Printing Individual "Hat" Tiles

We printed individual "hat" linocuts  on 8x8 inch paper --  one for a scrapbook, one to frame and show, and one for the artist:

Barbara Endicott's individual "hat" print

in an 8x8 inch photo album scrapbook

Twelve framed 8x8 inch prints

make a good pop-up exhibition

We printed in Ellie's studio on Friday, August 2, 2024:

The printmaking set-up

in Ellie's studio

MATERIALS

Materials:

• We printed on a SIZZIX BIG SHOT PLUS embossing press
• We used Speedball SUPERGRAPHIC BLACK relief ink in a tube
• We used a 4 inch 60 durometer brayer from TAKACH PRESS
• We printed on Rives BFK lightweight white paper (115 gram, 19 x 25.5 inches)

Ellie printing on the Sizzix Big Shot Plus

Ellie's ingenious drying rack

SIZZIX BIG SHOT PLUS embossing press

We used four "inserts" to sandwich the linocut and print:

• the heavy bottom support
• the see-through acrylic sheet
• the linoleum plate next
• a piece of paper
• a thin plastic sheet at the top

The four "inserts"

sandwiching the linocut

Perhaps the big innovation was using a harder brayer -- the 4 inch 60 durometer brayer from TAKACH PRESS.  Manuel Guerra really liked inking with this brayer in El Paso:

The 4 inch 60 durometer brayer from TAKACH PRESS

protected in a box for carrying around

You hold the Takach brayer

like a dagger

The key is to orient the "hat" tile in the correct way, so that it looks good printed on the paper:

Inked "hat" tile 

oriented on the plate

Barbara Endicott's print,

in the correct orientation

Virgil Velasco's print

Bobby Orr's tile

Dawn Tello's tile

Dawn Tello's print

Henry Morales' tile

Karl Whitaker's print

Martin Terry's tile

Martin Terry's print

Jeanette Cook's print

AI image laser cut on a linoleum disc,

and printed

When we do multi-colored prints we might need registration tabs -- however we probably won't do this to make large tessellation prints:

Registration pins from Ternes Burton