Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

While I was looking around my studio, wondering what to write in this months blog post, my eyes fell on my overflowing box of lino gear I’ve accumulated over the last few years. Lino printing was my first traditional printing technique I ever tried and I still love it today. I first got introduced to the technique years ago when I was studying fashion as a way to manipulate fabric but it wasn't till much later when I started with illustration that I fully grasped the potential the craft had.

My first carvings and prints were dodgy at best because of a lack of experience and study. So for those who might consider giving lino printing a go, I thought it might be nice to do a little mini tutorial series on the technique. In the next few months I will sporadically zoom in on the key materials you will need to consider before make your own lino prints. For this month I am looking at the different lino printing surfaces and their pros and cons so you will know to pick the right one for your next printing project. The types I will cover in this post are the most common surfaces used when lino printing and available in most art stores.

Hessian Backed Lino

We are starting off this list with the most common type of lino surface called hessian backed lino or colloquially known as grey lino. This lino is one of my favourite types out there and the one I used the most frequently. Out of all the surface types, it's definitely the cheapest option out there. Something you should always keep in mind, especially when you make big prints (A3 and up) as other types can be very pricey or don't always come in big sizes.

Transferring you design is very easy with this type as it has the smallest bit of texture to it, allowing for pencil, markers or carbon paper to grip onto the surface. On top of that it also has no give, this can either be a good or a bad thing depending on personal preference. I see it as a plus as it allows for carving very fine detail and gives more control overall but it also requires a little bit more force when you carve. This is true especially during winter months when to lino becomes more stiff when cold. This however can be remedied by warming up a your lino in the oven on the lowest heat setting or how I do it: just sitting on it. By using body heat you don't dry out your lino as it can become brittle. This is also why it's not advised to buy this type in bulk as it degrades over time.

The grey lino is made out of solid colour material, at times it might be hard to see where you carved and where not. Adding a bit of coloured ink to you plate before carving will solve that immediately however. This lino is easily cut to size, but don’t forget to run a lighter around the edges to stop the hessian from fraying.

Easy Carve

Easy carve is a good choice while learning to carving out a design. As the name suggest it very easy to carve it to, and gives you hardly any resistance as it's made out of a rubbery material. Because of this it's grippy and the block doesn't slide around on your table like the grey lino. That's however where the pros already stop, at least for me.

The easy carve leaves you no room to carve any real detail and when you try it can be very frustrating. The material is quite bouncy and when making defining edges, leaves you wanting as the pieces don't snap off like with grey lino. The material is also very expensive (although cheaper dupes exist) and only comes in small blocks. You need a marker or carbon paper to draw designs on this surface as pencil tends to drag on the material. As with grey lino, the block is made out of a solid colour material which makes it sometimes hard to see where you cut.

I would only suggest using this if you want to make easy rubber stamps with no details or if you a complete beginner and want little resistance.

Softcut

This material is almost a mix of both Easy Carve and hessian backed lino. As the name here aslo suggest it's very soft material to cut into. I find the material a bit less bouncy than the Easy Carve as it's way thinner, so it allows for a bit more detail. It comes in a bigger variety of sizes but still not as big as with the hessian back lino. It's also a bit cheaper than the easy carve but still considered on the more expensive side.

On the plus side this doesn't degrade over time and stays just as fresh as you first buy it. The sheets also have a bit of grip on the bottom to make it slide around less when carving, which I don't think works very well. The cuts don't snap off like the grey lino and as with the Easy Carve you need carbon paper or a marker to transfer you design. Like the predecessors it only comes in solid colours. I have sheets of Softcut but I honestly never use them.

Japanese Vinyl

This material takes all the problems the hessian back lino has and fixes almost all of them. It's a wonderful material and next to the hessian back lino a favourite of mine. Japanese vinyl is most recognizable by it's distinct colour. It has a green side and a blue side that sandwiches a layer of black vinyl. You can carve both sides, the result stays the same. When you carve into the block it takes of the layer of green (or blue) and reveals the black vinyl on the inside. This makes it very easy to see where you have carved. This is especially a nice touch when you have to carve a big design for long hours, where your eyes might tire after awhile.

The price of Japanese vinyl is very similar to grey lino but the material is bit harder to find. Not all art shops will carry it in stock. The size range does go up to an A3 size. (I have yet to see a bigger size.) Similar to the grey lino it's a bit more tough to cut into but it allows for more fine detail. Here also you can heat up your block. One more plus to this material is that it doesn't degrade over time so you can buy this in bulk. Saves you on an extra trip to the art store or on shipping costs.

The Japanese vinyl isn't the saving grace for all lino printers though. For starters carve shaving don't snap off like grey lino which can be a bit of a pain since you sometimes need to pull them off by hand. I also find that even though you can transfer your design with pencil of carbon paper, it smudges off very easily. Sometimes even it’s very hard to see because of the dark green/blue of the vinyl. This isn't great when you have a big piece with loads of details and your hand gets in the way. A work around is free handing your design with permanent pencil or marker. One last downside is that because you can carve on both sides it's super slippery on the bottom, but more on how to resolve that later.

One last tip

As I have mentioned a lot of these surfaces can be quite slippery when being worked on. A slippery surface can be straining on your hands and a danger to work with. You can skip when cutting and cut right into your hand in the process. There are ways however to help you prevent this.

First and foremost always cut away from you! When you cutting and the tool does skip at least it won't be in your hand. So rotate you design while working. You can also use a bench hook. This tool lets you wedge your lino carving so it stays in place. It's a useful tool but a bit of an unnecessary buy as there is a way cheaper option. I use the anti slip gripper mats people use to put under rugs to stop it from sliding around. Cut up of a piece a slightly bigger than you lino block and put it under it. This will take a lot of the pressure off your hands when gripping your lino. You can use the anti slip gripper mats with any surface material.

When comparing all these surfaces, they all have their pros and cons. It's just a matter of what your needs as a print maker are. I would suggest trying all of these at least once to figure out if they are the right fit to your way of working.

I hope this make the introduction into lino carving a bit smoother. Can't wait to see what you guys make. Feel free to tag me on Instagram when you make something.

Much love,
C.

What lino printing surface is right for you and your project?

Why you too should consider running your own fair

20 tips for doing art fairs