printing inks Archives - Linda Germain

Speedball block printing ink for Gelatin Printmaking

printing inks / Linda Germain / September 19, 2022

I use speedball water soluble block printing ink for gelatin printing with the homemade glycerin and water plate.

I know a lot of folks use a variety of acrylic paints with the commercial plates that you can buy. One of my mottos is to “use what you have.” It is more common to have acrylic paint than block printing ink, so it makes sense that a lot of people would print with acrylic paint.

I have tried gelatin printing with:

inexpensive craft paint
Golden open acrylics
gouache
Akua liquid pigment
Akua intaglio

They all work to produce a monotype print. The important question is can I obtain the kind of marks, impressions and layers with any given ink/paint.

When trying a new ink, I like to buy a small tube of black ink and print with it and see what is possible. That way I have not invested a lot of money in supplies before I know if I like them. (Believe me I have done that many times)

I wanted to share why I like the speedball water soluble blocking inks when printing with the homemade gelatin and glycerin plate.

They are water based and the plate is water based which means they roll up nicely and should not bead up on the plate.
They are non-toxic.
They are super easy to clean up with water.
A little goes a long way. One dollop of ink can last several printing sessions compared to a dollop of acrylic paint.
It is important to me that the ink stay wet and workable. Speedball inks can be reactivated with a spritz of water and a drop of glycerin.
The have the proper viscosity to roll up with a brayer.
But the most important factor is that I like the type of impressions that I can get with the speedball water based block printing inks.
- I can get light transparent layers
- Lots of ghost impressions
- Lovely detailed impression from the ink under my stencils
- The ink sticks and transfers from brayer to plate to stencils/tools a finally to the paper.

Of course the ink has limitations and draw backs, but for the kind of printing I do, I can accept them.

The biggest limitation is that the ink does not dry fixed. So if it gets wet with water or glue the image can smear. I overcome this by working quickly and with light pressure.

I use every last drop. I cut the tube when the ink gets low and scrape out ink as needed.

I hope this helps you when you go to buy and test out a new ink for gelatin printmaking. If you would like to explore gelatin printmaking with speedball block printing inks, then join us in the online printmaking class, Gelatin Print Project. Class starts soon.

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Printing on Fabric – feel and use

fabric prints, printing inks, tools / Linda Germain / May 6, 2021

When choosing to monoprint on fabric you may want to think about:

your intended use for the printed fabric
how you want it to feel
does it need to be washable

I don’t always know what I will use the fabric for, but I often want it to feel soft and be washable. The main factor that affects these qualities is the kind of ink or paint that you print with.

I have tried lots of brands with monoprinting fabric on the gelatin plate. And I think every artist will have their own preference. You can read about my experience with the different inks in this blog post.

The other factor that affects the hand/feel of the material is how thickly you apply the ink. Often with monotype printing on paper, I can print several layers of ink and I try to limit the layers to 1 or 2 when printing on fabric.

If you would like to explore Monoprinting Fabric with the gelatin plate, then check out the details of the upcoming online class and join us.

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Choose the Right ink for the Job

printing inks / Linda Germain / September 2, 2016

I am all about experimenting with whatever tools, inks, papers and plates are in my studio. This leads to much “failure” and eventual success.

I say that if I get 2 out of 10 prints that I love then I am doing good.

I want to share with you my experience with different inks, on paper with homemade gelatin plate. All combinations will work to give you some kind of printed impression. So there is no wrong way, just different ways.

I am going to talk about my experience with Speedball Water Based Block Printing ink, and Golden Open Acrylic paint and basic acrylic craft paint. I think these are the easiest products to find.

Acrylic craft paint

It is inexpensive and easy to find. However it dries very quickly and it may be too fluid to hold the edge of a detailed mark. Don’t let craft paint dry on your brayers, it will ruin them.

Detailed impression - focus on the ink/paint left under the stencils — Detailed impression – focus on the ink/paint left under the stencils

This red house print was made on a gelatin plate with craft paint and it features the detailed impression, the second print made with the ink that is left under the masking stencils.

Golden Open Acrylic Paint

This paint is designed to stay “open” wet for a longer period of time. It does not dry as fast a craft paint. It is very richly pigmented and on the expensive side. It is still a paint and not an ink.

It is very popular with many mixed media artists. I find it sticks more to the plate than my paper and still dries too fast. You may be able to add a bit of water to get it to release from the plate and on to the paper. And make sure you clean your brayer right away.

If you have some of these paints, try them and see if you get some prints that you like.

The print above was made with the Golden Open Acrylics.

Speedball Water Based Block Printing Ink

These water based inks can be found in some craft store and most online art stores. They are moderately priced. It does take some time to get to know how to roll them out and to ink the brayer and plate.

They do not dry fixed. So if the print gets wet the image will smudge, as with wet collage methods. One draw back is that they are a school grade ink and the richness of the pigments are just adequate. There is a richer pigment in the process colors of the Speedball Printmasters Block Printing Ink.

These are my favorite inks to use for gelatin printmaking. The ink stays alive and generally moist enough to transfer the ink from palette to brayer to plate to stencil and finally to paper. This allows for good detailed impressions.

They are non-toxic, very easy to clean up and will not damage your brayers if the ink dries on them.

The gelatin plate print above was made with the speedball water based block printing inks.

Water soluble Oil based Inks

I have very briefly tested some oil based yet water-soluble inks and have trouble getting the oil based inks to stick to the water based gelatin plate.

It might work, but you may need to do some trial and error experimentation with modifying the inks with a spritz of water.

I am super sensitive to oil based inks. I used to be able to use them, but now it makes me wheezy. I loved the Daniel Smith water soluble block printing inks, but they are no longer making them.

The benefits of a water soluble oil based ink are that it dries fixed and generally the pigment is richer that a water based ink.

The Akua Kolor shown in the image above(now called Akua Liquid Pigment), is a soy based pigment and dries by absorption into the paper. It is highly pigmented, on the expensive side, and I do know of some artists who like to use it for gelatin printmaking.

I find it still sticks to the plate more than transfer to the paper. Clean up is a little more labor intensive. But it does dry fixed to the paper.

The print above was made using Akua Liquid Pigments and the gelatin plate.

I hope my experience helps you.

There is no one best ink. It will depend on many factors:

type of plate you are using
type of impression you want to create
any allergies you might have
how much money you want to spend
if you are willing to experiment

One rule that could guide you as well: Oil and water don’t mix. If you are using the water based gelatin plate then oil based inks will probably bead up.

Anther helpful skill is to learn how to ink your brayer smoothly and evenly. This takes time and practice.

If you want to explore monotype printing with the homemade gelatin and glycerin plate, water based inks and paper then check out the current workshop offerings.

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How to save left over printmaking ink

printing inks / Linda Germain / December 16, 2014

Use small containers to save your left over Printmaking ink. — Look for the smallest containers to save your left over ink.

I try to put small amounts of ink on my palette, so I don’t end up throwing it away. I say,

“You can always put more out, but you can’t put it back in the tube.”

I found some very small plastic containers with a snap tight lid, like those of an old film canister. I also found some a little bigger as you can see in the picture.

The smaller the better for tiny amounts of ink. There will be less air in the container, so the ink will dry out more slowly.

I usually:

Use a palette knife to scrape the ink off the palette and into the container
Then I give it a little spritz of water to keep it damp
And I try to use up the ink with in a day

I have tried making a “freezer paper pouch.”

Cut a small piece of freezer paper
Scoop up the ink and
Put it on the shine side of the paper
Lightly spritz the ink with water
Fold the paper loosely so you don’t squish the ink
Tape over any air holes
Use the next day

Do you have any tricks you use to save left over inks?

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Inks for printing on Fabric with the Gelatin Plate

printing inks / Linda Germain / November 18, 2014

A summary of inks for monoprinting on fabric with the glycerin and gelatin plate

Monotype printmaking on fabric on the gel plate — Monotype prints on fabric on the gel plate

I have been printing with different inks on cotton fabric to find the one that works best for my application. I have tried:

Speedball water soluble block printing inks – water based
Speedball Screen printing fabric ink –
Speedball Fabric block printing ink – oil based water soluble
Versatex Screen printing ink for fabric and paper
Jaquard Textile Color
Pro Chemical textile paint
Createx Acrylic Colors – screen print or brush
Createx Monotype colors
Acrylic Craft Paint
Caligo Safe Wash relief ink
Aqua Linoprint by Schmincke
Daniel Smith Water Soluble Block Printing inks
Golden Open Acrylics

Many of these inks are not intended for use on fabric, but I had them around and wanted to see what would happen if I used them to print on fabric.

You know that I believe, “Fearless experimentation can lead to extraordinary results.”

The perfect ink for my application will:

roll out thin layer with brayer
hold the edge of a detailed mark
print very dark to very light
stay alive/workable as long as possible
non-toxic and low fumes
dry fixed on the fabric
allow fabric to remain soft and supple

Often is it not possible to do a quick test of inks when printmaking. Printmaking takes time and often the first few prints with a new ink are not so great. Each ink has a learning curve. What is good for one person may not work for another person.

You can make one change –

type of fabric,
type of plate,
weather and
speed of working and it could affect your results.

So these are just my opinions based on one or two weeks of test printing on fabric. Please do your own tests with your own goals and desires.

As you can see from the picture below, it is possible to get a pretty good print from most of the inks that I tried. Please note that I was working small and fast and doing the most I could to get a strong print.

different inks for monoprinting on fabric - Linda Germain — Top Left counter clockwise, Golden Open Acrylic, Createx Screen Print, Speedball Screen print, Blue/red-Createx Monotype, Purple-Jaquard Textile colors, Yellow-Versatex Screen Print, Black-Speedball fabric ink, Blue dress-Speedball block Print, Center-Craft Acrylic

Here is a very short summary of my experience with these inks for printing on fabric with the gelatin plate.

Speedball water soluble block printing inks – water based- I printed on damp fabric and did a very quick dry/heat set with iron. May not be permanent.
Speedball Screen printing fabric ink – Ok but did not roll out as smooth as the Versatex
Speedbal Fabric block printing ink – oil based water soluble – I am sensitive to the oil base. Takes practice to get it to work with the water based gelatin plate
Versatex Screen printing ink for fabric and paper – My choice – It meets all my criteria above
Jaquard Textile Color – Second choice – it is a little too fluid, so it loses details.
Pro Chemical textile paint – may be a good choice but mine was too old. Give yourself a chance – don’t use old dried up inks
Createx Acrylic Colors – screen print or brush – Pretty good but coverage was uneven
Createx Monotype colors – Good but I am not sure if it is permanent
Acrylic Craft Paint – Not so good, stiff, dries very fast, sticks to the plate, but it is cheap and readily available.
Caligo Safe Wash relief ink – water soluble oil – did not roll up very evenly for me
Aqua Linoprint by Schmincke – water soluble oil – stuck to the plate and did not release on to the fabric
Daniel Smith Water Soluble Book Printing inks – water soluble oil – requires time to get to know the ink – pretty good coverage, but I hear they are discontinuing the product
Golden Open Acrylics – stuck to the plate and did not want to release on to the fabric, for that reason it was hard on the gelatin plate. I have seen it work for others using the commercial gel plate.

If you would like to explore this monoprinting on fabric process with me and a group of international artists, then sign up today for Make Monotypes- the printing on fabric edition.

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