using white. Cut out your desired shape with scissors or using a tag punch cutter like this one. Remember that your final piece will be about
seven times smaller than your starting shape so don’t cut too small too soon!

Draw around your shape onto a piece of Softcut. Draw your design inside.

Using a lino cutter, carve out your design. We are using the Speedball Lino Cutter Assortment which comes with five different blades. Use larger U cutters to carve out big areas…

…and fine V tools to carve out the small details. Cut your whole shape out with a scalpel.

Roll out a little water based block printing ink. Cranfield inks work perfectly here. This rainbow was made by blending together Cyan and Magenta with a roller. Make sure your layer of ink is thin enough for the roller to turn freely and make a zzzz sound – it should not look or
sound squelchy!

Roll your ink onto your block. 

Press your shrink plastic shape on top of your inked up block. Place the plastic rough side down. Press all over making sure to not miss any areas. 

Peel your plastic off to reveal your print! Leave for the ink to dry. 

If making a keyring or jewellery, you’ll need a hole to thread through. Our tag cutter punches holes but you could use a scalpel or hole punch. Remember
that your hole will shrink too!

Place your plastic flat on a tray in a pre-heated 180C oven. Watch as it shrinks, curls and twists! Take it out when it lays completely flat on the tray.
This should take about two minutes. As soon as it comes out, press it between two flat surfaces. We used two glass plates but a book and a table should
work just as well. If your plastic has cooked too much, pop it back in the over to make it pliable again. 

Take a look at our tiny tag compared to its original size! As well as shrinking in size, your shape will get much thicker and more rigid.

Our final keyring threaded up and ready to go:

To make you own mini keyring you will need:

• Sheet of Shrink Art Plastic
• Sheet of Softcut
• Lino cutter
• Pencil
• Tag cutter or scissors
• Water based printing ink
• Roller
• Inking tray
• Oven or heat gun
• Keyring fastening or string

Meet Hester Cox and book on to Hester’s Collagraph Workshop coming up at Handprinted in June!

Hello! I’m full time printmaker specialising in collagraph although I do experiment with monotype, photo-polymer and relief print when the mood takes me!
I live in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park and I’m also a keen fell runner. Much of my inspiration comes from the landscape and wildlife
that I see whilst running. 

Describe your process:

Generally, I get my inspiration when I’m out running or walking so I might take a few photos for reference and then mull over the idea for a while before
I put pencil to paper. I sketch and play about with compositions, sometimes using a mirror to see what the plates will look like printed. I sketch
out the final design and transfer it to the plate using tracing paper then I start painting on textures using gesso, adhesives and pastes. Sometimes
I use collage materials such as textured papers or dried and pressed plants and I always use lots of cutting. When I’ve made my plate, I seal it using
a shellac varnish. If it’s a multi-coloured print, I make base plates that I roll up with ink and print as blocks of colour and these will have the
intaglio detail printed onto them. I’ve got two Rollaco etching presses, a bench model one and a portable press for workshops.

I dry my prints by taping the damp paper to a wooden board. As it dries the paper becomes beautifully flat and makes the print easy to frame. I usually
print my collagraphs in batches of five or six at a time so I will go back and repeat the whole process. It can take anything from 15 minutes to an
hour and half to ink and wipe one printing plate depending on the size and the complexity of the image. Then I clean everything using vegetable oil
and rags.

How and where did you learn to print?

I did a BA (hons) Illustration at Harrow School of Art and Design and they had a good print department but I didn’t fall I love with print until my final
year. I was doing a project on herbal medicine and was drawing and collecting medicinal plants. I wanted to use the plant material in the work but
didn’t know how. A friend of mine suggested collagraph and was kind enough to show me how to make a plate from the dried and pressed plant material
and I was hooked! When I graduated, I decided that I wanted to concentrate on printmaking. I moved north to Yorkshire to be with my partner and worked
in a shop for a year to save up for an etching press. I then got a better part-time job, which allowed me time to work on building up a portfolio of
prints. I’ve been a full time artist for the last 11 years. 

These days I’m a member of two studios, Ålgården Printmaking Workshops in Borås, Sweden and Northern Print in Newcastle. Working at these studios gives
me access to equipment that I don’t have in my own studio, time and space to experiment and the opportunity to work alongside other printmakers.

Why printing?

There is a lovely mix of careful planning and serendipity when you make collagraph prints. The plate making is a craft in its own right and you are
only limited by your imagination and what materials you can physically get through the press. You can also change the look of an image so much
when you are inking and wiping the plates. It involves a lot of methodical planning but the final ‘reveal’ is so exciting. You lift the paper from
the plate and there is always an element of wonder. There’s also something pleasing about seeing your work in duplicate.

Where do you work?

I live at Horton-in-Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and my studio is a lovely wooden building at the end of my garden. There is a
field beyond which often has lambs in it during spring and a view of Pen-y-ghent (one of the Yorkshire ‘Three Peaks’).

Describe a typical day in your studio.

I don’t really have a typical day, which is part of the attraction! My weeks can involve gallery deliveries, lots and lots of admin, teaching workshops,
framing, editioning existing plates or making new work. If I’m working all day in the studio, I’ll have breakfast then walk my dogs by the river
or through the meadows. This really helps to give me energy for the day. If its winter I’ll then light the stove in my studio or if its summer
I work with the door open and the sound of curlews and sheep. Like many artists, I listen to Radio 4 most of the day. Often I print well into the
evening and only stop for a run or to have dinner with my husband. If I’ve got deadlines looming, I’ll often go back in and work until late.

How long have you been printmaking?

23 years! I’ve been printmaking since 1994 and made the leap to being a full time professional artist in 2006.

What inspires you?

The natural world! My mum is a doctor of zoology and a retired ecologist so it is through her that I’ve developed my love of natural history. I’m
also a fellrunner and running is the perfect antidote to the solitary and sedentary life of an artist. When you run in the hills and in places
people rarely get to, you see all sorts of wonderful wildlife. I am inspired by how the look of the landscape alters with changes in the weather
and exhilarated when I glimpse a rare bird or animal. I want to share those often-overlooked details, the chance encounters or the transient
things that people soon forget.

What products do you use? What product/tool could you not be without?

I use lots of acrylic gesso and wood glue for making the plates. My favourite paper for collagraphs is Somerset Satin made by St. Cuthberts Mill.
I love my great big two-handled roller. I use it for creating graduated colour rolls on my base plates.  

I couldn’t live without my surgical scalpel. I use it for cutting into the mountboard (amongst many other things) and it is what I use to create
fine detail. I get through lots of 10A blades!

What have you made that you are most proud of?

My most recent work ‘Within These Walls’. This is a large-scale print installation that I made to be hung in a field barn for the Grassington Festival.
It has been the most challenging and difficult work that I’ve ever created and I’ve learned so much from it. It took six months to complete
and consists of five 4-metre long printed voile hangings inspired by the upland meadows including an huge collagraph created by printing four
1-metre long plates in succession on an enormous etching press. I designed that part to be a cross-section through a bit of meadow reminiscent
of when, as a child, I used to lay in the grass looking at the flowers and insects. At times it kept me awake at night worrying about the logistics
and whether I’d finish it on time but it was all worth it in the end. Seeing the finished work installed from the beams of the barn as a light
breeze moved the fabric and swallows flew in between was really magical.

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?

I sell at various galleries across the country and they are listed on my website but one of my favourites is Masham Gallery. Josie Beszant is the
owner and also an artist. She was the first gallery to permanently stock my work twenty-two years ago and we’ve become good friends. We are
currently collaborating with ceramicist Charlotte Morrison on an on-going project called Collections. We are all avid collectors and we explore
the idea of collecting and collections through our work. We’ve just has a successful exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum Gallery. I also do one-off
exhibitions at various venues, art fairs, print fairs and I sell work through my website although it is via the contact form and not ‘click
and buy’ as I print in batches and need to make sure I’ve got one available.

What will we be seeing from you next?

I will continue to work on Collections with Charlotte and Josie and I am hoping to develop ‘Within These Walls’ creating large-scale collagraphs
and monotypes on paper so that I will have a supporting exhibition to accompany the installation. I’ll also continue to make new collagraphs
inspired by the natural landscape.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Its hard graft to make a living as a full time artist but don’t give up! Work hard, believe in yourself, make the best work that you can and keep
on developing your techniques.

See more of Hester Cox’s work on her website or on www.artistscollections.org. Follow Hester on Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter for updates!

Book onto Hester Cox’s Collagraph Workshop coming up at Handprinted!

We were thrilled to have Ian Phillips back to teach another two Reduction Linocut Workshops this week. Over each two day course, each participant created
an edition of prints using the reduction lino method. Here are some images from both workshops showing what they got up to and their final results.

Ian’s next Reduction Linocut Workshop is in March next year – book your place now as spaces go quickly!

Hello, I am John Coe, founder, publisher and designer of Pressing Matters magazine – a new printmaking publication that takes a look at the people, process
and passion behind the art form. I approach the curation of the magazine from a ‘creatively curious’ standpoint and find myself getting arm deep trying
out new printmaking techniques and meeting makers to chat about their work. I created a new kind of magazine as, although I have plenty of books about
the subject, I felt that the magazine area of the printmaking world was limited, so decided to do my own!

Describe your magazine-making process.

It’s a pretty drawn out process actually, ideas for articles can come at any point and contacting and working with printmakers fits around their schedule
and mine (I also run a design company – www.coecreative.com). I usually have an angle/approach
in mind when I contact an artist and sometimes even some ideas for page layouts and then we work along with a writer and photographer to create unique
content for the magazine. Saying that, some pieces come together very quickly and stay the same as my initial designs if I am happy with them. The
whole magazine goes through a proofing process, we get final advert artwork and anything else from people and then its sent off to the printers. Seeing
the magazine on the press, especially the cover, is a joy and a very exciting moment after the months of work leading up to it.

How and where did you learn to make magazines?

I am a self-taught graphic designer, and I have always followed my interests and tried to make them part of my working practice. My first foray into magazine
design was probably doing zines for my band back in the 90’s… there was a lot more photocopying and pasting things then, but the idea was the
same – trying to tell stories and connect with people. I founded a magazine about cycling (http://boneshakermag.com)
some time ago and it was really on that where I learnt everything, not only about designing them, but how to sell them, working with stockists and
so on. I also worked as an art director in Hamburg on an outdoors magazine for a couple of issues and as that was for a large publisher, I got to see
how things are done differently to independent publishing. Pressing Matters is a publication born out of all of this experience and of course my love
of all things ‘printmaking!’

Why printmaking?

I guess it’s been ever present in my design practice, be it though creating some prints for Boneshaker magazine, buying books on graphic design and being
drawn to letterpress poster artwork and typography. I signed on as a printmaking student 2 years ago at Spike Print in Bristol and have just finished
two One Year courses, covering all aspects of printmaking and this year focusing on screen printing. I hope to do more courses next year, with a Woodcut
course at Cato Press turning my head currently…!

Where do you work?

Design wise, I work from a converted bothy that is in my garden (we live next to an old house that used to have a large garden and this was a workspace
for the gardeners originally). I design the magazine from here mostly, and get out to coffee shops and shared workspaces when I can. I do smaller printmaking
from home, mainly on the kitchen table as everything is nearby (I mainly do linocut at home) and have worked from Spike Print of the last couple of
years and am now thinking of joining as a member.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

At the moment, a typical day is trying to get through my client work as quickly as possible, so that I can do the fun stuff – working on the magazine…
I try to finish up on client work by 4 pm and then do a couple of hours a day on the magazine, but often that’s taken up by chasing content, emailing
and so on. I do block out whole days for the mag and that’s when I get the most work done.

How long have you been making the magazine?

The idea for the magazine came about when I first started my course 2 years ago. Once I had committed to doing it, it took about 6-8 months to get all
the ideas, layouts and content together for issue 1. This is longer than other issues will take, as I was starting from scratch. Issue 1 was released
in May and we were lucky enough to sell out of our 1,000 copy print run in about a month, so we did a reprint of that issue… Issue 2 is due
out in October and I hope to do 3-4 issues a year from 2018…

What inspires you?

I am inspired by all of the brilliant printmaking work from all around the world. Instagram has been a real success for the magazine, with a really diverse
set of followers and heaps of ideas for articles and people to talk to about work, etc. Personally, in my own print work, I am inspired by the illustrative
work of Evan Hecox, Adrian Tomine and Jeffrey Alan Love. I really love texture and narrative and am always sketching, collecting old books and taking
photos in a magpie fashion – this often leads to a bit of a mash up of ideas, the strong ones hopefully coming together in an idea for a print.

Where do you sell the magazine?

The magazine is available online at https://www.pressingmattersmag.com (and also in the
Handprinted shop) along with a few stockists around the UK and Europe.

What will we be seeing from you next?

Issue 2 is out around October time and we are planning on having stalls at the Brighton Print Fair, InkPaper&Print in Eastbourne and Sheffield Print
Fair in the winter once the mag is out. There is also talk of a couple of print fairs in and around Bristol at the end of the year, so we will be having
some presence at those too. I plan to carry on sketching, getting my ideas down and potentially have some print work to sell via the Pressing Matters
website in the new year (along with some other printmakers’ work).

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Just keep making. Like the quote on the back of issue 1 (by the brilliant Corita Kent) says… “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail.
There’s only make.” I have learnt so much over the last two years being a printmaking student and the people that I am connecting with via the mag
are driving me on creatively, so I’d say ‘make work, share it with people, make more work, discover possibilities… etc)…’

Pop in to Handprinted to pick up your copy of Pressing Matters magazine, or visit the website at www.pressingmattersmag.com.

One of the hardest things to do when printing a relief block (lino, vinyl or wood) is to print solid blocks of colour. 

There are quite a few choices to make and if you get these right then your printing will be much easier. 

• Ink – an oil based ink will print better than a waterbased one. It will stay open for longer on the slab which will allow you to print over a longer period
• Paper – printing by hand is easier with thinner paper. The paper should also be very smooth – any texture in the paper will appear in your print. 
• Roller – the best quality you can afford and then look after it making sure you clean it well after each printing session. We love the Hawthorn rollers they have a large diameter and are soft. Make sure your roller is clean and free from dents or dried ink –
  any texture on your roller will transfer to the print surface with will transfer to your print. If possible use a roller that is wider than your
  block.  
• Printing surface – before you cut make sure it is really smooth with no dents or mountains – a quick rub over with a sanding block and some water will
  help if using traditional lino.
• Printing surface – after cutting give the lino a brush with an old nail/toothbrush to eliminate any stray bits of lino and if using traditional hessian
  backed lino make sure no bits of the backing are coming loose – snip any stray bits away so they do not raise up and get inked.

When rolling out your ink it is tempting to roll out a thick layer onto the inking slab.

Rolling out a thick layer can lead to a few problems.

• The print paper can slide giving you a smudgy image
• Fine lines can be filled in with ink, loosing definition of your cut marks
• Ink will be uneven on the surface of the print and will make the drying time excessive

With your roller loaded with a smooth, even coating of ink roll the ink onto the lino. You will need to coat the roller many times so make sure you are
inking up next to the slab. Any cut marks in the lino will create an impression in the ink on the roller. Keep re inking on the slab to remove these
impressions so you do not transfer them to the lino. Make sure that when the lino is inked that the ink looks flat – tilting under a light will help
you to see this. If printing a solid, flat colour then ink in several directions. Try not to put the roller down on the lino or lift up from the lino
at 90′ – this will give you stripes of ink – think of your roller like an aeroplane landing or taking off! Don’t put pressure on the roller, this will
push ink into the cut lines. Try to keep the roller flat to the lino so you do not ink up the edges.

How you hold the baren is crucial. The handle is very short and it seems impossible at first to understand how you hold it. You should just tuck the tips
of your fingers under the strap and then fold down the rest of your hand to so that your knuckles and the heel of your hand is touching the baren. 

You want to print using a circular motion putting lots of weight through the whole of your hand. A piece of silicon/baking paper is useful between the
baren and the paper. This is for a couple of reasons. If printing on finer paper the silicon paper will stop the baren wearing bits of the paper away.
 The silicon paper will also help you to put lots of pressure through the baren but will allow it to still glide over the surface. Try to keep
the baren flat to the paper – especially at the edges so that you get sharp lines. The technique of holding a baren is the same if it is a simple
bamboo one or a highly engineered ball bearing one.
The ball bearing ones allow you to print large areas with less pressure. 

The first print you take from a piece of lino always seems to be a little patchy and less dense in colour. After a couple of prints the transference of
ink will improve. 

This speckled effect on the print is down to two issues – the paper is a little textured and the inking was insufficient. If you print using Ternes Burton Pins and Tabs you could re ink and print again to resolve this issue. The Ternes Burton system is brilliant – not just for reduction printmaking
but also for ensuring that your print block is placed in the correct position on your paper. Paper is an expensive part of printmaking so not wasting
any is crucial. 

A small speck of something (possibly a piece of stray lino) had stuck to the plate whilst inking up. This foreign body held the paper away from the ink
so creates an area that will not print. 

Hello, My name is Hayley and for the past week I have been at Handprinted for work experience. I have loved every minute of it especially when I took part
in the screen printing work shop onto fabric. It was my first time screen printing and I cannot wait to do it again. We began the workshop with screen
printing using a paper stencil where the lovely Shirley did a tutorial on preparation and stencil cutting.

After preparing our screens, choosing a design and cutting out our stencils it was time to do my first print ever which was very exciting. I really enjoyed
using the paper stencils as it demonstrated another way to screen print not using exposure. I also enjoyed seeing what everyone else had made using
their paper stencils, we had a a wide variety of prints from stars to clouds in an assortment of vibrant colours. 

Once we had practised and got a good technique we could move on to a larger piece of fabric and choose our final designs. We could either use a mix of
paper stencils and screen exposure or just go straight on to the exposure technique. I choose to incorporate both as I really liked using the paper
stencils. For my final design I wanted to use elements of nature so for the paper stencil element I cut out a toadstool and made up a vibrant red dye
(which turned out to be extremely difficult to make).

The next step was to prepare our screens for exposure – this meant drawing our designs onto film and putting the green emulsion (which oddly smelt like
PVA glue) onto our screens. This bit was slightly scary as it was difficult to get the right technique in order to not spill the liquid everywhere
and to get a nice even spread. We than left the screen in a dark heated cupboard for 20 minutes – during this time we got to enjoy our lunch.

Our next job was to use the exposure machine which went on for 5 minutes 30 seconds with our screens and designs in. We quickly jet washed the loose
emulsion off before it set leaving us no design left to print (which would have been very disappointing). Once we dried the screen it was ready
to print! 

To print my feathers I used a gorgeous duck egg blue as I believed it would compliment the vibrant red. This part was extremely interesting as you
got see everyone’s designs and placements of the screen. Below are some of the final products.

At the end of the session I had some time to experiment with my screen so I tried to make and ombre using red and purple colours.- This was very fun
as I did not have to worry about being exact.

I really enjoyed this workshop (and my entire experience at Handprinted) and would recommend the workshops to anyone no matter your ability of printing.
The whole team here are so lovely and accommodating plus, if you are lucky, you may even get free tea and cake (or coffee if you prefer.)