Why do I need a press? My printmaking technique is called collagraphy. I build a plate, or cut into card to create textures that will hold…or reject the ink. The presses job is to push the paper deep into the textures and pull out the ink onto the paper. It is a mix of pressure and the rolling action that is paramount.

Why craft die cutters? Until 2018 ago I was teaching in person workshops in my studio but also at various venues and festivals. To do this meant taking my small etching press with me. Along with everything else! This was all fine until I tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder which meant any lifting was out of the question for at least six months. My etching press weighs in at 25kg so clearly that was out of the question.

I looked around and found Colin Blanchard – Home was using an Xcut Xpress to make his lino prints. These machines are not designed for printmaking but with a longer bed, and for intaglio printing, a blanket they work perfectly…. and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional etching press. I hot footed it down to my local Range store and bought one, had a practice….. the next day I went back and bought another two. Clearly this little machine was a game-changer! Not only could I carry it easily, but there was no need for queues at the press and folk could have a go and then buy one for themselves. At my first workshop most students had bought one online by lunchtime, the excitement was palpable and the potential huge! Since then little presses have certainly earned their keep, I have used them at countless demonstrations, workshops, even taken one on holiday with me.

Of course a traditional etching press will last a lifetime, but they are expensive if you are not sure you will continue with printmaking. A die cut machine will last you long enough to find out, then when you are ready you can invest in a traditional press.

Colin set up a Craft Die Printmakers Facebook group and it was clear that the Xcut is not only being discontinued but was not available outside the UK so I began to search for alternatives. I bought a Sizzix and my first online collagraphy courses were created using both presses. This led to discussions about the similarities and differences between the two types of press. Those with an adjustable roller like the Xcut and ones with a fixed roller like the Sizzix so I made a YouTube video that has had 8k viewings.

More recently I tested out SIX of the following presses, I made a collagraph and drypoint plate for each of them and inked & printed on the same paper. To make the collagraph plates I used card base, added pastes and gels by brushing, stenciling an dribbling them on. The ink was Akua Carbon Black ink. If I had used the same plate on each it would have changed by the sixth press, in particular the drypoint plate.

It was impossible to tell the results apart. I’ve included them below but any differences you see are due to the plate being different and my inking/wiping of the plate varying. What I was looking for, and got, was the press being able to get the paper right into the plate, that’s those deep darks? On the Collagraph plate I had raised areas where I had applied gel and gloss medium, they will hold ink around the edges….the press pulled it out.

Drypoint tests

What is the difference between the presses?

• Dial or fixed roller
• Folding. Some fold in to save space
• Width. Most have a 21cm roller, others 15cm, some larger.

Adjustable presses. have a dial which moves the top roller down to the bed. This has the occasional glitch until you realise its best to move the roller down as low as possible before feeding the bed in. Often if I’m working even with an adjustable press I have some paper or thin card to hand to help squeeze a bit more pressure out without having to use the dial! 

The types of adjustable presses are (*are discontinued):

• Xcut Xpress*
• Sunlit by Bira
• Tattered Lace Crossover * (just arrived so not tested)
• Big Sister by Cheery Lynn

Fixed roller presses. These are simpler as there is no dial, but you have to pack up from the base to get the pressure you need.

The types available are:

• Sizzix Big Shot Plus 
• Cuttlebug (15cm roller)
• Platinum by Spellbinders

Others I have yet to try but no reason why they would not work:

• Sizzix Big Shot Pro a larger version of the Plus.
• Fiskars Fuse* designed for letterpress as well as die cutting, I’ve not found one in the UK
• Todo Craft System The roller moved back and forth on this press   
• Pressboss #  looks similar to cuttlebug

What else do you need?

All plates, presses and papers are different so how much pressure you need to transfer your ink to your paper has a lot of variables! You will need a bed longer than the one they are supplied with if you want to make a print bigger than A5, and a blanket. Handprinted in the UK make an accessory kit for the Xcut that will fit any press other than the Cuttlebug. The blanket I like is a ‘cushion’ blanket made from compressed felt, 3mm thick. 

For all the presses I use a 12mm thick piece of polycarbonate as a ‘bed’ ( a cut down catering chopping board) but anything sturdy will do, I have made one from a flat IKEA kitchen door. You are only restricted by the width of your roller, you can go as long as you like! Whatever press you use it needs to have a gap between the rollers big enough to take your bed, plate, paper and blanket.

For these presses as well as my 12mm bed, I use two 3mm hardboard, a piece of mountcard and my 3mm blanket. Depending on the type of plate; drypoint or mirror card, reductive plate from mound card or a plate build up I use the following combinations in between the bed and the blanket, from thin to thick…

1. 3mm hardboard 
2. 3mm hardboard and 2mm mountboard
3. 2 x 3mm hardboard

PLUS I keep a few sheets of thin card handy to slide under the hardboard if I need more pressure. If you use a registration sheet (see video below) you will need to adjust the above list accordingly depending on how thick it is. For example, if it is a thin sheet then just swap one of the hardboard sheets for mount card

ALTERNATIVES

What about Cold Laminating Presses? I have bought one but not yet set it up. I know from others its fine for lino, monotype and drypoint but I suspect the rubber on the rollers will make it too soft for Collagraphy. There is a company on ebay selling them as ‘etching presses’ and state they are suitable for Collagraphy but when you see the images they have on their listing its using Collagraphy plates for relief printing.

Open press project; cute! But I would find the size limiting

Etching presses? The cheapest on the market is the Fome, I’ve used one, its width is 25cm but at £272 I’d rather buy a Die Cut machine and save the rest for paper and ink!

I hope that helps!

Sally

If you want to learn how to print then I have a range of courses available:

Discover Collagraphy will be run as a scheduled course later in the year designed for complete beginners.

Tetra Etcetera is a self-paced beginners course using Tetra Pak and other packaging to create prints

My new Complete Creative Collagraphy is a THREE part self paced course taking you through from beginners to advanced.

UPDATE!!!   BATTLE OF THE PRESSES

I decide to put two presses to the test. My traditional Etching Press and the SIZZIX BIG SHOT PRO…….. It is 24 minutes long so make a cuppa!

I wasn’t surprised by the results. but many people will be. The differences?

1. The roller of the sizzix is fixed but how hard is it to slide paper underneath?
2. The Etching press will outlive me and probably my daughter
3. The cost.

The video I posted on Instagram of me printing one of Karen Stampers constructions using my Cuttlebug machine caused such a stir and over 4k viewings that I thought I would write a post about how to use Craft Die Cutting machines as ‘etching presses’. I got so many emails and messages that soon after I made another video here, this time using plates I had made for my new course Complete Creative Collagraphy.

Why do I need a press? My printmaking technique is called collagraphy. I build a plate, or cut into card to create textures that will hold…or reject the ink. The presses job is to push the paper deep into the textures and pull out the ink onto the paper. It is a mix of pressure and the rolling action that is paramount.

Why craft die cutters? Until 2018 ago I was teaching in person workshops in my studio but also at various venues and festivals. To do this meant taking my small etching press with me. Along with everything else! This was all fine until I tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder which meant any lifting was out of the question for at least six months. My etching press weighs in at 25kg so clearly that was out of the question.

I looked around and found Colin Blanchard – Home was using an Xcut Xpress to make his lino prints. These machines are not designed for printmaking but with a longer bed, and for intaglio printing, a blanket they work perfectly…. and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional etching press. I hot footed it down to my local Range store and bought one, had a practice….. the next day I went back and bought another two. Clearly this little machine was a game-changer! Not only could I carry it easily, but there was no need for queues at the press and folk could have a go and then buy one for themselves. At my first workshop most students had bought one online by lunchtime, the excitement was palpable and the potential huge! Since then little presses have certainly earned their keep, I have used them at countless demonstrations, workshops, even taken one on holiday with me.

Colin set up a Craft Die Printmakers Facebook group and it was clear that the Xcut is not only being discontinued but was not available outside the UK so I began to search for alternatives. I bought a Sizzix and my first online collagraphy courses were created using both presses. This led to discussions about the similarities and differences between the two types of press. Those with an adjustable roller like the Xcut and ones with a fixed roller like the Sizzix so I made a YouTube video that has had 8k viewings.

More recently I tested out SIX of the following presses, I made a collagraph and drypoint plate for each of them and inked & printed on the same paper. To make the collagraph plates I used card base, added pastes and gels by brushing, stenciling an dribbling them on. The ink was Akua Carbon Black ink. If I had used the same plate on each it would have changed by the sixth press, in particular the drypoint plate.

It was impossible to tell the results apart. I’ve included them below but any differences you see are due to the plate being different and my inking/wiping of the plate varying. What I was looking for, and got, was the press being able to get the paper right into the plate, that’s those deep darks? On the Collagraph plate I had raised areas where I had applied gel and gloss medium, they will hold ink around the edges….the press pulled it out.

Drypoint tests

What is the difference between the presses?

• Dial or fixed roller
• Folding. Some fold in to save space
• Width. Most have a 21cm roller, others 15cm, some larger.

Adjustable presses. have a dial which moves the top roller down to the bed. This has the occasional glitch until you realise its best to move the roller down as low as possible before feeding the bed in. Often if I’m working even with an adjustable press I have some paper or thin card to hand to help squeeze a bit more pressure out without having to use the dial! 

The types of adjustable presses are (*are discontinued):

• Xcut Xpress*
• Sunlit by Bira
• Tattered Lace Crossover * (just arrived so not tested)
• Big Sister by Cheery Lynn

Fixed roller presses. These are simpler as there is no dial, but you have to pack up from the base to get the pressure you need.

The types available are:

• Sizzix Big Shot Plus 
• Cuttlebug (15cm roller)
• Platinum by Spellbinders

Others I have yet to try but no reason why they would not work:

• Sizzix Big Shot Pro a larger version of the Plus.
• Fiskars Fuse* designed for letterpress as well as die cutting, I’ve not found one in the UK
• Todo Craft System The roller moved back and forth on this press   
• Pressboss #  looks similar to cuttlebug

What else do you need?

All plates, presses and papers are different so how much pressure you need to transfer your ink to your paper has a lot of variables! You will need a bed longer than the one they are supplied with if you want to make a print bigger than A5, and a blanket. Handprinted in the UK make an accessory kit for the Xcut that will fit any press other than the Cuttlebug. The blanket I like is a ‘cushion’ blanket made from compressed felt, 3mm thick. 

For all the presses I use a 12mm thick piece of polycarbonate as a ‘bed’ ( a cut down catering chopping board) but anything sturdy will do, I have made one from a flat IKEA kitchen door. You are only restricted by the width of your roller, you can go as long as you like! Whatever press you use it needs to have a gap between the rollers big enough to take your bed, plate, paper and blanket.

For these presses as well as my 12mm bed, I use two 3mm hardboard, a piece of mountcard and my 3mm blanket. Depending on the type of plate; drypoint or mirror card, reductive plate from mound card or a plate build up I use the following combinations in between the bed and the blanket, from thin to thick…

1. 3mm hardboard 
2. 3mm hardboard and 2mm mountboard
3. 2 x 3mm hardboard

PLUS I keep a few sheets of thin card handy to slide under the hardboard if I need more pressure. If you use a registration sheet (see video below) you will need to adjust the above list accordingly depending on how thick it is. For example, if it is a thin sheet then just swap one of the hardboard sheets for mount card

ALTERNATIVES

What about Cold Laminating Presses? I have bought one but not yet set it up. I know from others its fine for lino, monotype and drypoint but I suspect the rubber on the rollers will make it too soft for Collagraphy. There is a company on ebay selling them as ‘etching presses’ and state they are suitable for Collagraphy but when you see the images they have on their listing its using Collagraphy plates for relief printing.

Open press project; cute! But I would find the size limiting

Etching presses? The cheapest on the market is the Fome, I’ve used one, its width is 25cm but at £272 I’d rather buy a Die Cut machine and save the rest for paper and ink!

I hope that helps!

Sally

If you want to learn how to print then I have a range of courses available:

Discover Collagraphy will be run as a scheduled course later in the year designed for complete beginners.

Tetra Etcetera is a self-paced beginners course using Tetra Pak and other packaging to create prints

My new Complete Creative Collagraphy is a THREE part self paced course taking you through from beginners to advanced.

UPDATE!!!   BATTLE OF THE PRESSES

I decide to put two presses to the test. My traditional Etching Press and the SIZZIX BIG SHOT PRO…….. It is 24 minutes long so make a cuppa!

I wasn’t surprised by the results. but many people will be. The differences?

1. The roller of the sizzix is fixed but how hard is it to slide paper underneath?
2. The Etching press will outlive me and probably my daughter
3. The cost.