They typically come in 2-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch sizes, so they’re a great choice for smaller to medium-sized prints and stamps. Lino Quality: Always invest in good quality lino. Cheaper alternatives may crumble or be inconsistent in texture, making them difficult to carve. Flattening: Sometimes, the paper may curl slightly after printing. To flatten your prints, place them under a heavy book or in a press once they’re fully dry. A baren (or anything smooth you can use to apply pressure, such as a wooden spoon or another, clean brayer) Any tips for getting a clean edge. Some of my last prints didnt have a perfect edge and i’m wondering if it could be i used old lino? Also if you have any tips for perfect printing to get it crisp? I think ive been over inking a tad (i think due to my roller which ive now changed, but it would be great to get advice.

Always Test: Before diving into the final print, make some test impressions. This can highlight issues with ink consistency, carving depth, or paper quality, allowing for adjustments. Lino printing, like any artistic technique, has its set of challenges, particularly for newcomers. Adeptly navigating these pitfalls can be the difference between a print that sings and one that falls flat. Potential Pitfalls For Beginners:German-made Zerkall papers are the perfect mix of smoothness and texture, adding a touch of character to your prints without overpowering the imagery. Wash your hands before starting. Natural oils and residue from your skin can interfere with the ink’s adherence to the lino or paper. Scale Test: Experiment with the size of your design. Sometimes a design might look great small but lose impact when scaled up, or vice versa.

Practice Makes Perfect: Like all artistic processes, the more you practice lino cutting, the better you’ll become. Over time, you’ll develop a steadier hand and a more intuitive understanding of how deep to cut. The Lino-Printing Process: Once you've cut your design into the piece of lino (creating the printing plate), you spread a thin layer of ink evenly across the lino (inking up), lay a sheet of paper over it, and apply pressure to transfer the ink to the paper (printing).

Top Ten Tips for Linocutting

Speedball offers a cheaper brand of inks that typically comes in smaller tubes (which can be found in this starter kit), but if you want better results spend a bit more on the Professional Relief Ink line. The two crucial things to remember are that you cut away what you don't want to print, and you need to be careful you don't cut your fingers.

You can keep going for however many colors you wish, but the more you use, the more carefully you need to plan. One wrong cut, or one forgotten cut, could ruin the design. Add to this the challenges of ensuring each color is correctly registered (aligned) when you print it and I'm sure you'll begin to see why reduction linocut is also known as suicide printing. However, when things do all workout, the results are tremendously satisfying! If you want some truly professional linocut tools, you’re going to want to look into products from a company called Pfeil. The other is the smaller L 11/1. It provides even more detail than the L 11/3, and can be used effectively as an outlining tool with some practice.If you can spend the money, this boxed set has everything you will ever need. Want to save a bit of money? I’d recommend purchasing a few specific individual cutters instead. This is a really helpful blog, generous with the info, and really useful. I’ve got all the tools, and now will make sure I get lino as fresh as possible. I’ve got several sheets of the rubbery stuff which I’ve fooled around on and found that I don’t really like; it’s too soft. Transfer your design onto a piece of lino that’s slightly larger than required. This provides a margin for error, especially if your print is slightly off-centre. Test Printing: Before committing to your final paper or fabric, do a few test prints on scrap material. This allows you to understand how the ink transfers and if there are any areas of your lino that need further refinement. If you want to start taking your linocut printmaking more seriously or consider selling your work, you should upgrade to a better brayer. And the best brayers are Japanese hard rubber ink rollers.