Lindy Furby Printmaker
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Printing a collagraph plate

1/15/2021

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Printing table set up with xcut xpress (a diecutting machine with a  flexible pressure). Caligo safewash echting inks and extender, glass plates for mixing ink, a pile of blotting paper.a pile of tissue paper - I am lucky to have such a big room/table.
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Colours mixed - glue sticks are great for mixing and very cheap. The dark colour is sepia mixed with 1/3 as much extender. The yellow ochre is yellow ochre. The rest are mixed from blue/red/yellow. (these re all the colours I have + white)
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This is the plate inked up next to the reference watercolour painting. The prints are nearly always stronger than the paintings - the difference between watercolour and oil I guess. I ink up the plate with tooth brushes and a la poupee - where you wrap a rag around your finger and apply ink with the finger. I then wipe the plate "clean" with rags (old sheeting). The ink is left in the indentations on the plate.
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Paper soaking in the bath - this is Hahnemuhle natural
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I squeegee the paper on the shower panel (who needs a studio?)
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And blot it between sheets of blotting paper. It needs to be damp but with no shiny bits - if its shiny it tends to stick to the plate.
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On the xcut - I have an extended base from Handprinted.com with their blanket
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And the paper. It is going to be a bleed print printed to the edge of the paper) so the paper is smaller than the plate. Where space is restricted bleed prints can maximise the printing surface.
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This is the first trial print. I have found even when everything is perfect with the plate that it takes 2 or 3 prints to get a collagraph plate working. The more I print the more I tweak the plate. I learnt this tweeking from 2 good printer friends at the Edinburgh printmakers - Cat and John. I used to puzzle as they reworked etching plates that looked completely perfect to me. I have learnt.
​My criticism - I had wiped too hard everywhere. Too much extender in green and sepia need more colour in rocks and more definition i water and vegetation.
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Second trial print on left, 1st trial print at top. Plate on right. Second crit - More subtle tree trunks (too much red). Add some lower branches, darker bridge, more definition of water. With a colla pva or stick stuff on.graph print you can always add cuts and tears - once it has been inked it is more difficult to add 
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Etching plates last forever, collagraph plates are a lot more delicate, I can't be too fussy - I usually print an edition of 10, with approximately 3 trials some plates do not last this. This is the first print of the edition.
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Three prints waiting on the mdf boards - I will cover them with tissue than put another MDF board on top - they will dry flat - prints love curling up . You can see that the prints are not identical - technically a varied edition. It is very difficult when applying lots of different colours onto one plate at a time to get them the same - and I don't try - I like to experiment a little to see different effects.
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Pile of mdf boards - 10 boards cut from one large board b a local builders merchant.
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The plate - its work complete. The plate absorbs a lot of the ink - my husband always prefers the plates to the prints. I do love my plates. Sometimes I cut them up into a celtic/pictish knot - I may do that with this one. Who knows?
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Copyright © 2015
  • Home
  • Blog
  • My fine art prints
    • Scottish landscapes
    • Scottish Islands
    • Highlands of Scotland
    • The Scottish coast
    • Edinburgh
    • Birds, butterflies etc.
    • Cornwall
    • Mountaineering/ski-touring
    • Knotwork, Standing stones
    • Trees
    • Protest art
    • Artist’s books
    • Geology
  • How I make my art
  • Buy
  • Framing
  • Contact