Printmaking can be divided into four basic categories: relief, intaglio, planographic, and stencil. Relief printmaking is one of the simplest types of printmaking, in which material is carved or taken away from around the protruding design that is to be printed so that only the design appears.

Relief printing, in art printmaking, a process consisting of cutting or etching a printing surface in such a way that all that remains of the original surface is the design to be printed. Examples of relief-printing processes include woodcut, anastatic printing (also called relief etching), linocut, and metal cut.

A roll of greaseproof paper.

1. Sketch your design. Make some sketches of the print you’d like to make on paper.
2. Prep your polystyrene.
3. Press into your block using your tools.
4. Get your ink ready.
5. Apply ink to the block.
6. Place the block onto the paper.
7. Press the block down.
8. Peel off the paper to reveal your print.

10 Essential Tools for Linocut Printing

• Linoleum (or alternative)
• Linocutting / carving tools.
• Lino cutting sets – consisting of a plastic or wooden handle with cheap replaceable blades that you throw away when blunt.
• Printing ink.
• Paper.
• Roller (or brayer)
• Burnishing tool.
• Pencils, pens, ruler and eraser.

Though major artists began adopting the linocut technique as early as 1903, many in the art community shunned the medium due to its simplicity, citing it as lacking in challenge. Fortunately, artistic mediums cannot simply be judged on elitism alone – art, it has been proven, pays little mind to boundaries.

A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric.

Speedball Linoleum Cutter

• (No. 1) Small “V” Gouge.
• (No. 2) Large “V” Gouge.
• (No. 3) Small “U” Gouge.
• (No. 4) Square Gouge.
• (No. 5) Large “U” Gouge.
• (No. 6) Knife.

To make a lino print, you’ll need:

• A few pieces of lino.
• Lino cutting tools.
• Paper.
• Printing ink.
• Smooth surface for rolling out ink.
• Palette knife.
• A brayer.
• A baren (or anything smooth you can use to apply pressure, such as a wooden spoon or another, clean brayer)

Best Linocut Inks for Block Printing on Paper and Fabric

• Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink.
• Charbonnel Aqua Wash Etching Ink.
• Daniel Smith Oil-Based Relief Ink (now discontinued)
• Gamblin Oil-Based Relief Ink.
• Schmincke Aqua Linoldruck Ink.
• Lukas Linol Ink.
• Akua Intaglio Ink.
• Graphic Chemical Water-Soluble Relief Ink.

Well Simon, linocutting is one of the most accessible printmaking processes and can easily be done at home without too much space and too many specialist items. A basic set-up might consist of lino, one or two carving tools, a roller (‘brayer’ if you’re in America), ink, paper and a wooden spoon or baren for printing.

Water based screen printing inks are great inks to work with when it comes to block printing on fabric. Oil based inks can be used as well, but are better for use on paper. I prefer using water based inks for my fabric printing, mostly because oil based inks are stickier, more smelly, and dry much more slowly.

Block printing with acrylic paint is a method of printing on fabric or paper using a block of linoleum or rubber with a design carved into the surface. The block is dipped in a mix of acrylic paint and textile medium and then stamped onto the printable material.

Some brands of block printing ink actually offer quite a few custom colors if you need something very specific. I usually work with about 8 colors total and can mix almost anything…with a few exceptions. If you want a full range of colors, here’s what I recommend purchasing when you’re starting out.

Acrylic paint

To print with acrylic paint, squeeze a small amount of paint, about the size of a quarter, onto a piece of Plexiglas. Roll a brayer back and forth over the paint until the paint is evenly distributed, then stamp onto paper on the Plexiglas. Press the printing tool into the layer of paint on the Plexiglas.

This medium retards the drying of acrylic paint on the screen and reduces the risk of screen blocking, making it easier to wash out. Screens kept moist will wash out easily with water.

For Linocut Printing I would always recommend oil based inks! There are water based and oil based inks. If you want to get a perfect linocut print then put the water based inks away and buy oil based printing inks.

Daler-Rowney System3 Screen Printing Medium turns System3 Acrylic Paint into rich and vibrant screen printing inks which are perfect for use on paper, card and board. This water-soluble printing medium slows the drying time of acrylics, allowing them to be easily washed out of a screen. Slows down on-screen drying.

Traditionally, the process was called screen printing or silkscreen printing because silk was used in the process. It is also known as serigraphy and serigraph printing.

Either Gamblin Etching or Relief Inks can be used for monotype. This is because etching inks are stiffer than a relief printing ink and inherently want to remain on the surface of the plate, which allows the artist to have more control over how much ink is removed.

Monoprinting is a one-off fine art printing technique that uses a sheet of glass or Perspex to transfer a unique design onto a sheet of paper. Monoprinting techniques can include combining artistic methods and multimedia such as painting and drawing with lithography, etching or woodcut.

DIY Printmaking: How to Make Your Own Linocut Print

1. Gather your materials.
2. Draw your design.
3. Carve out the negative space.
4. Pour out a small amount of ink onto a clean surface.
5. Roll out ink with your brayer until it is smooth and velvety.
6. Roll a thin layer of ink onto your block.
7. Use steady pressure to lightly press cardstock onto your block.

Another way to make a monotype is to paint on glass and then while it is still wet, lay a paper on top and press. The ink is transferred to the paper. Gelatin Plate Monotype printing has become very popular because it does not need a printing press to transfer the ink to the paper.

Lino suits bold and generous designs and loves a pattern. Patterns could be in the way you cut, repeating shapes or subjects in your design. Always work on the whole image when you are drawing for lino: a tree drifting off into nothing is fine in a pencil sketch, but will look weak as a lino cut.

1. Step 1: Materials. You will need . . .
2. Step 2: Come Up With a Design! Before you go anywhere near tools you need to come up with a design first!
3. Step 3: Put Your Design on Your Linoleum Sheet. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING.
4. Step 4: SAFETY!!!!
5. Step 5: Cut Away!
6. Step 6: Ink Up Your Linocut!
7. Step 7: Print!
8. Step 8: Admire!

Relief prints are of the raised surface design on the block, the rest of the surface is cut away, only the raised portion is inked. Intaglio prints are a result of ink being retained by the gouges that are below the surface of the plate retaining the ink and transferring the ink to the paper.

A linocut is created by cutting away an image from linoleum, a soft synthetic material. It is effective because it creates images that are bold and striking, in which the designs are highly contrasting.

The oldest form of printmaking, woodcut is a relief process in which knives and other tools are used to carve a design into the surface of a wooden block. The wooden block is usually made from pear wood, which is sawn along the grain and planed smooth. …

Creating, Cutting and Printing Your Own Woodblock

1. Introduction: Creating, Cutting and Printing Your Own Woodblock.
2. Step 1: Getting Hold of the Basic Tools.
3. Step 2: Draw Your Image and Copy It Onto Your Block.
4. Step 3: Cut Your Block.
5. Step 4: Ink and Print With Your Block.
6. Step 5: Fix, Re-cut and Re-ink.

Woodcuts are made from wood, and intaglio involves engraving with metal.