Materials Testing

As a printmaker, materials are a big part of what I do.  Have to know what they are, how to work with them, where I can get them, etc.  For much of my time cutting wood everything was the same, but in recent years decisions have been made, not by artists but by manufacturers and distributors, and each time this happens I have to rethink everything I knew and come up with an alternate plan.  For example, for decades I had used 1/4" lauan plywood in my woodcuts, which could be purchased at pretty much any place that sells lumber.  I don't know who actually makes it, but a few years ago what was available in local stores went way downhill.  Issues with both the surface and the core layer (sometimes with big staples in it, which is the kind of thing you notice when you are carving through the layers), so I checked some possibilities and decided to switch to using 1/2" birch plywood as my standard.  Slightly more expensive but not unreasonable, and widely available.   So far, so good.  Made it my recommendation for my college students, used it in the Belmar classes, and all new prints of the past few years.

Had a brief temporary run as a print professor a few years ago, which caused me to start assembling information about ink and paper for students who might need it.  At that point I learned that the specific relief ink that I had been using since grad school was now discontinued.  The company claimed it was part of their decision to go back to their roots as paint manufacturers, but the company was founded by printmakers for the specific purpose of making printing ink, something they mentioned in their catalogs and was still being posted on their website even as they were making the changes.  Very quickly I had to investigate ink possibilities, both for my work and for classes I teach, and again I found other options.

Adding another problem was the collapse of the Pearl Paint chain.  Their 5 floor building on Canal Street was legendary, but for purchasing I used to go to the branch in Paramus (which moved a few times) and then when I moved down the shore to the large store in Woodbridge.  Not super close, but a reasonable diversion on my school commute, and a manageable distance if I couldn't wait for a time in the area.  Very good selection of paper, and a lot of general supplies, discount prices on everything, but they had some financial difficulties and the chain went bankrupt.  Nothing has shown up to take its place.

This semester I was given two sections of a class I hadn't had or several years, foundations level, non-majors.  I always include a print project, and for this class I developed a simple collograph project.   Still had enough of the materials to get them going and last week we made the plates in class.  In two weeks we will print those plates.  They will use paper from their pad, and I have plenty of printing tools, but ink is a question.  Eventually I found the supply of what I typically use in this assignment (water soluble) but may not be enough to print 30 students worth of work.  And the demise of a few of my previous sources means I can't go to those places to buy more.  Time for more research.

So yesterday I took a ride to the only relatively comprehensive art supply store in the area to see what they had.  My preference for this project is a water based ink, something that can be cleaned easily and will dry quickly, but not much of it in that store.  So I decided to try something new.  The store did have a large supply of Akua Intaglio ink, which seems to be some kind of hybrid.  Very common in current catalogs and websites, made with water and soy oils, and they say cleans with soap and water.  Careful study of the label shows that it is made by Speedball, manufacturer of the water based relief ink that was mostly not there.  So I decided to buy a jar to test out.  If I like the results, I can easily order more from my other ink sources.  

And today was testing day.  Went up to the Studio in the afternoon, bringing the new ink with me.  Although it's called "intaglio" ink, the stuff is billed as for relief printing, too, which is how this collograph project will be printed.  My test block was an old one from my Birds and Seeds series that I had there in the Studio.  First thing I found was that the ink was a thick liquid, not the typical consistency of relief ink.  But I continued on.  The inked block and resulting prints are shown above.  The quality of the proof is not quite to the level of traditional oil relief inks, but it clearly produced a readable proof.  And the print was dry within hours, which is good.  The old water soluble relief ink tended to dissolve in water for easy clean up, but when this one says clean up in soap and water, they really mean you need that soap.  Had enough for today, but I'll need to get more before next week's class.  And before I do anything else, I'd like to do another test, try this ink on one of the old collograph plates that I have, and see the results.  If that works, I'll get another jar to back up this one.