PreK-6
What is Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making
artworks by printing, normally on
paper. Except in the case of
monotyping, the process is capable of
producing multiples of the same
piece, which is called a print. Each
piece is not a copy but an original
since it is not a reproduction of
another work of art and is technically
known as an impression. Painting or
drawing, on the other hand, create a
unique original piece of artwork.
Prints are created from a single
original surface, known technically as
a matrix
The vocabulary is wonderful: the term
printmaking itself is an oxymoron, in that
it means multiple original! Original
means one of a kind, and a multiple is
more than one, hence the oxymoron,
and kids are never too young to learn
what that fun sounding word means!
Plate, edition, artist proof (AP), limited
edition, plate mark, intaglio, serigraph
(silkscreen), litho matter what level you
teach, is to talk about where we see
prints (or even imprints).
As a female teacher, I would apply fresh
lipstick before class and make a kiss print
on a piece of paper to show the kids.
Later, they would be able to identify this
as a relief print, like linoleum, stamping
tools, wood cut and so on…
Printmaking is one of my favorite areas of teaching art; there are
so many ways to create a print that neither you nor your students
will be bored with the many choices of technique. Your students
may learn just a few of the ways one can make a print, but they'll
also gain an understanding of the vocabulary that goes along with
the various types of prints.
Printmaking is a wonderful, viable way to collect the art of others,
so the understanding and knowledge you impart to them may go
beyond creating their own prints--to becoming savvy art collectors!
Setting Up: Preparing the Media and
the Workspace
Set aside a separate inking table, and another “clean”
table, where students will take their inked plates to be
printed on paper. An inking table should include areas for
inking, which can consist of a series of styrofoam trays,
one color per area, and one brayer for each. Pieces of
plexiglass, large or small, and the backs of metal lunch
trays are also good surfaces for inking.
Squeeze out a line of ink (from a tube), or use a popsicle
stick or stiff piece of cardboard, to lay out a strip of ink at
the top of the inking station. This is called a reserve,
from which you will draw more ink as needed. Set the
brayer onto the ink, picking up an even line of ink. Then
set the brayer in the center of the inking area and begin
rolling it vertically and horizontally, until the ink is evenly
spread and starts to make a “stick stick” noise.
Now the brayer is properly inked and can be rolled onto
a plate.
You will need to reload
the brayer (roller)
frequently and pass
over the plate in all
directions until it is
thoroughly covered
with a thin and even
coat. Too thick and it
will begin to fill up the
finely engraved
lines...too thin and you
will get an uneven,
ghostly print.
Brayers
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Brayers come in all shapes and sizes, and printmakers have their personal
preferences. A four-inch wide “soft rubber” brayer is the most versatile tool
and the first kind of brayer to purchase for your students. Soft rubber
brayers apply ink deeply and thoroughly onto collograph plates (made of
layers of stiff paper). Often these brayers have plastic handles/casings that
hold up well, and never get squeaky, the way looped metal handles do.
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The hard black-rubber brayers are much stiffer, and many artists prefer
these for applying pressure or burnishing during printmaking. There may be
a slight advantage to using the hard brayer for inking styrofoam plates,
though soft rubber brayers still work well on this material.
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There are foam brayers, which are closer to very dense and fine sponges.
These are also very versatile, since they can transform tempera paint into
“ink” because they absorb the paint and can distribute it evenly, without
sliding and dripping, onto both styrofoam and collograph printing plates.
These brayers work with both printing ink and tempera paint. They are also
good paint applicators, especially for rolling out thin layers of color over
large areas, such as backgrounds for murals. The disadvantage to using
these foam brayers is that they are harder to clean, since they must be
soaked and gently squeezed out to remain flexible and soft
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There are different widths of brayers. Four-inch brayers do most jobs,
though having a few thinner brayers and a wider one allow for working on
small areas and burnishing larger prints
One local teacher’s advice!!!
• We roll out ink on scrap pieces of foam core
board (donated by a local frame shop). At the
end of class, we just let the inking plates dry
and use them again the next day. Saves lots of
cleanup time and we will throw them away at
the end of the project. I have one inking table
and one printing table to keep prints clean.
Palettes for Rolling Ink
• Wrap an old magazine with
aluminum foil to make a palate
for your ink.
• Plexiglass
• Cafeteria Trays
• Foam Trays
• Table Top if it is smooth and
non-porus
• Wax Paper that has been taped
down
• The list goes on and on.
Delayed Printing / Waking up Dried Ink
If a large mural is planned for printing, it can
often make sense to ink the various pieces for the
mural, laying them ink-side up and making all
composing decisions, without rushing because
the ink might dry. Then, at the end of class, or
even the next week – carefully sponge-dampen
the mural paper, and with help, lay it directly over
the composed inked printing plates, burnishing
together with your hands. Often two such large
prints can be pulled, using the dampen-end paper
technique.
Practice Makes Perfect!!
Remember this takes a bit
of practice and experience.
If the ink starts to get too
dry on the glass, a fine mist
of water from a spray
bottle and a little working
with the scraper can
salvage it. Plates can be
inked and printed about six
times before the image
starts to deteriorate.
Pulling the Plate
When the plate is nicely inked take it to the clean area where you will place the plate face up
allowing for a border edge for the paper. Gently place the paper on top of the plate starting at one
corner and "laying" it on to prevent the paper moving in any way and smudging the image. With a
clean hand, press all over the back of the paper to adhere the plate. Then burnish the whole area
with the back of a spoon to transfer the ink to the paper. You can lift a portion of the print from the
plate to check on the impression without detaching it completely. When you are satisfied with the
print slowly "pull" it off the plate while holding down one corner with your finger
Nature Prints
Leaves, anything that
can be painted and
pressed makes nice
prints, or rubbings
(like bark, rocks or
sandpaper) is another
form of making a
print - layering these
with different colors
could make an
interesting picture.
Fish Print:Gyotaku
Japanese Fish Printing
Fruit and Veggie Print
Stamping
For stamping, both printing ink and tempera
paint can be used.
Finding things to stamp with, this
can also be stuff brought in by
your artists - what can they find
at home to print with? I use
bottle tops, lids, foil balled up to
make interesting designs, plastic
bags bunched up with
rubberbands, matchbox cars, any
little plastic toys, even the curvy
side of lasagna works.
Collograph: Plate
• Gluing yarn (I find thicker
easier to glue, but thinner
gives more detail), lace,
fabric, burlap, textured
materials to a piece of
cardboard in a design. Let
the yarn or material and
glue dry, then apply ink to
the plate - one or multiple
colors will work - and print.
Collograph
Collograph
The Collograph Plate can be art in and
of itself!!!
Draw on your dry prints!!!
Glue Printing with
Foil Plate
Objectives: Student will:
• create a number of line
compositions to various
music
• create a glue relief print
with interesting line
quality
• enhance a print with oil
pastels showing
knowledge of color
planning
Materials
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6 x 9 inch paper (or desired size)
India ink and brushes
6 x 9 inch cardboard (or desired size)
white glue (Elmer's works fine)
brayers, black printing ink, wooden spoons
inking plates (Plexiglas works great)
assorted printing papers (colors are nice to use)
oil pastels
Preparation & Instructions
Collect an assortment of music (instrumental
only). Pre-cut cardboard for printing plates (6 x 9
inches or 8 x 10 inches would be good).
1.Present life and times of Wassily Kandinsky - show
and discuss examples of works (before or after
the art making lesson). Kandinsky worked to
music.
2.Paint along with students - make several of your
own line works to the music. This doesn't take
much demonstration.
3. Demonstrate how to make a printing plate with
white glue - it is often best to put on two layers of
glue (second layer after the first has dried depending on how thick you glue is).
4.Demonstrate proper printing method to get clean
prints.
Procedures
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1. Paint with black ink to music - make a new
composition for each selection of music. Save all
paintings as they can be used for projects later.
2. Select favorite line painting to make a glue
relief plate. Transfer lines to cardboard plate
(recycled corrugated cardboard works great).
3. Go over lines with white glue (it may take
two coats to cover) - let dry completely. While
printing plates are drying, students could be
painting left over line paintings. Use tempera or
watercolors.
4. Seal printing plate
5. Print onto white or colored papers using
black ink (or any dark color). Roll ink onto
printing plate - thin even coats of ink. Move to
clean surface - place paper over inked plate.
Rub with back side of wooden spoon.
6. Enhance dried print with oil pastels.
7. Optional - make collage prints out of ones on
colored paper (cut a part and piece back
together again combining two prints).
8. Cover relief plate with aluminum foil. Texture
with dull pencil - antique with tempera, India
ink, or shoe polish.
Glue Relief Printmaking - with foil
plate -
You can create a plate with Elmer’s
glue
Elmer's glue on scrap
matboard, sealed with
gloss medium &
varnish. Light
watercolor was
applied before sealing
so I could see the glue
after it dried clear. It
gave me more of a
map the first time I
went over it with an
inked brayer.
The inked plate, with a darker color
applied to the raised glue areas.
Pulling the Print
Monotype
Mono means one of a kind
The traditional monotype is
black & white, and it is printed
with etching on a smooth
glass plate. The painted image
is then transferred by carefully
placing paper on the plate and
applying pressure. When the
paper is removed, so is the
painted image and most of the
ink.
Watercolor Monotypes: 1st Grade
You can tape down foil to create area
for monoprint
Watercolor Monotypes: 3rd Grade
Watercolor Monotypes: 7th Grade
Watercolor Monotypes: 5th Grade
Mono print with printing inks : 2nd
grade
Mono print with printing inks : 2nd
grade
Mono print with printing inks : 2nd
grade
Ghost Prints
Result when a plate is printed once or twice
again, after its initial inking, using up the
remaining ink. Ghost prints can also be made
after the printing plate has dried – even weeks
later, because the ink is water soluble – by first
wetting the printing paper with a damp
sponge before printing the dried plate. Firmly
rubbing the back of the damp paper into the
plate will give the best results.
Styrofoam Prints
Using a tool such as a blunt pencil, carve or
engrave lines, dots and larger flat areas into the
styrofoam. Experiment with a variety of marks
and shapes, including pressing small objects into
the plate to make an impression.
Styrofoam Prints
RELIEF!!!!!
Relief prints reverse the
image from the block to
the print. (Students
must take care in
reversing any letters or
words as they plan
their block.)
Styrofoam Prints
1. Start by cutting off the rounded corners of your styrofoam tray so
that it lays flat. This is the size of the surface you have to work
with.
2. On a piece or scratch paper, draw a sketch to use for your print.
Tip: Keep it simple… tiny details do not show up very well with
this type of print.
3. Tape your drawing onto the foam plate. Transfer the image to the
foam by tracing over your picture using a firm and steady
pressure. When you have gone over the whole image, remove
the tape and picture. You will need to go over the foam plate one
more time with your pencil to carefully carve out the details.
4. Get your work area ready! Cover your work area.. Squeeze a
finger sized amount onto your palate and roll back and forth and
up and down with your rubber brayer until it is evenly covered.
5. Roll ink onto your foam printing plate.
6. Flip printing plate over onto a clean sheet of recycled paper.
7. Press firmly all around. Then carefully peel the paper off.
8. Allow to dry.
Styrofoam
Prints
Styrofoam Print on Colored Paper
These prints are made from Styrofoam
printing plates....they used one color
of ink (actually, I use Chromacryl) they had a choice of light or dark
green for the foliage prints. They
printed multiple copies on white
paper. The animal image was printed
in the same manner - they could use
red, orange or yellow ink. When the
prints were dry, they hand colored
their prints using Sanford plastic
markers (they are very crayon-like, but
you can sharpen them in a regular
pencil sharpener...they are "kind-of"
erasable and they are hollow inside....I
love them!) They cut out their animals
and mounted them to the foliage
prints using the foam 3D-O's.
Teacher in Mumford-NY.
Mary Lathron
Cardboard Relief Prints
* Corrugated Cardboard
* Pencil
* Marker
* X-Acto Knife
* Brayer (explained later)
* Printing Ink (preferrably
water-based)
* Non-Porous surface for ink
* Paper slightly larger than
the cardboard
Cardboard Relief Prints
• Begin by
drawing
your
design in
pencil. An
abstract
design
works
tends to
work best.
If you have trouble seeing the pencil
lines you can color in the shapes that
will be cut away with a marker
Using an X-Acto knife, lightly cut around the shapes. You are not trying to cut
all the way through the cardboard, just throught the first layer.
With kids, help them with this.
Use your fingers to peal up a corner of
the cardboard where you have cut.
Pull the cardboard up lightly. You are
trying to peal up the first layer to show
the wavy center layer.
Do this with all of the areas that you
wish to be textured in the print.
Ink Plate and Use the brayer to evenly
roll the ink onto the printing surface.
Once the surface is covered, you need
to move quickly if using water-based
ink.
Lay the paper over the top of the
printing surface.
Use you hand to press down the paper.
Be sure to rub the entire surface.
lowly peel the paper up and let it dry.
You can re-apply ink to the printing surface a number of times.
Finished Cardboard Print
Wood cut
Woodcut
• Woodcut, a type of relief print, is the earliest printmaking technique, and
the only one traditionally used in the Far East. It was probably first
developed as a means of printing patterns on cloth, and by the 5th
century was used in China for printing text and images on paper.
Woodcuts of images on paper developed around 1400 in Europe, and
slightly later in Japan. These are the two areas where woodcut has been
most extensively used purely as a process for making images without text.
• The artist draws a sketch either on a plank of wood, or on paper which is
transferred to the wood. Traditionally the artist then handed the work to a
specialist cutter, who then uses sharp tools to carve away the parts of the
block that he/she does not want to receive the ink. The raised parts of the
block are inked with a brayer, then a sheet of paper, perhaps slightly
damp, is placed over the block. The block is then rubbed with a baren or
spoon, or is run through a press. If in color, separate blocks are used for
each color.
Woodcut by Edvard Munch
Artists who worked with Woodcuts
• Albrecht Dürer, Werner Drewes, Dulah Marie
Evans, Hiroshige, Hokusai. Gustave Baumann
Linoleum Prints
Linocut
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Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut
in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a
wooden block) is used for the relief surface. A design is
cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped
chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas
representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to
show printed. The cut areas can then be pulled from the
backing. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a
brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The
actual printing can be done by hand or with a press.
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As the material being carved has no particular direction to
its grain and does not tend to split, it is easier to obtain
certain artistic effects than with most woods, although
the resultant prints lack the wood character of wood
block printing. Linoleum is also much easier to cut than
wood, which must be carved away, but the pressure of
the printing process degrades the plate faster. It is also
difficult to create larger works due to the material's
fragility
Linocut
Linoleum Prints
• Draw your sketch
• Carve out the positive (white) space
• Take a minute to look at your drawing and decide
which areas you want to leave and which areas you
want to carve away. Remember that the raised areas
will be what shows up in the ink. My biggest mistake
when I first started, was trying to carve too deep into
the linoleum. You really don't have to carve deep at all,
just along the surface. The tools are sharp, and you can
cut yourself so use with caution.
• HAVE STUDENTS CROSS WRISTS TO ELIMINATE CUTS!!!
• Ink your block and pull a print
Linoleum Prints
Draw right on linoleum: You can start
with chalk
Carve using linocut tool. They come in left handed and
also in linozip (pull towards you). Cross wrists to avoid
cutting.
Ink Palette and plate
Pull Print
Print and Block are mirror images
Finished Print
Safe-T cut
They even
make it in
woodgrain or
in special
shapes now!!!
Random Tip Shared at a NYSATA
Conference!!!
TIP: When you are inking the linoleum block,
set the block on top of a rubber-based shelf
liner (this material is also used to keep carpets
in place). It will hold the block in place quite
well when you are inking. I think any hardware
store or big chain retailer like Walmart all
carry this.
Clean Up Tips:
Most printing inks,
suitable for school use,
are water-soluble. This
means that while
cleaning is easy with
water, it is also
important to keep
prints away from water,
as their ink will bleed
(LITTLE WET HANDS!!!)
Drying and Storing Work in Progress
Printing ink can take a while to
dry and can be quite sticky. You
will want to have designated
areas for students to lay both
their prints and their plates to
dry. With adult assistance,
hanging prints on clotheslines
(pinned back to back to make
more space) is another option
for drying many prints at one
time. Wax paper works well for
wrapping a semi-dry print for
transport home, or a plate
before it is put away in a
portfolio. If pressed for space
and must stack prints to dry,
layering wax paper between
wet prints keeps them from
sticking together.
A Word About Paper
There are so many different types of paper
available from handmade to bond, the choices
are endless. For printing lessons in a classroom
setting, all you really need is white bond paper,
manilla, newsprint or bristol board. If you have
access to (and a budget for) special
printmaking papers, you will notice a definite
difference in the quality of printing. Rice,
mulberry and watercolour papers all work
extremely well with printmaking projects. Keep
in mind however that with printmaking, you
tend to go through a lot of paper. If you have
papermaking facilities at your disposal, why
not have your students make their own
printmaking paper?