Styrofoam Printmaking Process

In preparation for Xylography and Linocut, our profesor decided to train us with Styrofoam first. It was a simple process, but some considerations must be taken into account first.

Styrofoam Printmaking Process

Step 1: Gather necessary materials: Paper or cardboard, ink, brayer or paint roller, Styrofoam plate, tape, pen.


Step 2: Sketch a design (illustration or artwork) to print. If you write words, make sure they are mirrored.



Step 3: Cut the Styrofoam into the size you need (A5 paper size). Remember the margins for the tape. Tape the drawing in place and trace it onto the Styrofoam plate.


Step 4: Create a register for the sheet you’re going to print. Use the tape to secure the Styrofoam plate to the working surface.



Step 5: Deposit and prepare ink in a tray. You can use 1 color, or 2 to create a gradient.

 

Step 6: Use the brayer or paint roller to spread the ink until you have an even coat. Once the brayer is coated with an even layer of ink, roll it over your Styrofoam plate.


Step 7: Position the paper on top of the Styrofoam plate and rub over the paper to help transfer the ink. Don’t leave it too long, or the paper will get stuck onto the plate. Carefully remove paper from the plate.



Step 8: Let the print dry and clean up workplace. Here's the final result!

      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Screen Printing with Emulsion

Image
Materials: A solid black design printed in transparency paper. Photo emulsion and sensitizer. A screen slightly bigger than the image you want to print. Screen printing ink A squeegee A scoop coater A spoon Something to print on (A3 cardboard or thick paper) Scotch tape A rag to clean The design: The most important stage of screen printing is to make sure the images must be printed solid black to block the light properly. The design was for a small booklet portfolio for illustrations (2 joint illustrations and 3 individual illustrations per person). Once we settled on the design, we printed out on a laser printer onto transparency paper. Step 1: Prepare the emulsion in a dark room. From his point on, all light source must come for a red lightbulb. Mix the sensitizer and the emulsion together according to the directions on the bottle. Step 2: Pour a little of the emulsion mixture on the scoop coater and spread it out on the screen until coated and you can’t see
Read more

Screen Printing with Stencil

Image
Necessary Materials: An image that doesn’t have too much fine detail. In this case, the deck of cards with the suit that was assigned to the group: Clubs. Acetate sheets A scalpel A cutting board or a hard surface you don’t mind being sliced repeatedly by a scalpel A screen slightly bigger than the image you want to print Screen printing ink A squeegee A spoon Something to print on (A3 cardboard or thick paper) Tape or scotch tape A rag to clean The design: Create a design with bold shapes that you can cut out with a scalpel. We found it easiest to create designs with the goal of printing them with paper stencils rather than altering pre-existing more complex designs. We were assigned the Clubs deck of cards, so we designed all 14 cards, including the Joker. Step 1: Draw your design onto a paper at the size you want to print it. To make sure we got the scale right for the A3 cardboard, we decided to split the 14 cards into 4 pages A4 size. This way we could h
Read more

Stencil Printmaking Process

Image
Next step int he stencil printmaking technique was to solve a stencil depending the type of print: positive or negative. STENCIL PRINTMAKING PROCESS Step 1: Gather necessary materials: Paper, cardboard, stencil, ink, sponge, precision cutter. Step 2: Analyze the design and trace bridges between cut out spaces, so the stencil can hold against the ink. Step 3: Transfer the design to cardboard or any other support thick enough that won’t break when wet. Step 4: Cut out the design. If it’s a negative print, cut out what’s outside the design; and if it’s positive, cut out what’s inside Step 5: Prepare and deposit the ink or paint in a small tray. Create a register for the substrate. Use the tape to secure paper to the working surface. Place stencil over the paper and secure it in place with the tape. Step 6: With a sponge or brush, quickly apply ink over the stencil and paper. Clean the excess ink from the stencil and carefully remove stencil. Step
Read more