Baren Digest               Tuesday, 9 April 2002       Volume 19 : Number 1792


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From: jimandkatemundie@juno.com
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 12:02:49 -0400
Subject: [Baren 17817] cleaning brayers 

Marilynn wrote:


> ...my brayer has black on it ahd I scrubbed it too with a 
> toothbrush. But those crevaces behind the roller are hard to clean

thoroughly.  

> Is there a better way?  I am thinking that with a brayer perhaps I need

one 

> for black and one for light colors, but here I can not just run to the

store 

> and buy another, so I must use what I have on hand.


Be very careful using abrasive methods like a toothbrush to clean your
brayer ('roller' for our friends in the UK).  If you scrub at, over time
you may pit the rubber surface of the brayer, causing voids to appear
when printing.  This, of course, leads to uneven inking of the block and
one may as well toss the brayer away at that point.

The best solution for cleaning, as has already been recommended, are
solvents.  My tried and true method is as follows:

Clean as much ink as possible from your inking slab with a paint scraper.
 Then roll the brayer on this clean surface repeatedly, stopping every
few passes to clean the slab with the paint scraper.  By combining time
and patience, this method will remove 90% percent of the ink on the
brayer.

Scrape the slab clean once more, then apply a tiny splash of thinner (I
use Turpenoid - an odorless paint thinner manufactured for oil painters)
to the center of the slab and slowly roll the brayer back and forth in
the puddle, being careful not to slosh the thinner over the edge of the
slab.  After several passes, the pool of thinner will have turned black. 
At this point, take out an old telephone directory and roll the brayer
across a page, thereby transferring the thinner and inky residue to the
paper.  Dip the brayer in the thinner, and roll again on the next clean
page of the phone book.  Repeat until the brayer is free of ink.  Wipe
the slab with a paper towel, remove the solvent soaked pages from the
phone book, and dispose of all properly.

With a bit of practice, one needs only the tiniest amount of solvent to
clean the brayer.  I have found vegetable oil to be an unsatisfactory
method for cleaning brayers and blocks.  Vegetable oil leaves behind a
sticky residue that will forever plague future printing, infecting your
pristine ink with rancid oil.  Ick!

However, no amount of cleaning will completely remove the ink from your
brayer.  I believe over time a good brayer develops a patina that allows
it to be even more effective, like a well-seasoned frying pan.  However,
because there will always be a tad bit of pigment residue on your roller,
it is necessary to have separate brayers for different color groups.  For
this same reason the moku hanga printers have different brushes for
applying different pigments.  If you want your colors to stay 'clean',
there is no way around it.

If one cannot readily acquire a new brayer, perhaps one might construct a
number of leather daubers to serve instead.  An old pair of gloves, and a
bit of padding will do the trick.

Cheers,
James Mundie
http://missioncreep.com/mundie/index.htm

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From: "Jean Eger Womack" <jeaneger@jeaneger.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 10:40:36 -0700
Subject: [Baren 17818] Re:   Baren Digest V18 #1791  

Hi Marilynn,
Re: the yellow after the black.  You might try running a few test prints on
newsprint to gradually get the black out.  Along with cleaning the roller
with solvent, that  ought to do the trick.
Jean
e-mail: jeaneger@jeaneger.com
http://www.jeaneger.com

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From: barebonesart <barebonesart@attbi.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 11:37:54 -0700
Subject: [Baren 17819] Re: Baren Digest V18 #1791 

Marilynn,
After you've used the oil to clean your plate and brayer, take it to the
sink and scrub both with detergent and hot water. That should do the trick -
sometimes I just wipe them with rubbing alchohol after the oil, but with
black you need the soap & water routine.

To eliminate sending the entire digest with your reply, if you're using
Explorer,  go to the Preferences folder, and within that the "compose"
section & check the box that says not to send the whole message with the
reply. They've made it pretty easy :>), but it took me a long time to
discover it.

Sharri



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From: "Maria Arango" <maria@mariarango.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 17:26:11 -0700
Subject: [Baren 17820] addendum 

Thanks all for your nice comments on my extra-long "making a living" thing.
I forgot to add a couple of things which came to mind on the drive back from
beautiful Arizona.
One is that there are many artists that make a much better living than I do,
so I really shouldn't serve as a model for anything. I'm one of many just
doing my thing. The painter next to me at the Tempe festival raked in 17
thou in 3 days, she sold surrealist, large and ornately-framed "giclees" on
canvas. Some people in this very forum are also way ahead of little ol' me;
they are just a bit less enthusiastic in public (never a fault of mine).
The other is that the art festival scene is, in my opinion, a micro view of
the more complex whole: "being an artist." Words that come to mind to
describe it are tough, fun, back-breaking, delirious, heart-breaking,
uplifting, humiliating, sleep-depriving and butt-kicking (doesn't that sound
like printmaking?). This life will absolutely require that you laugh, cry,
sweat, bleed, curse and dance, and it is a good way to learn how to do all
those very well and sometimes within a three-day period. And just when you
begin sailing at frightening speeds and lean back to feel the wind and close
your eyes in near ecstasy, it is good to remember that the doldrums await
just beyond the next meridian...and the oars best be ready.
I think the delirious ups and the hellish downs are very representative of
the life of an artist as a whole. It is the hardest fun I have ever had.
Right now, however, I have a very dirty vehicle with a frightening oil leak
and a tired body in dire need of rehydration. All in stride.
Carry on,
Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria@mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


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From: "Maurice Fykes III" <mfykes@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 18:15:41 -0700
Subject: [Baren 17821] Re: addendum  

Thanks again Maria.

Maurice

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From: "Michael Deman" <mtd@gega.net>
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 09:35:42 +0200
Subject: [none]

I am posting with some trepidation, since my knowledge of woodblock
printing is woeful: but I would very much appreciate some help and
comments.

As background, my wife and I own a workshop in Cairo producing hand-made
=91passementeries=92 =96 tassels, fringes, braids =96 which we are =
successfully
selling to museums, historic home preservation societies, and other
institutions. ( for anyone interested =96 and this is not meant to be =
spam
=96 http://passementerie.port5.com ).

Recently, a major client asked me if we would be interested to start
making hand block printed wallpapers, destined for the same market niche
as our existing business.=20

The project has been started; I have sourced some wonderful wood-free
paper formulated specifically for hand made wallpapers, we have a superb
young wood carver who has carved blocks by eye from photos of Italian
renaissance fabric designs (they look stunning) =96 BUT=85=85we are =
failing in
the print process.

We have tried everything: powder pigments, water colours in tubes,
gouache, printing inks, acrylics, even house paints! We have tried every
permutation of application of colour onto the blocks =96 brush, and
different types of roller; we even made up a tray like a large inking
pad =96 we have experimented with differing amounts of colour laid onto
the block. We are not trying to print with a baren, since this would be
hugely time consuming for a wallpaper project, but with a press: we have
experimented with differing amounts of pressure, with different
underlying surfaces on the printing table.=20

We have cut our blocks in two types of wood: beech and pine.

What we are getting is this: the printed area has =91ridges=92 around =
the
outline of the pattern=85it seems as if the pressure on the block was
squishing the colour sideways. We have tried to correct this by
moistening the paper, to no avail; and we have tired with many different
grades and qualities of paper, also to no avail.

I am sure that this is a very simple =91newbie=92 problem, and I am =
hoping
that someone will be kind enough to suggest an equally simple newbie
solution  [:-)] 

Thanks,
Michael




>From: webmaster@united-art-world.com
>Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 09:55:01 -0700
>Subject: [Baren 17823] Re:  
>
>Hello Michael
>
>go to www.woodblock.com The web site hosts a licely community of
>printmakers - the Baren Forum. They might help you.
>
>regards
>
>Dieter



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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 16:54:37 +0900
Subject: [Baren 17824] Re: Blotchy wallpaper ... 

Michael Deman wrote:

> ... hand block printed wallpapers, destined for the same market niche
> as our existing business.


Very interesting to hear about this project. Making wallpaper was one of=20=

the first uses for multi-colour woodblock printmaking many centuries=20
ago, and predates its use for more standard 'art' forms.


> What we are getting is this: the printed area has =91ridges=92 around =

the

> outline of the pattern=85it seems as if the pressure on the block was
> squishing the colour sideways.


Without knowing more about what actual mix of pigment, etc. you are=20
putting on the wood, it is difficult to give you an exact solution. But=20=

in 'normal' Japanese woodblock printmaking, such 'squeeze-out' is called
'tamari', and is an indication of too much pigment/paste on the block.=20=

Specifically - too much paste.

It is also a common problem with rolled-out colour, and can be greatly=20=

reduced by using well-softened brushes instead. Use the brush vigorously=20=

to get the colour spread well on the block, and then tip the brush up=20
and make the final strokes very softly in one direction only using just=20=

the edge of the hair. Brush so lightly that you can barely hear the=20
sound ...

Please let us know how you make out ...

Dave


------------------------------

From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 17:18:09 +0900
Subject: [Baren 17825] Re: More on wallpaper printing ... 

Michael,

Don't know if this is known to you or not, but these folks:

http://www.adelphipaperhangings.com

... seem to have the problem figured out!  Is your press method similar 
to theirs?

http://www.adelphipaperhangings.com/graphics/redhoriz.gif
http://www.adelphipaperhangings.com/graphics/PrintingHamUrnsSteve.jpg

Dave


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From: Myron Turner <mturner@Ms.UManitoba.CA>
Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 06:48:19 -0500
Subject: [Baren 17826] Re wallpaper printing with press  

1. To print with a press you need to use printing inks, either oil-based or 
water-based.  But if you use water-based you should be using a high-quality 
ink, as supplied by Daniel Smith Inks Co of Seattle or Graphic Chemical of 
Illinois.

2.  You don't say what kind of roller you are using. You must have a good 
roller, and preferably one that is not too hard.  30 is the ideal for most 
applications.    A very hard roller with too much ink could cause the 
problems you describe.

3.  You should use minimal pressure.  By the way you don't say what kid of 
press  you are using.  This means adjusting the pressure downward until the 
block prints.

4. You speak of different using "underlying surfaces on the printing 
table."  Are you printing with the block facing down or facing up?  If the 
block is printing face down you may not need anything on the press 
bed.  With the block facing up,  assuming you are using a cylinder press, 
the material which comes between the paper and the cylinder should not be 
too soft, preferably a piece of heavy weight paper or oak-tag.   If you are 
using an etching press you shouldn't be using etching blankets.

5.  Roll on just the minimal ink needed to get an impression.

A while back I wrote about printing with an etching press and am forwarding 
that posting to you offline.  It may help.

Myron



Myron Turner
  http://www.room535.org/mt/
--land safely in cyberspace--


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End of Baren Digest V18 #1792
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