COLLAGRAPH
A collagraph print is created by printing a plate possessing the inked matrix of collaged,
relatively flat materials, which allow the replication of a variety of lines, textures and
images. This is achieved by building up layers of low-relief patterns through a mix of
modeling media, found, flat objects and exposed photopolymer emulsion. Once sealed
and dry, the plate surface can be inked and the image transferred to paper.
The basic methods used to make a collagraph print plate may be described as additive
and subtractive processes. The primary additive method, where this processes receives its
namesake, involves creating a collage by gluing thin, found objects of various shapes,
sizes, and textures to a base plate. Lines and textures may be created by painting a plate
surface with modeling material such as acrylic gel, white glue, modeling paste, gesso, or
adhering a grit with these materials. The subtractive collagraph process involves adhering
a fine fabric like silk to the plate then subtracting the areas that will hold ink by painting out
the "light" areas with acrylic medium.
Materials & Tools
Basic materials for collagraph are modeling and adhesive mediums, found 2-d textures
and lines, a plate of solid cardboard, matboard, thin hardboard (such as Masonite), or
plywood for additional support. Other materials like sheet plastic or metal can be used as a
plate. Whatever is used, make certain that the chosen plate material will allow materials to
adhere to its surface.
Basic tools include those used for cutting and carving materials, scoring lines, and cutting
outlines of shapes. Synthetic brushes and palette knives are needed to spread and/or
build lines and textures from the chosen medium upon the collagraph plate. Sandpaper is
also useful in reducing and altering the dry plate surface.
Procedure
1. Create a plate from a piece of thin solid cardboard or material that will accept waterbased glue (matboard, solid gray cardboard, cereal box, etc). Its size should be
relative to the size of the paper to be printed on possessing equal margins.
2. Collect a number of thin textured surfaces, e.g., fine meshed fabrics, netting, tin foil,
dried-flat plant life, embossed wallpaper, sand, silicon carbide grit.
3. Draw a design onto the cardboard plate.
4. Using pva glue (Elmers) or acrylic medium, adhere the textures to the shapes of the
design on the plate. The medium or glue can also be used to adhere the carbide
grit.
5. Textural areas may be added to the plate by applying and manipulating modeling
paste or wood filler on the plate. When the paste is half-dry, it may be scored with
fine linear detail or textures may be pressed into its pliable surface.
6. Allow adhered parts and paste to dry for 24 hours.
7. Coat the plate front and back with acrylic medium thinned with water. If a thicker
version is used the brush strokes will print. A spray sealant can be used to eliminate
brush strokes.
8. Allow drying for 24 hours or over night.
To Print Intaglio
1. Prepare and soak paper in water.
2. Prepare etching press for printing, pull bed all the way out, arrange blankets
appropriately, and engage bed.
3. Reduce the intaglio ink with linseed oil so its consistency resembles warm honey.
4. Using a matboard ink dauber for each color spread the ink over the plate. An old
rough paint brush or toothbrush may be used to push ink into the grooves and
texture.
5. With tarlatan or rag formed into a tight pad skim or wipe the surface ink away.
6. Place plate on center of bed.
7. Clean your hands with hand cleaner.
8. Remove the paper from the water tray and roll between towels or blotting paper.
9. Register paper to the plate, cover with two (2) sheets of newsprint, and then print
the plate.
10.
After printing remove print, move plate to inking table for re-inking or the
cleaning area, then clean press bed with wet wash or alcohol.
11.
Allow print to air dry by placing on a blotter, covering it w/newsprint and
another blotter then placing it under a board in the drying rack.
12.
Clean up work area and proof off excess ink before cleaning off ink on plate
for storage. Do not allow plate to soak up mineral spirits.
To Print Relief
1. Prepare paper.
2. Prepare etching press for printing, pull bed all the way out, arrange blankets
appropriately, and engage bed.
3. Reduce the intaglio ink if necessary with linseed oil.
4. Roll up the plate with soft and hard brayers and rollers with intaglio ink.
5. Place plate on centre of bed.
6. Clean your hands with hand cleaner.
7. Register paper to the plate, cover with two (2) sheets of newsprint, and then print
the plate.
8. After printing remove print, move plate to inking table for re-inking or the cleaning
area, then clean press bed with wet wash or alcohol.
9. Allow print to air dry by placing on a blotter, covering it w/newsprint and another
blotter then placing it under a board in the drying rack.
10.
Clean up work area and proof off excess ink before cleaning off ink on plate
for storage. Do not allow plate to soak up mineral spirits.
*For printing by hand, place paper onto the plate and burnish from the back with a barren,
wooden spoon, or other burnishing tool as in printing a linocut.
TIPS
 All collaged materials must be thin, flat and dry, with no sudden changes in depth of
texture or line — the plate must remain relatively flat with shallow relief.
 The plate must be dry before sealing then sealed front and back — non-absorbent.
When you make your collagraph plate it will have to be constructed so that it is very thin,
even when materials are glued onto it. Really thin kinds of material are, for example, sifted
sand, leaves, fabric and rags, thread, torn papers and tin foil. It is very important to limit the
thickness of the textures on the collagraph plate, especially if you intend to print them as
relief prints. Seeds, beans and sticks, for example, will cause printing problems, as the
press will have to accommodate this thickness yet still force the paper down into the
grooves of the texture to connect the ink.
A plate may be constructed entirely of collagraph paste. Even finger textures translate into
fascinating impasto effects.
If your class is working with time constraints (and if you want to eliminate one messy step
from the process) you can cut down on the drying time of the plates by covering them with
thin tin foil instead of varnish. Simply spread contact adhesive in a thin layer over the plate
as well as on the matt side of the foil. Allow to dry for a while. Place the foil on the plate
with the glue sides together and wrap the foil over the edges of the plate. Then run this
through the etching press so that the foil moulds itself around the texture of the plate. This
process is recommended for heavily textured plates especially.
You can use fine sifted sand very effectively to simulate intaglio aquatint effects. Spread
wood glue wherever you want shadow in the image. Then sprinkle the sand over this area.
When the glue is dry, shake away the excess sand. It is recommended that you use the
varnish sealing method on these plates, rather than the tin foil method described above.
When printing a collagraph as an intaglio print make sure that the ink is soft enough. It
should be considerably runnier than for intaglio and linocut printing.
In order to print a thick plate through the press you may need to run it through a few times.
.After a few runs collagraph plates are permanently flatter, so you should tighten the press
pressure at this stage.
POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
1. Avoid using substances which are intrinsically absorbent. These will hold ink which will
then bleed under pressure.
2. Wiping scrim or tarlatan, as used in etching, is not really suitable for wiping collagraphs,
as the heavily textured surface of the plate may prove too rugged for the soft wiping
material. Absorbent cotton rags are more appropriate.
3. Make sure that all objects and surfaces on the plate are thoroughly adhered and sealed
with a coat of well diluted P.V.A.
4. Give a sealing coat of spray lacquer or varnish, otherwise the paper can stick to the
plate.
5. Mix white spirit with the ink to thin it. The heavy texture of the plate can mean difficulties
in efficient wiping, and the most suitable ink is of a reasonably runny consistency. The ink
should brush onto the plate and into the intaglio with ease.
Embossment and Negative Cast Relief Prints
Collagraph plate can also be used to produce embossed prints on dry paper from the uninked plate, and plaster prints (inked plate) or negative plaster embossments from the uninked plate.
1. Ink up your collagraph plate with runny ink (or else leave the plate uninked).
2. Tape strips of cardboard around the edges of the plate so that it looks like a tray or
a shallow box.
3. Mix plaster of Paris and pour it into the tray (reinforcing it by adding a piece of
chicken wire or sacking when half the amount is poured). Then pour in the rest.
4. Leave to set for twenty-four hours.
5. Carefully pull the plaster away from the plate.
6. The image and relief surface will have been transferred to the plaster.
Procedure
Once all tools and materials are gathered, work can begin in whatever style you prefer. For
example, if you wanted to create abstract shapes and textures, you might try stamping a
sponge into gesso and then applying various relief textures on the plate surface. For a
more patterned work, try using a paper or crocheted doily dipped in media and then
transfer the image to the plate. The types of objects you can find, alter, and use are infinite
and are limited only by the imagination.
By using found objects this way, images can either be transferred to a plate or the actual
object itself can be glued to the plate and left to dry. These types of objects are also
abundant and include fabrics, pressed leaves and flowers, torn paper, and the like. The
only criteria to adhering an object to a plate is that it must be extremely thin–typically less
than 1/8th of an inch thick.
Each level of applied material should also be kept within this same height limit or undue
stress may be placed upon the print paper. If necessary, you can create deeper
embossments by incrementally building up layers, much like a staircase. Once the objects
or other relief impressions dry and become part of the plate surface, they can be coated
with a layer of acrylic gesso or medium to seal and protect the surface.
What remains is a low-relief image that can be inked and transferred to paper. Keep in
mind that all plate images will print an inverse (or mirror) image, so this should be
accounted for in the design phase. Another bonus is that a plate may be multiply printed in
different colors and orientations to create a series of works after it has been cleaned and
new ink (or paint) applied.
For more structured works, such as an interior or a landscape, print material or media can
be carefully applied to a plate to represent specific shapes and compositions. To create an
illusion of depth, thicker layers can be built up and exact details can be applied by either
painting medium on the areas required or by carving away low-lying areas.
Variations include carving into metal plates with power tools or using molten (or a fastdrying chemical) solder to build up relief textures or details. Another is adhering crumpled
aluminum foil to the plate surface to create texture. If you try this, be certain to fill the
backside of the foil so that it will not collapse under the pressure of the press.
It often takes several proof trials to get the desired effect from a print plate, so prepare for
experimentation. For relief works, the plate can be inked and the image transferred to
paper by using a roller. For plates with incised lines and recessed textures, try applying
ink, wiping the surface, and then transferring the remaining pigment just like an intaglio
print. You can either uniformly wipe pigment across a plate or paint specific areas as the
image requires. As mentioned, be prepared to experiment with different techniques.