AY Honors/Block Printing/Answer Key

1. List the tools and equipment necessary for block printing.

Block

The block is a piece of material into which the design to be printed is carved. Linoleum is a common block material, but people also use wood, or even potatoes. Linoleum is inexpensive, easy to carve, and makes good prints. Wood is more difficult to work with, and potatoes do not make the greatest prints. Also, you can't really save a potato, as it will begin to decompose as soon as it is cut. Linoleum can be put away for several years and then reused.

Sandpaper

If you are using linoleum or wood, you will need to sand the surface first to eliminate the texturing. Texturing will come through in your print, which may or may not be desired.

Ink

Many people prefer to use oil-based ink, but beware - oil-based inks will permanently stain clothing. If you are teaching this honor to a group of children, you would be well advised to stick with water soluble ink.

Brayer

A brayer is a hand roller used in printmaking techniques to spread ink or to offset an image from a plate to paper. They can be made of rubber, sponge, acrylic, or leather. Rubber brayers come in varieties of hardness and are primarily used for relief printing. Leather rollers are only used in lithography. Sponge rollers are used only for scrapbooking and other craft applications.

Piece of Glass

Ink is poured onto a piece of glass, and then the brayer is rolled over it. This transfers the ink to the brayer. An old picture frame can work well for this.

Paper or fabric

Your design must be printed on something, no?

Baren

The baren is a disk like device with a flat bottom and on the reverse side, a knotted handle. The baren is used to burnish (firmly rub) the paper to pick up ink that has been rolled onto a wood or linoleum cut. You can also use a wooden spoon or even a rolling pin for this.

Paper towels

For cleaning up!

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcut
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_printing