[Baren] Daily Digest

Today's postings

[Baren 35194] Re: questions about stretching paper (Tiberiu Chelcea)
[Baren 35195] Re: questions about stretching paper (Charles Morgan)
[Baren 35196] Stretching paper ("Angee Lennard")
[Baren 35197] Prints, Originals? (ArtfulCarol # aol.com)
[Baren 35198] sizing catcher (Barbara Mason)
[Baren 35199] Re: sizing catchers ( slinders # comcast.net)
[Baren 35200] Spring 2008 Exchange Sign ups w/ FOP ("Heather P.")
[Baren 35201] stretching the paper ("Jean Womack")
[Baren 35202] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)

Message 1
From: Tiberiu Chelcea
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:08:30 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 35194] Re: questions about stretching paper
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Thank you Charles and Barbara about the advice regarding calendaring the paper.

I'm a bit confused about the process, still. When printing multiple blocks (I'm thinking western style printing, oil colors with brayer), is the process: calendar the paper, print color 1, let it dry, then calendar the paper, print color 2, let it dry, aso -- or should I just calendar it once before any printing, and then dampen-print-dry for each block?

Thanks again,
Tibi

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Message 2
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:44:56 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 35195] Re: questions about stretching paper
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Calendar all you are going to, before you start printing. Then let the paper dry. Then begin your printing process. Calendaring should help reduce (or at least make more uniform) changes in the paper dimensions when printing. But remember ... even after calendaring, your paper will change dimensions somewhat between being wet and dry.

By the way, to avoid sizing absorption in those expensive press blankets, I insert between those expensive blankets and any damp paper a piece of soft, flexible, clear plastic sheet sold for table cloths. I then use a couple of layers of cheap, thin, fabric store "felt" between the plastic and the actual printing paper. That fabric store felt absorbs all the excess moisture, and the plastic sheet keeps it from bleeding through onto my good press blankets. That fabric store felt is really cheap and easy to replace. So, bottom to top I have: press bed-block-paper-fabric store felt-table cloth material-standard press blankets.

Cheers ........ Charles

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Message 3
From: "Angee Lennard"
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:51:05 -0600
Subject: [Baren 35196] Stretching paper
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In response to calendering paper, if you want to keep sizing off your nice
blankets, you can just get a plain old layer of white felt from a fabric
store that is easily thrown in the wash, or just replaced for a few dollars,
and have that be directly about the paper, and below the pricey felt.

Angee

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Message 4
From: ArtfulCarol # aol.com
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:33:05 EST
Subject: [Baren 35197] Prints, Originals?
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There are reader responses to the question "Prints, Originals?" on the
Robert Genn site. I think you may find it interesting (as if we are running out
of things to think about!) There is just one mention of woodblocks, the next
to last response, but all of them relate to anyone doing prints.

_http://clicks.robertgenn.com/prints-originals.php_
(http://clicks.robertgenn.com/prints-originals.php)

Best to all
Carol Lyons

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Message 5
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:33:33 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 35198] sizing catcher
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Good morning all,
I never calendar paper, I have printed both wet and
dry and don't seem to have problems.
I can see that printing damp over days could do it
though as the paper changes shape...
When I do reduction I print on dry paper and that
seems to solve the problem. I don't usually dampen and
rewet paper except for woodblock with water based inks
and it seems to work well to just get it damp and
print again.

I saw someone using a sheet of silicone rubber between
the blankets and the paper and it worked well, however
you need to put a piece of tape on the corner of the
silicone sheet or you cannot get it off the press bed
once you put it through. I think they got it from
McMaster Carr catalog.
I guess over the long run it would save a lot of
newsprint but somehow seems wrong...I guess we like
what we first learned.
My best to all
Barbara

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Message 6
From: slinders # comcast.net
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:22:02 -0600
Subject: [Baren 35199] Re: sizing catchers
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Good morning!

We use sizing catchers in our school studio. They do the
'feltboard thing' with the blankets, so the 'sandwich' of
blankets/sizing catcher moves together and saves the separate
putting on of newsprint, etc. They are a lightweight wool
felt. You can google 'sizing catcher' and find suppliers, but
Graphic is our first 'go to' place. They're local, and are good
to Baren!

I only calendar if I'm doing multiple passes.

Best,
Sharen

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Message 7
From: "Heather P."
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:06:07 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 35200] Spring 2008 Exchange Sign ups w/ FOP
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Four Oceans Press is still having sign-ups for their third Hand-pulled Print exchange.
There are 13 more spots available and we really would love to have a full set... I hope
you will consider joining this Spring 2008 print exchange.

All of the details can be found on their website at
http://www.fouroceanspress.com/exchange.html

Theme: SPRING

Color: B/W or Color. Color is encouraged, but we love a good b/w image.

Image Size: At least 6” x 8” but no larger than 8.5” x 11”.

Paper Size: Paper must be no larger than 8.5” x 11”. It is OK if the image bleeds
off the edge of the paper.

Medium: Woodblock, Linoleum, Serigraph, Lithograph or Intaglio

Paper type: Any archival paper appropriate to your printing method can be used.

Print Deadline: April 15, 2008

Their first exchange has been mailed back to the Artists involved and you can see all
the prints on the archive page at http://www.fouroceanspress.com/archive_fall_2007.html

If you can not get involved this time, check the website regularly for the next
exchange and other projects. If you need a longer period of time to finish prints please
consider joining the Food Alphabet Exchange ( Letters still Open are: D, I, J, K, N,
U, V, W & Y ) Sign ups are now, but the prints are not due until June 2008.
http://www.fouroceanspress.com/exchange_alphabet.html

Take a Look, Read, Consider and then Sign up.
www.fouroceanspress.com

As always, Thank you to all the Artists on the Baren who have been a part of the Four
Oceans Press Exchanges or other Exchanges that I have been a part of. Baren is such a
great place to meet other print-makers & learn more about printmaking :)

Thanks & Smiles,
Heather
www.heatherpiazza.com

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Message 8
From: "Jean Womack"
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:01:48 -0800
Subject: [Baren 35201] stretching the paper
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I believe that stretching the damp paper before printing it is called calendering the paper. I have no idea why it's called that.

People who make multi-plate color etchings MUST calendar the paper because they are working with a very exact registration. If you were using just one color, it wouldn't make any difference. If you are using multiple plates, you need to be able to put your plate down in the same exact printed area as the last plate.

In order to make those plates in the first place, some people etch the key plate and print it, then offset that print on to a clean plate. That's one way they get exact registration. You can see that if the paper keeps changing sizes as a result of being stretched, it's going to throw the whole thing off. that's why they pre-stretch it. However, I don't prestretch my paper if I am just going to to a black line print with one plate. Why bother?

I am fascinated by the process of doing computer color separations and then making photo-etched plates to print them. I got some beautiful surrealistic colors that way. However, it's an awful lot of work. A better way to learn color mixing is to use the CMYK to make monoprint plates, using the wipe-off method. Some people get really beautiful results that way, which look much more like hand-made art work.

I imagine this has some application to woodblock printmaking.

Now if you can give me a simple explanation for viscosity etching, I'm all ears.

Jean Womack

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Message 9
From: Blog Manager
Date: 27 Feb 2008 04:55:40 -0000
Subject: [Baren 35202] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification
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Baren Archives

[Baren] - the International Forum for Woodblock Printmaking

Volume: 42 / Number: 4254

Wednesday, 27th of February, 2008

Today's postings

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