Printmaking

Inks for Printmaking

Printmaking inks include a variety of super quality materials for all types of printmaking.  Etching, engraving, monoprinting, relief and letterpress inks, lithography, linoleum and woodblock and screen-printing inks are but a few of the specialty products available.  Additionally, dry pigments, extenders for transparency, metallic inks, conditioners and modifiers, drying aids to speed drying of inks, anti-skin aids to lengthen working time with oil inks, special cleaners and so much more await the artist who explores the Graphic Chemical & Ink Co. web site at www.GraphicChemical.com.

Use of any ink has precautions and specific instructions for safety and proper application.  Different brands offer the artist a wide range of possibilities for his or her creations.  In the range of blacks alone, Graphic Chemical offers over 19 different names in a variety of professional quality brands.  Many labels and colors are also included so that the artist may create an unlimited number of personal palette colors.

Major differences in ink opacity and viscosity make choices for specific application tricky.  Thicker inks are well suited to being combined with extenders and conditioners and then rolled thinly and applied to plates or stones for etching and lithography.  Inks with slightly less thickness are great for woodblock and screen-printing.  They, too, can be amended with conditioners, driers and other mediums.  Dry pigments can be added to almost all inks for dramatic effects as can many of the ink conditioners and amendments.  Nearly transparent colors, so wonderful for overlaying and layering, can be created with the use of extenders with some inks.  Etching Base can be used to create your own inks by holding pigment in suspension without loss of opacity; and gel medium can be used to reduce body, or “thickness,” of inks. 

In combination with the special oils and other materials offered, you can create the exact thickness, the perfect opacity and the ideal tack for any printmaking application.  Experimentation will yield interesting results so keep records until you find the combinations that give you the outcome you want.  It is during such experiments that great strides can be made.  Never be afraid to try something that seems improbable at first glance.  It might end up being the perfect solution to your more recent creative question.

Graphic Chemical & Ink’s web site is like a special printmaker’s paradise of materials and ideas. Included is a Bulletin Board with Product Discussion and Printing Forum.

Explore the possibilities for application to your printmaking or start up a new direction of creativity by delving into prints and the wide array of creative opportunities they offer.  Whether you are a devoted print artist or someone new to the methods, you will find exactly what you want and need to do the best work possible. 

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 17 No. 10 — August 2007