As with paper, the choices of paints and printing inks can be overwhelming. It is essential to consider what is available, the purpose of our prints, and to select the right ones for the printmaking techniques you are using. The inks used to create prints are generically referred to as printing ink. Despite being called ink, it is not the same as the loose ink one finds in a bottle, such as Indian ink. In comparison, printing ink has a thick buttery consistency. Printing ink is available in two types: relief ink, suitable for lino, woodcuts, and monotype, and etching ink, ideal for intaglio processes such as etching, collagraphy, and dry point. They differ in terms of their ingredients, viscosity, and drying times. I use and teach a huge range of printmaking techniques each requiring a different printing ink or paint.
- monotype with gel plates and silicone mats
- trace monotype on a glass slab
- relief printing with lino, card or foam blocks
- intaglio printmaking using collagraphy, Tetra Pak and drypoint.
Whilst I occasionally print on a heavyweight paper invariably I print on lightweight tissues with the intention of using the papers for collage. My book Printmaking for Collage will be published later this year and covers all the techniques I use to create papers and how to use them in collage using adhesives such as acrylic medium, Nori paste and encaustic medium. As such and paint or ink I use needs to be compatible with both the paper and the adhesives.
Oil-based Printing Inks Oil-based products are often regarded as superior to water-based ones, but they can have limitations, particularly in terms of drying time. Acrylic paint will dry within an hour, while an oil-based ink will take several days or longer, depending on the thickness of the printing ink and the humidity of the environment. Oil-based printing ink is made from ground pigments and burnt linseed oil, along with other chemicals to enhance sheen, and siccatives to accelerate drying.
Can you use oil paint? I am often asked if it is possible to use oil paint for printmaking on paper. It is a similar in consistency but it is a very different product! Oil paint is made with raw linseed oil that will eventually leach out and degrade the paper. The natural fibres eventually become brittle, and if enough oil is absorbed from the paint, the pigment can become under-bound, making it look matt and crumbly. I recently threw away some papers I had monotype printed on with oil paint about 6 years ago. I was away from home and experimenting with what I had available. Luckily I had not sold the prints or used them for collage! Whilst I can understand the temptation to use what you have, and advocate you try anything to play with, if you intend to keep or sell your work you need to be aware of the archival quality of the products you use.
However, oil paint can be used for printing as long as you use one of the following options.
- Squeeze out the paint into scrap paper and allow the linseed oil to discharge, then add burnt linseed oil to reduce the effect of the residual raw linseed oil.
- Use a medium such as Schminke printing medium or Cold Wax Medium. These will help bind any residual linseed oil.
- Treat any paper you want to use with a sealant such as an acrylic medium, or shellac followed by gesso. However, this will negate any transparency you may be seeking with tissues you may wish to use for collage.
- Use a paper that has been specifically treated for oil applications; Arches or Strathmore. These are all heavyweight papers.
- Only use your printed papers with encaustic medium or cold wax medium. The wax in either will bind the oils.
Oil-based printing ink is available for relief and intaglio processes. The difference between the two is that chemical driers are added to relief ink to enable a large area of flat colour to dry, thereby allowing more layers to be added on top without the layers mixing. An oil-based etching ink will have fewer chemical driers as it is intended to stay open for longer than a relief ink. Relief printing inks can be used for intaglio but may need loosening to get the right consistency, and the plates will need to be thoroughly cleaned at the end of a session. Any residual relief ink will effectively seal the plate, reducing the tonal contrast.
Whilst oil-based relief inks can also be used for intaglio, I would not recommend using an intaglio ink for relief printmaking due to its slow-drying properties. Some oil-based inks, like Hawthorn, can be used for both processes. Oil-based fabric block printing inks, such as those made by Speedball are designed for relief printing on fabric but they work well on paper. They dry well and sealing them with a hot iron, as you would fabric, makes them water resistant. They are receptive to both water-based glues and encaustic medium. Cleaning up any oil-based inks is easily done with vegetable oil and rags; there is no need to use solvents. For the final clean of equipment, a citrus degreaser is a low toxicity solvent alternative. Some oil-based inks are water washable/miscible, which means they can be cleaned with soap and water. Cranfield’s Caligo Safe Wash, Charbonnel Aqua Wash and Hawthorn Stay Open are good examples. However, they vary in how easy they are to clean with soap and water, some need more soap than others.
Water-based Printing Inks Akua Intaglio is a soy oil-based intaglio ink classified as water-based, although it behaves like an oil-based ink in many ways. It can be easily cleaned up with soap and water. As it dries by absorption rather than evaporation the printed papers will need additional drying time, and papers with a lot of surface ink may need sealing to use with water-based adhesives. The consistency is perfect for intaglio and it can be thickened to use for relief or monotype printing by adding Akua MagMix, a product made from magnesium carbonate and wax, or magnesium carbonate powder. There are a lot of water-based block printing inks available. As I tend to make prints to use for collage, and as they will rehydrate if wetted with adhesive, I do not use them use them, however good brands are Speedball and Permaset Agua. I use Speedball screen printing ink with absorbent foam blocks and it can be thickened to roll out for monotype.
Acrylic Paint Acrylic paint is a water-based product that can be used as a printing ink. It comes in a wider range of colours than printing inks and is waterproof when dry, making it ideal for creating collage papers. If the papers are still absorbent and only lightly printed, they can be used successfully with encaustic medium. Adding a matting agent, such as magnesium or calcium carbonate powder, will aid adhesion when used with encaustic medium. The viscosity of acrylics varies; fluid acrylics are similar in viscosity to single cream, and can slip and slide when rolled onto a gel plate. A medium-body acrylic, often known as soft-body, is easy to mix and roll on the plate and suitable for most gel printing techniques. A heavy body paint is thick and stiff like oil paint and can provide texture to your prints, but it can be difficult to roll out onto a gel plate.
One alternative for monotype and relief printing is Golden Open, an acrylic paint that dries to a waterproof finish. When used for relief printing and trace monotype, it benefits from being thickened. Thickening agents include magnesium or calcium carbonate powders, Akua MagMix, or an acrylic paste. Golden Open can also be used for intaglio printmaking when thickened slightly. A mix will stay open for about 2 hours, long enough to ink and wipe a plate. It lacks the richness of an intaglio ink but the benefit of its fast drying time and waterproof quality makes it a viable option. I recently tested three products with a collagraph plate.
Lightbulb moment on the raw vs burnt linseed oil difference between oil paint and oil based ink. Had wondered why ink was okay on paper but oil paint not. Thank you.
Thanks!
I found this really helpful, Sally, and look forward to your book coming out!
Thanks!
Sally, you’re my hero! I didn‘t think I was going to read this post, then the part about using oil paint for printmaking caught my eye… Thank you so much for all your experimentation and sharing.
Thank you!
Great resource for us, Sally, Thank you ! It makes me realise how little we know about the building blocks of what we try to do (at least those of us without a formal art education !)
Thank you!
A wealth of information for this new to printmaking artist! I’ve just gotten my drypoint etchers, a big Sissix and have been stockpiling tetrapak and various plastic sheeting from lettuce boxes to try out. I do have one question as I plan to use Akua inks and would like to integrate collage (or chine colle with Nori) and that is how do you “seal” these papers and how long must they dry/cure beforehand?
Akua dries by absorption so if used for intaglio very little is used and it should dry in a week or so. However if a lot of ink is used it can be problematic. Test a paper by wetting an area with a brush and see if it bleeds. Sealing is easy, I use a gel plate or silicone mat, roll out gloss medium or similar and drop the printed paper down, leave it to dry and pull off. You can try sweeping gloss medium over with a spreader but don’t go back and forth, one confident sweep is enough.
Thank you! And, yes of course, the gel plate is great for that. Thank you for the reminder. xoxo
Sally, huge thanks for this very generous, informative and interesting post. I’ll await your book with anticipation 😊
Thanks Gill….its been a loooong journey but it’s with the publisher now.
🙏🙏🙏 Acrylic paints for gel plate: very useful, now I know why some prints look like I was trying to do pointillism😆
😜 thanks…
Please let us know when your book becomes available. I can tell already it will be a classic
Will do! It’s taken a year to write…. Let’s say it’s thorough 😜
Sally, I am always in awe of your generosity with your time and information you give your students. You are my model.
Thank you
Thank you Beatrice! It’s folk like you that make it worthwhile …
Excellent information. Thank you for giving your time to share this information. I am so looking forward to buying your new book. Doreen
thanks Doreen!
Apologies if you get this comment twice. The first one disappeared. I wondered if you could use Akua and Hawthorne together. Very helpful info as always Sally!
Hi Pat, I have to approve comments…. No, Hawthorn is oil based and Akua is water based…. 🙂
Thanks for lots of interesting info, as always. By coincidence, I’m in the middle of making some oil-based monotype papers for encaustic collage, intended for use in my Approaches to Abstraction project (still catching up!). I came across the two converter mediums on the market and got the Daler Rowney Adigraf, just because that was the one available to me. I’ve found there’s a steep learning curve to rolling out this oil/medium mix to the right thickness and texture, and it’s hard on the body. I love the depth of colour from oils though. Respect to printmakers!
Yes, and each one works differently. With encaustic the wax will act as a binder to a certain degree, but I always convert oils mainly because I forget what I have used, and if you don’t use them time will take its toll.
I tried the ArtGraf but found it a tad sticky, the Schminke is more oily?
Yes, the Adigraf is really sticky! I’ll get hold of the Schmincke for comparison.
This post is perfect timing for me, as I was just trying to work out in my mind these very things. Thank you!
Eagerly awaiting your book too. ☺️
Great! Yes, my studio has felt more like a science lab for a year! Printmaking is one thing but printmaking paper for collage is a whole can of worms!
Thanks Sally! Since we are finishing the Confident composition, I started thinking about printing techniques in color and You read my mind again. ♥️
Great! 😊
Dear Sally,
I tried to send a message but I think it failed (received a message ‘nonce failed’). After reading this post I was hoping you could clarify something. I watched your wonderful wax demo for the Mixed Media Festival and then saw Robyn McClendon’s demo with block printing inks on transparent paper. My question are:
1. Can I use papers made with block printing inks in your wax collage method?
2. Separately, are the block printing inks also compatible with acrylic medium for the purposes of collaging (I am assuming yes from Robyn’s suggestions at the end of her video)
Thanks for your encyclopedic knowledge!! Maria
Hi Maria
Yes your block printed papers will be fine. I haven’t looked at Robyn’s lesson so I don’t know what media she’s uses. If it’s acrylic and thick then it may struggle to adhere.
An oil block printed papers will be fine with an acrylic medium but will bleed colour if not sealed (a spray varnish or dropped down onto medium rolled out on a gel plate) If oil based inks it must not be glossy, it may need sanding a little to help the acrylic to hold on
Thanks Sally,
So helpful! Do you have any tips for using Caligo Safewash relief inks on Gelli plate? – I’m having problems rolling it out – I’m using a soft roller on glass or adding a few spots direct on the gel plate, could it be temperature?
So looking forward to your book – well done!
Many thanks – again!
Lisa.
They can be tricky.. roll out VERY slowly, like slow motion! They are also a tad stiff, use their Safewash oil, or extender to loosen them. 😊
I will experiment! Thank you!