Printing Session Day #3

inked plate ready to be printed

Today's print was done using brayers or rollers.  Each color was applied with a roller of a different size, charged with ink which was then applied to the plastic plate.  I am still using the same plate as I did with the preceeding prints. It is smooth, without cuts or etchings of any kind.

the plate placed on the register and the finished print

 Before a plate is printed, a register  has to be prepared.  This is nothing more than a sheet of paper the same size as the paper that will be used to make the final print. An outline of the plate, carefully centered, is traced clearly on this sheet to serve as a guide to the placement of the inked plate. The paper that will recieve the image is carefully placed over the register and plate so that  the print will always be centered perfectly.

finished print - day 3

Here is today's print.  Ready to be covered with clean tissue paper and stored in my stack of absorbent cardboard to dry. 

Nothing left for today but to clean up, probably the most tedious but the most important part of a session in the studio. If the paint or ink is allowed to dry on the palette or, in my case, the stone, it will be much harder to remove later. Using turpentine, or better yet gasoline, the colors are removed from all utensils as well as the  stone.( Be sure to open windows as you clean.) I left some of the inks that were still in good shape, sprayed them with water and covered with Saran Wrap.

scrape color off with a metal spatula

spray with water and cover with pastic wrap

Back tomorrow with another session.  This time I'll be using new plates.  Tell you more tomorrow . . .