foilography printmaking - mossworks studio

FOILOGRAPHY PRINTMAKING

© Charles MorganMossworks Studio

77 Moss StreetVictoria, B.C. V8V 4M2

CANADA

revised October, 2006

[email protected]

Contents

I. Introduction .................................................................................. 3A. Name ....................................................................................... 3B. Origin ...................................................................................... 3C. Advantages .............................................................................. 4D. Disadvantages ......................................................................... 5

II. Making the Plate .......................................................................... 6A. Specimen Preparation ............................................................. 6B. Making the Sandwich ............................................................. 7

1. Composing on the Backing ........................................... 82. Composing on the Foil .................................................. 11

C. Finishing the plate ................................................................... 131. Etching Press ................................................................. 132. The Palm Press .............................................................. 183. Rolling Pin ..................................................................... 244. Platen Press .................................................................... 275. Mallet Press ................................................................... 286. Blemishes .......................................................................297. Summary Comparison ................................................... 30

III. Inking the Plate ............................................................................ 31A. Blind Embossing ..................................................................... 32B. Inks .......................................................................................... 32

Morgan Foilography Printmaking

C. Inking Tools ............................................................................ 34D. Roll-up .................................................................................... 37E. Masking ................................................................................... 38F. Freehand .................................................................................. 40G. Intaglio .................................................................................... 41H. Combination Techniques ........................................................ 42

IV. Printing the Plate .......................................................................... 43A. Paper Selection ........................................................................43B. Presses ..................................................................................... 44C. Cleaning the Plate ....................................................................46

V. Advanced Topics ......................................................................... 47A. Multiple Passes and Plates ...................................................... 47B. Embossing Powder Plates ....................................................... 49

VI. Revisions ...................................................................................... 53A. More Comments on Intaglio Inking .......................................53B. Inking Very Thin Subjects ...................................................... 56C. Printing Foilographs with a Palm Press .................................. 61D. Bottle Jack Press Plans ............................................................69


I. Introduction

I.A. Name

Lithography done on aluminum plate instead of stone is called aluminography. So,if you make a collagraph using aluminum foil rather than acrylic medium, youshould call it ... alumigraph, of course!!! And that is what I called it when I firstdiscovered it. Because in some parts of the world the word “aluminum” ispronounced “al-you-mi-nee-um”, some folks began referring to the process as“aluminograph”.

However, unknown to me at the time, an artist by the name of Nancy Wells usedthe term “alumigraph” in an article published in the Spring, 2002, edition ofPrintmaking Today (vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 28-29), to refer to a rather different process.So, I have decided in fairness to switch to the terms “foilograph” and“foilography” instead.

I.B. Origin

I have been doing nature prints for a number of years, but was not happy with themonotype aspect. You go to all that trouble to get nice specimens, arrange them ina nice composition, and then you get only one print. And often with delicatesubjects, the inking of the subject destroys it before you can print it. Many times Ihave had to peel pieces of leaves, insect wings, etc. from my roller and not beenable to get even one print. Or I find when I print that I have over- or under-inkedthe specimen and it is too delicate to re-ink it. I wanted to be able to print at least asmall edition, and with as little damage to the subject as possible.

During the summer of 2001, I took a one day workshop on doing lithography onaluminum foil. Part of the process required wrapping some aluminum foil around aplexiglass plate and then putting it through an etching press to smooth it out. Wehad to be very carful to keep everything spotlessly clean, as the smallest dust moteshowed up under the foil. I found I was not that interested in the lithography at thetime, but that process of smoothing out the foil wrapped around a sheet ofplexiglass was intriguing. I wondered what would happen if I put a leaf under thefoil. So, when I got home, I tried it. I was amazed at the result. I played aroundwith it for a while, and finally got a workable process by spring of 2002. I showedexamples to a few friends in Victoria, and posted a version of the technique on the


PrintAustralia web site in the summer of 2002. I have continued to experiment andrefine the technique since that time.

After a few years of talking to others about the technique, several peoplementioned that they had heard of something similar. I have only been able to trackdown two specific references. Neither of the two is exactly the process I employ,and neither uses the foil plate to make prints on paper. For the sake ofcompleteness, I will briefly describe the references here.

A method for making “silver pictures” is described in the book Things forChildren to Make and Do: Craft Starting Points, by John Hathorn and LudwikLuksza, Methuen of Australia, 1978. In their technique, one begins by glueingpressed leaves down on cardboard. Then one is directed to spread contact adhesiveover the leaves and cardboard, and cover all with aluminum foil. Finally the readeris directed to rub the surface with a wad of cotton to bring out the details.

A similar method is described in the book A Treasure Trove of Ideas, byFrancois Cherrier, Angus and Robertson (U.K.), 1972. One begins by gluingflattened and dried natural material or paper cutouts to cardboard or plexiglass,essentially making a collagraph plate. Then glue is spread over the entire surfacebefore covering with aluminum foil. Next a couple of layers of soft fabric are laidon top, and finally a board on top of all. By hammering on the board, the foil takesthe imprint of the design. Although the author talks about making prints using asmall press, what he describes is using the collagraph plate to press multipleimages into sheets of aluminum foil.

I would not be outrageously surprised to find that the technique I have calledfoilography is not completely new. It is so simple, it seems someone must havedone it before. But the lack of written material perhaps justifies my writing thesenotes.

I.C. Advantages

With collagraph, you glue your bits and pieces to a backing, and then coat it withacrylic or some other reasonably tough coating. There are a number of problemswith collagraphs, as with any print making technique. For one thing, applyingacrylic medium badly distorts many delicate subjects, such as down, fine feathers,and hair. Further, for many nature subjects, much of the detail is lost by the


Figure 1: Oregon grape

coating. For examples, veins in flower petals and surface detail in leaves get filledin or obscured when coated with acrylic. In addition, the subject is lost foreveronce it is bonded to the plate and covered with gunk. You probably do not want totake that old rose your grandmother pressed in the family bible and permanentlycover it with acrylic. Finally, if you are not pleased with the composition of yourcollagraph, it is not possible to change it once you have coated everything withacrylic medium.

Foilography avoids these problems. Fragile materials such as down, fine feathers,and hair, are not nearly so subject to distortion. Further, the foilograph techniquedoes not obscure details of natural subjects to nearly the extent that collagraphs do;in fact, the foilograph technique brings out many fine details that are hard to seewith the naked eye. And with foilography, you can recover your original specimenafter printing. If you are not happy with the composition, you can make anotherplate and try again. The only damage to the specimen will be caused by thepressure of the press. In appearance, foilograph prints are often similar to softground etchings. But there are no acids or chemical baths. And the specimen doesnot get coated with waxy goo. Figure 1 is a foilograph of Oregon grape, one of myvery first.

I.D. Disadvantages

No printmaking technique is perfect, and there are some disadvantages with


foilography. Very fragile items, such as eggshell, which would be damaged by thepressure of the press, cannot be printed with this technique. The technique does notwork well with very thick items, like pine cones or sea shells. And items withsharp protrusions, like thorny branches, cannot be printed, since they tear the foil.

II. Making the Plate

Making a foilograph plate is very similar to making a collagraph plate. The majordifference is that the material and backing plate are “shrink wrapped” in aluminumfoil, rather than being coated with acrylic medium. First you must make a“sandwich” consisting of a properly prepared specimen on a rigid baking, looselywrapped in aluminum foil. Then the plate is finished by applying pressure withsome sort of press, and finally removing any blemishes.

II.A. Specimen Preparation

For natural subjects, begin by pressing and drying your specimens. You can usewell wilted material as well. But fresh natural subjects contain too much water. Thewater is squeezed out during the process and makes a bumpy surface which prints,obscuring natural details.

If you have very fresh material and you do not wish to wait for it to dry naturally,you can speed the drying process by using a microwave oven. Simply place theitem between two layers of cheap felt from a fabric store, place the felt betweentwo microwave safe plates, and pop it all in the microwave. The time will of coursedepend on the power of the machine. It is best to be cautious; start with about 20seconds and check the results.

The microwave oven will heat the water in the specimen, and the hot water willmigrate to the felt. When you check your specimen, you may well see steam, andthe felt will feel wet. After the initial heating, plant material will seem damp andvery limp. Place the limp material between the pages of a phone book and let it sitfor a few minutes, and then check it again. You do not need it to be really bonedry; a leathery texture is quite good. You can always put your material back in themicrowave for a bit more time if the item is not quite dry enough.

You can print items ranging from extremely thin flower petals to things as thick as


Figure 2: Plexiglass backingwith smoothed and roundedcorners and edges

the central spine of large eagle feathers. Thick stems are squashed out of shape anddo not show true dimensions or shapes. Very thick items, such as thick stems orfeather spines, may need to be shaved on the back to reduce their thickness.Extremely thick specimens such as pine cones do not work well, since they cannotbe covered by the foil without tearing it.

Of course, as with collagraph, you may make a foilograph using any sort ofrelatively thin material, such as torn or cut bits of paper, ribbons, string, lace,fabric, etc. For example, you may use tape, cut or torn bits of paper, and similarmaterial to produce images of frames, windows, doors, or even vases and flowerpots. You may use crumpled paper or tissue for interesting textural effects. Finesandpaper will produce a texture that will hold a lot of ink, serving the samefunction as aquatint for intaglio plates. You may also use thin bits of metal orfound objects. You should avoid material with really sharp edges, as these canpierce the tinfoil.

II.B. Making the Sandwich

To begin, you will need a tough, firm backing for the plate. You could use MDF,hardboard, aluminum, brass, steel, copper, zinc, or plexiglass. Matboard andcardboard do not work well, as they tend to bend and distort. Usually it isimportant that the backing be SMOOTH. Any grain or surface imperfections willprint. Plexiglass is very electrostatic, and you may have some problems getting itabsolutely clean. Even very small bits of lint will print, and it is almost impossiblenot to get lint from the air on the plexiglass, at least in MY house!! In spite of itselectrostatic properties, I prefer to use plexiglass.

Before making your plate, it is very importantthat you bevel the edges and round thecorners of your backing material. Sharpcorners and edges will pierce the aluminum foiland ruin the plate.


You may want a thin knife or spatula, a needle or pin, and tweezers to help positionyour specimen. For good detail, it is usually best to place the back of leaves facingout away from the backing. On the other hand, I find that I get better results withfeathers if the back of the feather is facing the backing.

Once you have your specimen and your backing materials, there are two ways toproceed: (1) you can arrange your composition directly on the smooth backing andthen cover with aluminum foil; or (2) you can arrange your composition on the foiland then lay the backing on top of the composition.

II.B.1. Composing on the Backing

Arranging your specimen directly on the backing initially seems natural, but it canbe a bit cumbersome when it comes time to wrap everything with foil. Whenarranging your composition directly on the backing, remember that left and rightwill be reversed when the plate is printed.

As an example of this approach, let’s have a look at the making of the plate for myprint “Dustbunnies”. I wanted to show something that would be hard to print usingthe traditional collagraph approach. I have a beard and long hair, my sweetie haslong hair, and we live with two dogs and a cat. Consequently, we always have lotsof dust bunnies around the house. So for this example, I decided to print dustbunnies. I got down on my hands and knees and roamed around the house until Ihad collected a good wad of dust bunnies. I first arranged my dust bunniescomposition directly on the plexiglass sheet.


Figure 3: Dust bunnies arranged onplexiglass

Depending on your subject matter, you may find it useful to put a VERY SMALLtouch of repositionable glue on the back of some things to keep them from movingaround. I find the repositionable glue sold in stick form is the best. I have triedusing the spray glue, and it always seems to give too thick a coat, which shows upas texture in the print. I like to use repositionable glue so I can move objectsaround if I place them incorrectly the first time. And certainly if you wish torecover the specimen after printing, you do not want to glue it down withpermanent glue. I find that pressed flower petals adhere very well to the surface ofthe plate with no glue.

Keep the backing as free of lint, hair (not appropriate in this example!), and smallbits of trash as you can. Once you have a composition to your liking, place thebacking and specimen on a smooth clean work surface, specimen on top. You mayfind it useful to use a paintbrush to remove any stray bits of lint or other unwantedmaterial from the plate.

Now, you want to remove a piece of kitchen aluminum foil from the roll, keeping itas wrinkle free as possible. Cut the foil so it is big enough to completely cover thebacking and the subject and still leave enough to fold around by an inch or so onall sides. DO NOT FOLD IT YET!!! Place the foil over the backing with thespecimen in place, and gently smooth out the foil. I put the foil DULL SIDE OUT,


Figure 4: Foil wrapped on two sides

shiny side against the specimen, as I find the dull side takes ink a bit better.

Place the backing with specimen on top, on the table, with part of the backinghanging over the edge. Then drape the foil carefully over the specimen and plate.Then you can reach under and lift the sandwich up without disturbing thecomposition.

With the foil on top, carefully pick up the backing, specimen, and the foil as asandwich. Fold the foil over the edges and around to the back of the plate on theleft and right sides. In any case, leave the two ends unfolded for the moment. Thenbeing very careful not to shift the specimen, flip the sandwich over so you can getat the back of the plate.

If your specimen is well adhered to the backing plate, you may find it easier to putthe foil down on a flat surface, flip the plate with the specimen over and gently laythe whole works down on the foil.

From the rear of the plate, you want to tape the foil to the backing. Begin byputting a small piece of tape near the two corners of one edge. Then on the otheredge, pull the foil tight without tearing it and put tape at each of the other corners.For large plates, you may want to put more tape. I find I get fewer wrinkles if Ipress the tape to the foil and then use the tape to pull the foil at a diagonal towardthe nearest corner.


Figure 5: Foil taped to back of plate

Figure 6: Foil on felt, shiny side up

You are now ready to finish the plate by using some kind of press.

II.B.2. Composing on the Foil

Depending on the type of material you are dealing with, you may find it easier touse the second approach mentioned above and make your composition directly onthe foil. When making your composition directly on the foil, remember that whenprinted, with regard to left and right, the composition will appear as it does on thefoil ... left and right will NOT be reversed.

Begin by placing a couple of pieces of thin, fabric store felt down on a firm worksurface. Take a piece of foil a bit larger than your backing and place it on top of thefelt, dull side down, shiny side up.


Figure 7: Press backing into foil tomark outline, and remove backing

Figure 8: Using backing outline,arrange specimen on foil

Then place the backing material on top of the foil and press down lightly to markthe outline of the backing material on the foil.

Next remove the plate and, using the plate marks as a guide, arrange your specimendirectly on the foil.

Being careful not to shift the specimen around on the foil, gently place the backingon top of the specimen. With the foil-specimen-backing sandwich lying on the felt,


Figure 9: Replace backing, fold andtape foil on two edges

just carefully fold the foil over onto the back of the backing on two opposing sidesand tape it in place.

You are now ready to finish the plate by using some kind of press.

II.C. Finishing the Plate

In order the finish the plate, you now need to use a press of some kind. Because ofits high pressure and rolling action, an etching press gives the best results.However, except for very thin material, such as fine down, very good results can behad with a number of other press types. We will begin with the etching press, andthen go on to other alternatives. At the end we will discuss how to removeblemishes from the finished plate.

II.C.1. Etching Press

Once the sandwich is made, you are ready to put it through the etching press. Cuttwo long "rails" (as long at the bed of your press) about 1 inch wide of the samematerial as the backing you are using to make the plate. Put the two rails along thetwo sides of the press bed for the press roller to ride on. Adjust the roller pressurewith the felts in place between these rails and the press roller. This prevents toomuch pressure from being applied to the aluminum foil -- too much pressure causesthe foil to "flow" (i.e. stretch) away from the thickest parts of your specimen and


Figure 10: Foil package on pressbed with rails in place

become very thin, resulting in a puncture or a tear. Place the sandwich between therails, with the foil covered specimen facing the press blankets, and the hard backingplate (with the foil folded around it) against the press bed. The unfolded ends of thetinfoil should go front and back through the press, with the folded foil at the sides.Arrange the plate so that the first pass through the press will roll toward the thickestpart of the specimen first ... so the thickest part of the specimen goes under theroller first. This seems to produce fewer wrinkles. Try to avoid abrupt edges in thespecimen. If possible taper the edges of thick items, like plant stems. Run the wholething through your etching press, with blankets in place. Use pretty good pressure. Iusually run the press forward and then back, so the sandwich goes through the presstwice.

When I first started, I used dampened paper over the sandwich when I was makingthe plate. You may find that you get better detail with some specimens if you do thesame. However, I now usually dispense with the dampened paper and just rely onthe pressure and flexibility inherent in the press blankets.

After going through the press, you should have a very smooth sandwich with thedetails of the specimen embossed in the aluminum foil.


Figure 11: Initial dust bunnies plate from etchingpress

Check your composition at this point. If you find the material has shifted, or if youdo not like the composition, just start over with a fresh piece of foil. I re-did thedust bunnies plate several times to get it the way I wanted it.

You will find a final version of the plate below.

When you look at the plate, you may discover that there are wrinkles in the foilwhere you do not want them to be. Most wrinkles can be removed by rubbing alongthe wrinkle with a cotton swab; never rub crosswise to the wrinkle, or it willbecome permanent.

You may also discover that there are small pieces of lint, dust, or other trash underthe foil. To remove these, you must carefully untape the foil and lift it. Remove thetrash with a fine, dry brush, and replace the foil. The blemish in the foil can then beremoved by rubbing it with a cotton swab.

When you are happy with the look of the plate, fold the remaining two foil edgesover and around to the back of the plate, pull toward the midline of the plate andtape them to the backing. You do not need to run a whole line of tape continuouslyaround the edges, and indeed it is not a good idea to do so. It should be sufficient touse a piece of tape at each end, and perhaps a piece in the middle if the plate islarge.


Figure 12: Undesirable taping

Figure 13: Correct taping

Unless the plate is very small, I do not like to have the back completely covered byfoil, as it is in figure 12. It is useful to have bare areas of the plate to which to tapethe foil. And if you are using plexiglass backing, you may be able to see bits of lintthat need to be removed or see items that have shifted position. Unlike the examplein figure 12, you should try to tape the foil to the backing, not to other parts of thefoil. Taping the foil to the backing keeps it in place relative to the backing, whereastaping the foil to other bits of foil allows the whole thing to move and shift. Ifnecessary, you are advised to trim the ends of the foil before taping to the backing.


Figure 14: Finished dust bunnies plate

When taping, although you are pulling toward the midline, you should angle yourtension at each end of the foil toward the adjoining edge. You want to avoidwrinkles in the middle of the sides. It is easier to get good tension if you use thetape to help pull the foil. Stick the tape well down to the loose foil edge, then makea tab on the free end by folding the tap on itself. Use the tab on the free end of thetape to pull the foil, and then finally stick the free end of the tape down to thebacking. The tab will allow you to more easily lift the tape if you need to re-tightenthe foil later.

As you print, the foil may tend to stretch a little, and you may want to re-tighten itby lifting the tape from the backing, pulling on the foil, and then sticking it backdown. You will find it easier to do if you make a tab on the end of the tape youattach to the backing, as described above. Then you can easily free the tape from thebacking, pull the edges of the foil tight and tape them down again.

You should now have a complete plate, consisting of a backing, with a specimen ontop, all covered with aluminum foil which wraps around everything on all sides.

You will be amazed at how much detail shows in the foil. With leaves, you cansometimes actually see the pores in the leaf. With feathers, you get all the fine detailof the down. And with flower petals, you can actually see the veins in the petals.


The challenge is to ink the plate in such a way as to reveal these details.

III.C.2 The Palm Press

To make the best possible plate, you need an action like squeezing a tooth pastetube. You need to start with pressure at one end of the sandwich and move towardthe other end, squeezing out air and stretching the foil over the specimen in acontinuous movement from one end to the other. For best results, an etching press,lithographic press, potter’s slab press, or something similar seems to be required.However, there is a way to achieve very good results by hand.

The best alternative that I have found to an etching press for making foilographs isa simple palm press. The one that I use is easily made from readily availablematerials.

Go to the hardware store and look at the array of casters for furniture that are forsale. You want a set made to go on a fridge or stove. Careful ... they make aplatform type that the whole appliance sits on ... that is NOT what you want. Youwant a package of four casters. Each caster consists of two small diameter plasticrollers, housed in a metal case. There will be a short threaded stub out the top ofeach metal case. Your fridge or stove comes with 4 small, circular skid plates, onescrewed into each corner of the bottom, essentially for leveling the appliance. Thesecasters are designed to replace the little skid plates with rollers so you can moveyour fridge or stove around. You will only need one of these little casters, but theyusually come as a set of 2 or 4. The threaded stub will have a nut on it. Take the nutoff. The threaded stub on the casters I have is 5/16 inch in diameter, and I suspectthat is a North American standard. Buy the largest diameter ball drawer pull youcan find ... you want something at least 1.5 inches in diameter. Or, you can take ascrap piece of 2x4 and saw out a circle about 2 inches in diameter. Get a 9/32 inchdrill, and drill out the hole in the drawer pull; if you cut your own, just drill a 9/32hole in the center. Now, just screw the handle down onto the caster as tight as youcan. Presto ... you now have a palm press. You could also use an old door knob fora handle, if you can find the kind that screws onto the square rod through the doorthat the old latches used to have; use epoxy to hold it in place.


Figure 15: Making a simple palm press

Figure 16: Place felt on top

To use your palm press to make a foilograph plate, place your backing, specimen,foil sandwich on a firm surface preferably below waist high, like a table top. Thebacking should be on the bottom, with the specimen next and the foil at the top.Cover the sandwich with two pieces of thin, fabric store felt.


Figure 17: Palm pressposition

Figure 18: Firstpasses

Next use the palm press to press the foil around the specimen. Place the palm presson the bottom edge of the plate, put both hands on top of the press, and keepingyour arms stiff, lean onto the press with your upper body.

In this position, you now roll the palm press forward and off the far edge of the

plate. Pick up the press and bring it back to the lower edge of the plate again, andcontinue making overlapping strokes from the bottom to the top until you have goneover the entire surface of the plate. Then turn the plate with felts around 180° and


Figure 19: Secondpasses

Figure 20: Third passes

Figure 21: Fourth passes

repeat the process, essentially rolling over the plate in the opposite direction.

Next turn the plate 90° and repeat the same steps going from side to side.


Figure 22: Plate in initial condition

Figure 23: Trimming ends andremoving wrinkles

Now we can remove the felt to see how the plate looks.

One thing we want to do is to cut off the excess of aluminum foil at the ends of theplate, leaving about an inch or so to fold under. We also want to use a cotton swabto rub out any wrinkles that have appeared because of the stretching of the foil.Rubbing lengthways along the wrinkles gives the best chance of smoothing themout. If you rub crossways, you are likely to produce a small fold which will bealmost impossible to remove.


Figure 24: Taping the back

Figure 25: The finished plate

Finally, we need to turn the plate over. If the foil seems loose, it may be necessaryto carefully peel the tape holding one edge of the foil, pull the foil to tighten it, andretape. Finally we need to fold the foil ends onto the back of the plate and tapethem.

At this point, the plate is essentially finished. As with a plate made on the etchingpress, if there are any remaining wrinkles, they should be removed by carefullyrubbing along their length with a cotton swab. And if there are any undesirable bitsof lint or other trash under the foil, you must untape the foil, remove them carefullywith a dry brush, retape the foil, and smooth out the bumps in the foil.

Aluminum foil is quite plastic and will reveal an amazing amount of detail, as long


Figure 26: Plate detail

Figure 27: Marble rolling pin

as we have used enough pressure in making the plate.

II.C.3 Rolling Pin

It is possible to make decent small foilograph plates using a rolling pin. I prefer touse a marble rolling pin, although a wooden one will also work well. Rolling pins ofthe sort we want to use are constructed with a roller about 2 inches in diameter; ashaft runs longitudinally through the center of the roller and through two plasticbushings, one at each end of the roller. Two handles are pressed onto the shaft, oneat each end.

As purchased, rolling pins for kitchen use come with quite a small shaft, and underthe full leaning weight of your body such small shafts tend to bend. If this becomes


Figure 28: Replacement rolling pinshaft

a problem, it is a simple matter to replace the shaft with one larger in diameter.

Purchase a length of smooth steel rod from the hardware store, about 5/16 or even3/8 inch in diameter. Remove the handles from the original shaft. Try just twistingthem in opposite directions until they loosen and can be pulled off. Remove theoriginal shaft from the rolling pin. Use a drill of appropriate size to drill out thebushings to accept your new shaft. Also drill out the handles to be a press fit ontothe shaft. Cut the new shaft to length, using the old shaft as a pattern. Thenreassemble your rolling pin. If the handles are too loose on the shaft, then you mayhave to use glue to hold them in place.

The rolling pin is used in much the same was as the palm press. Place the sandwichon a firm surface, with the backing down and the specimen covered with foil facingup. For convenience, I will assume that the bottom of the plate is closest to you andthe top of the plate is furthest away from you. Cover the sandwich with a couple ofpieces of thin fabric store felt. Place the rolling pin on top of the felt, on the plate atthe bottom. With your hands on the handles at each end of the rolling pin and yourarms stiff, lean your body weight onto the rolling pin.


Figure 29: Using a rolling pin

By pushing it away from you, slowly roll the pin from the bottom toward the top ofthe plate and off the edge. Then turn the sandwich and felt 180 degrees, and roll thepin beginning at the top of the plate and off the bottom edge of the plate. Next, turnthe sandwich and the felt 90 degrees, and this time run the rolling pin starting at oneside of the plate and off the opposite side. Finally, turn the sandwich and plate 180degrees and roll the plate one last time in the opposite direction.

Now you can remove the felt. The plate should look pretty much as in figure 22. Aspreviously indicated, you can now remove any captured dust particles and smoothwrinkles with a cotton swab. Trim the ends of the foil as in figure 23 and finish theplate by folding the foil ends to the back of the plate and taping them in place, as infigure 24.

For large plates, the rolling pin just does not seem to have enough pressure.However, for small plates the rolling pin works quite well. For very small plates,you may have difficulty keeping the pin balanced on top of the plate as you roll italong. To cure this problem, simply place two rails, one along each side of the plate,under the felt, for the rolling pin to rest on.


Figure 30: Book binding press

II.C.4. Platen Press

Although a press with a rolling action seems to give the best results when making afoilograph plate, you can obtain excellent results with platen presses unless yourmaterial is very fine (e.g. very fine down). A platen press consists of two flatsurfaces ... a bed and a platen. Essentially a platen press simply presses the twosurfaces together, applying pressure to whatever we have placed between.

A relatively cheap, commonly available platen press is a book binding press,sometimes called a nipping press. These presses are usually made of cast iron andare quite heavy. Pressure is applied through a simple screw mechanism by turning ahandle. Because of the limitations of the screw action, it is difficult to obtain reallyhigh pressures with a book binding press.

Better results can be had with a simple home made bottle jack press. There aremany designs, and the details are not important. The one illustrated uses a fixed bedand a moveable platen; the bungee chords retract the jack and platen when the valveis turned to release the pressure. The more powerful the jack used, the morepressure can be applied, up to the limit of the press frame. I have found that at leasta 6-ton jack is preferable. The larger the plate you want to make, the stronger thejack you should use.


Figure 31: Bottle jack press

The process of making the plate with a platen press is much the same as we havealready discussed. Simply cover the sandwich with a couple of layers of fabric storefelt, and place the whole works on the bed. Then apply pressure. The more pressureyou apply, the more detail will be revealed on the plate. Because they do not have arolling action, platen presses usually produce more wrinkles on the plate. Afterremoving the plate from the press, remove blemishes and smooth wrinkles aspreviously described.

II.C.5. Mallet Press

There was a German patent issued in 1940 for a technique for printing etchings witha mallet. Essentially a mechanism was designed to keep paper from shifting on theplate. In use, an inked plate was place in the apparatus, covered with dampenedpaper. A pyramidal shaped platen was placed on the back of the paper andhammered with a mallet.

I have experimented a bit with making foilograph plates this way. Basically oneplaces the sandwich, covered with a couple of layers of fabric store felt, betweentwo flat boards and then hammers away with a mallet. In theory it should work justfine. The impetus of the hammering should mold the aluminum foil around thespecimen. But in my experiments, I did not find the technique to produce consistent


results. Given the ease of making foilograph plates by other means, I have notpursued this technique.

II.C.6. Blemishes

After the sandwich has been through the press process, look at the front surface ofthe plate very carefully. You may find that there are stray bits of hair and dust thathave been caught under the foil. Any bump that is visible on the foil will catch andhold ink and be printed. If you do not want these imperfections to show up on yourprint, then you must remove them. In order to remove a hair or piece of lint,carefully remove the tape and unfold the foil from one edge. You may then use afine water color brush or something similar to carefully brush lint from the surfaceof the backing. In some cases the offending particle will remain embedded in thefoil, so be sure to examine the foil carefully. Again, use a fine brush to remove anyparticle embedded in the foil. Because moisture helps reduce electrostatic attraction,you might try using a very slightly damp brush if you are having difficulty with aparticularly recalcitrant particle. But you must be careful not to introduce anymoisture under the foil. Be very careful not to move the specimen during this wholeprocess.

After the offending particles have been removed, you need to replace and re-tapethe foil. When re-taping the foil, be sure the tape is firmly attached to the foil anduse it as a “handle” to pull and stretch the foil tightly around the backing. Then tapethe foil securely to the back side of the backing. After re-taping, you may smoothout the lint "bump" with the back of a finger nail or cotton swab.

Because the foil stretches during the press process, after forming the plate in thepress, you may find that there are wrinkles in the surface of the foil. These wrinkleswill hold ink and print if they are not removed. If there are any small wrinkles in thefoil, you may carefully smooth them out by rubbing them with the back of afingernail or with a cotton swab. Do not rub across a wrinkle, as this will tend toproduce fine folds in the foil which are impossible to remove. Rather, rub along thelength of each wrinkle. If your plate is large enough, you may also find that rubbinglength wise along a wrinkle with your finger will remove the wrinkle. But becareful rubbing with your finger, as the friction will tend to stretch the foil or eventear it.


Figure 32: Dust particles and wrinkles

After first forming the plate, or after a few prints, you may find that the foil appearsto be loose. If the foil is loose, it will be harder to ink the plate properly, and youmay introduce wrinkles during the printing process. To tighten up the foil, undo thetape from the backing, carefully pull the foil to tighten it, and then re-tape it to thebacking.

Having spent a lot of time telling you how to remove wrinkles, let me take a stepback and suggest that sometimes the wrinkles can add a great deal to the image. Foran example, sprinkle some small seeds on the plate, such as mustard or poppy seedsor small grass seeds, or some mixture. Make your plate, and you will find a networkof wrinkles joining the seeds in a random way. The first plate of this sort I saw wasmade by Carole Carroll. Such a plate can make very interesting prints.

II.C.7. Summary Comparison

In general an etching press seems to give the best results when making a foilographplate. But when used carefully, a simple palm press can do almost as well. For smallplates, a rolling pin would probably be the next best. But for larger plates, a bottlejack press will generally yield better results than a rolling pin, but not as good as apalm press. For comparison purposes, here are some plates made with the differenttechniques.


Figure 33: Etching press plate Figure 34: Palm press plate

Figure 35: Rolling pin plate Figure 36: Bottle jack press plate

III. Inking the Plate

A foilograph plate is a very low relief plate. The greatest challenge is in inking theplate to achieve the desired results. I think of there being five main inkingtechniques, each producing somewhat different results: (1) blind embossing with noink; (2) a basic roll-up; (3) masking; (4) free-hand color application; (5) intagliowiping. Of course these techniques can all be combined in various ways. Anyinking method appropriate for collagraphs (e.g. viscosity inking) should work aswell for foilographs, as long as you are gentle and do not stretch or pierce the foil.

III.A. Blind Embossing


Figure 37: Blind embossing

A blind embossing is a design impressed into paper without any ink. Although therewill be some loss of detail, foilograph plates are very good for producing blindembossings. If you are only going to do blind embossing, then obviously no inkingis required. For blind embossing, it is best to dampen your paper. Thick papersmade for etching work well for such an application. If you have particularly fluffypaper and a high pressure press, you may be able to produce acceptableemobossings on dry paper. However, dry paper is much harder on the plate, and thefoil will not last as long as with damp paper. Once the plate is made, just place yourpaper over the plate and run it through your press.

III.B Inks

Because it is aluminum, I find that water based inks sometimes ball up on thesurface. Speedball water based inks seem to work fine, though their pigment contentis not high. I have tried mixing pigments with rice paste, as with Japanesewoodblock printing, but the resulting ink just balled up on the aluminum. Someadditional plasticiser such as honey seems to be required.

Oil based inks seem to work the best. Any good quality oil based ink formulatedfor block printing will work well. Applying very sticky ink to the plate tends to liftand stretch the foil, creating wrinkles and spreading ink into unwanted areas.Although lithographic inks have very good pigment content, they are far too sticky


to use unthinned on a foilograph plate. I find that even etching inks are too stickyunless well thinned. To avoid stretching your foil, your ink should have theconsistency of oil paint. If your ink is too sticky, then thin it with artist’s qualitylinseed oil. Since you will not be using much oil, it is best to buy the highest gradeavailable from an artist’s supply store.

I have gotten quite reasonable results with water-mixable oil colors but again findthey are best thinned slighty. When using water-mixable oils, I find that I need touse dampened paper to get the ink off the plate; water-mixable oils seem to dry a lotfaster than inks specifically made for print making. I have not tried other oil paints,but they may also work.

If you like to make your own inks, you may begin with artist’s grade stand oil fromany good art supplier. The viscosity of stand oil is suitable for inking a foilographplate. If you are using print dispersions, they may be added directly to the stand oilon your inking slab and thoroughly mixed with a spatula or pallet knife. To ensureproper drying, you may want to add a drop of cobalt drier. I have used stand oil andpigment dispersions from Guerra in New York in this way.

Dry pigments are difficult to mix directly into stand oil. They tend to clump andball up because the oil does not penetrate the powder well. However, dry pigmentscan be use if you first make a paste with the pigment and very pure isopropyl orethyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol can be purchased in drug stores and can be found99% pure in many locales. Ethyl alcohol is what is found in booze. In somelocations you can buy ethyl alcohol that is 95% pure (190 proof); it is sold undertrade names like “Clear Spring”, “Ever Clear”, or “Pure Grain Alcohol”. Mix thedry powdered pigment with enough alcohol to make a paste. Then mix the pigmentpaste with the stand oil to make your ink; again, you may wish to add a drop ofcobalt drier to ensure proper drying.

Aluminum reacts very readily with many materials. Some inks may react with thealuminum and discolor slightly. Only experimentation will help you find out whatcolor you will get with a specific ink on your aluminum foil.

III.C. Inking Tools


Figure 38: Variety of brayers

You will need a convenient place to roll out your inks; print makers usually call thisan inking slab. You can use a piece of plexiglass or a piece of real glass. But a moreconvenient inking slab to use is a piece of white butcher paper or freezer paper,which you can buy in most large grocery stores. I have specified white because it iseasier to see your colors on white paper; but except for color distortion, the brownbutcher paper works just as well. These papers have a plasticised side that isimpervious to water, grease and oil, so your ink should not penetrate the paper. Cutoff a piece of convenient size, and place the shiny, plasticised side up and tape it toa firm surface with masking tape. After you are finished, clean up is simple ... justthrow it away.

You will also need a variety of ink rollers, or “brayers”. Brayers come in a varietyof sizes and degrees of hardness. Smaller sizes are readily available in most artsupply stores. You will want some brayers that are quite hard (often made fromplexiglass rod) and some that are softer.

You will also want to have a few large, hard dabbers. Hard dabbers are useful forapplying ink to the high spots of a plate. Hard dabbers are made by using a smallpiece of dowel or similar material for a handle and gluing or screwing a small disk(1 inch to 2 inches in diameter, depending on the size you need) to the end of thedowel. Furniture glides work well for the disks and are available in a variety ofsizes at most hardware stores. For a bit of softness, the surface of the disk may becovered with a thin layer of felt. Finally the disk, and any felt, is covered with alayer of smooth leather or fine mesh silk or similar material, which may be securedin place with string or a rubber band. A hard dabber may be inked with a roller. Or


Figure 39: Hard dabbers

Figure 40: Soft dabbers

it may be inked by using it to smear a bit of ink around on the inking slab. The harddabber is used to apply ink to the high parts of the plate by carefully pressing thedabber against the appropriate parts of the plate. I make my hard dabbers withsmooth leather scraps. They may be cleaned by using vegetable oil followed bysoap and water. Cloth coverings would have to be removed and washed after eachuse.

In addition to hard dabbers, you may apply ink by hand to specific areas of theplate by using soft dabbers. Do NOT use mat board or rolled up felt to scrape inkacross the surface of the plate as youwould with an etching. Suchmeasures tend to stretch and/or tearthe foil. Instead, you may inkspecific areas with a paint brushor a dabber. Paint brushes tend toleave brush marks. Generallyyou get smoother results with a softdabber.


Cosmetic sponges make very decent soft dabbers. They may be bought cheaply atmost cosmetics outlets or drug stores. Cosmetic sponges are hard to clean, but areso cheap they may simply be discarded after use.

You can also easily make soft dabbers from most any close weave fabric, cottonballs, and rubber bands. Simply place a few cotton balls in the middle of a square offabric. Then bring the corners of the fabric together and twist to make a tadpoleshape. Finally, secure the “tail” with a rubber band. The tail forms a convenienthandle.

Another useful soft dabber is made from a cut off finger from a nitrile glove.Simply place a cotton ball or two in the tip of the finger, insert a cotton swab for useas a handle, and secure the cut off finger to the swab with a rubber band.

To use a soft dabber, hold the dabber by the tail handle and dab the head of it intothe ink on your inking slab. A "dab" is a light, bouncing motion. Then dab the headseveral times on a clear portion of the inking slab until the ink is evenly distributed.Then apply the ink to the plate by dabbing with the inked tadpole. You will have tore-ink the dabber frequently. You can also use a soft dabber to gently smear ink intorecessed areas of the plate. These dabbers can be cleaned after use by throwingaway the cotton balls and washing the material covering in soap and water. If cheapmaterial is used, it may simply be discarded.

III.D. Roll-up

To do a simple roll up, first the ink should be rolled out on an inking slab with a“brayer”, or ink roller. The tendency of beginners is to use way too much ink. You


Figure 41: Memories ofsummers past

want a very, very thin coat of ink on your brayer ... if in doubt, use less ink.

The ink is applied to the foilograph plate by rolling the brayer very lightly over thesurface. You should just use the weight of the brayer itself, without applying anyother pressure. This process will put ink on the high spots of the plate, leaving ahalo around them.

If you are using a small diameter brayer, you will have to re-ink your brayer manytimes. You must be careful to avoid getting sharp lines when you reapply the brayerto the plate. Strive for a smooth transition from lights to darks. Particularly forsmall plates, you may find it useful to place the plate between two rails of the samethickness as the backing. Then resting the inked brayer on the rails, simply run theroller over the plate. Depending on the amount of ink desired, you may wish to runthe roller over the plate several times. You may wish to change the orientation ofthe plate relative to the roller in order to produce a more uniform inking. If you usea very hard roller, only the highest details will receive ink. The softer the roller, themore ink will get on the shallower parts of the plate. Experimentation will allowyou to determine the look you like. The print in Figure 41 was produced by a simpleroll up using thinned sepia etching ink.

III.E. Masking

If you want to limit the ink application to only a certain part of the plate (e.g. avoid


Figure 42: Mylar mask

getting ink on the plate around the outside of a leaf), then you can use clear plasticsheet for a mask. Place the plastic over the plate and use a felt pen to draw aroundthe specimen. Then put the sheet on some other backing and use a knife to cut outthe shape of the specimen. Use the mask when inking; and when you are finishedinking, before printing, use a cotton swab and alcohol to carefully remove any strayink from the plate.

You can also make a mask from plain paper. Either make a blind embossing or inkup the plate and then print it with light pressure on the paper mask material. Use drypaper, or else the mask will change dimensions as it dries. Then cut out the mask.Spaying a paper mask with fixative or painting it with shellac or acrylic mediumwill make it last longer.


Figure 43: Horse chestnut

Figure 44: Stair stepmoss

Using a mask with a rainbow roll can produce very nice results. For a rainbow roll,two or more colors are laid out close together on one inking slab. A brayer is thenrun through the adjacent ink, producing a stripe of each ink on the brayer, with ablend between the stripes. Using a rainbow roll on the plate, it is possible to inkwith multiple colors that shade nicely into each other. My print of stair step mosswas done using this technique and three colors.


Figure 45: Inking dust bunnies

III.F. Freehand

In some cases, you may prefer to apply ink to specific parts of the plate in afreehand manner. Both soft and hard dabbers are very useful for this purpose.Youmay also ink the plate by using a nitrile or latex glove and using a finger to gentlysmear the ink around on the plate.

The dust bunnies plate was hand inked using soft dabbers for the blue, a harddabber to get black on the suface of some of the hair, and cotton swabs to get coloron the bit of leaf and the few wood chips.


Figure 46: Dust bunnies print

III.G. Intaglio

You may also use intaglio techniques for inking the plate. The basic idea is togently apply ink in blobs to the plate and then gently smear the ink around, workingit well into low spots. Remember that you cannot use straight etching ink for thisprocess; it is too sticky and will stretch and tear the foil. Be sure your ink is quiteloose. I prefer to use soft dabbers to apply and smear the ink. Others may prefer touse their gloved fingers. Then use news print or old phone book pages to verygently wipe the plate.

If the plate is small enough, hold it in one gloved hand; if the plate is too large,place it on a non-slip surface. You will begin by more blotting than wiping. Place asheet of paper over the inked plate, and use very light pressure with your hand onthe paper. Try to gently move your hand in a very small circular motion on thepaper. The paper may stick to the surface of the plate at first. Try not to lift ofstretch the foil. Carefully remove and discard the paper, and replace it by another.Keep removing the inked paper and replacing it by fresh, and trying to move yourwiping hand in a circular motion. Eventually you will feel the paper begin to slideover the plate. Look at the plate to see how much ink has been removed. This


Figure 47: Light as ...

wiping process will tend to leave ink in the low parts of the plate and remove itfrom the high parts. By differential wiping, you can produce very subtle gradationsof tone. By using different colors of ink on different parts of the plate and carefullyblending the areas during smearing and wiping, you can create quite intricategradations in color and tonal quality.

III.H. Combination Techniques

Of course all of these inking techniques may be applied in combinations. Ofteninking obscures some of the details available on the plate. To reveal details, it maybe useful to wipe ink from the higher parts of the plate as is done in intaglio.Alternatively, you may wish to add contrast and modeling by applying one color tothe recessed parts of the plate and a different color to the high portions of the plate. After doing a roll-up or using a mask, you can gently wipe the high spots by handusing a nitrile glove or with a piece of newsprint to remove the ink from the highspots. After wiping the plate, you may then use a hard dabber or a hard roller toapply another color to the high parts of the plate.


As an aid in this two color inking process, one can rely on a technique from intaglioprinting, known as viscosity inking. In its original form, the technique relied on thefact that inks of very different viscosities would not stick together readily. A verythin, soupy ink will reject a stiffer ink. On the other hand, a thin ink will cover astiff ink.

In practice, you may use a thin, soupy ink on a soft roller or dabber to ink the lowerparts of your plate. Gently wipe the high parts with newsprint. Then use a hardbrayer to apply a stiffer ink to the high parts of the plate. The hard brayer will helpto keep the ink application on the high parts. This was the process used to producethe print of Oregon grape in Figure 1.

A variant of the viscosity technique is based on the fact that in general water and oildo not readily mix. You can apply this principle to get multicolors on your plate, aslong as you do not use water mixable oils. In practice, I find that water based inkswill not adhere when applied on top of oil based inks. So, one could begin byappling an oil based ink to the lower parts of the plate using a dabber or a softbrayer. Next, gently wipe the high areas with newsprint. Then use a hard brayer toapply a water based ink to the high areas.

IV. Printing the Plate

IV.A. Paper Selection

Having inked the plate you are now ready to print. Paper selection can greatlyinfluence the outcome. Very smooth papers, such as card stock or cover stock,reveal quite fine details. But card stock is very hard paper, and consequently it ishard on the plate. You can also get good detail on oriental “rice” papers. I really likefluffier papers, such as BFK Rives, but the very finest details sometimes do notshow up on it. As a generalization, lighter weight papers tend to give me betterdetails than heavier weight papers.

Rice paper must be printed dry. But heavier papers may be printed either damp ordry. Thin Japanese papers may be printed damp or dry. I find I get finer details withdampened paper. As with intaglio, if you use dampened paper, you will pick up theink in the little crevices of the plate. However, for most subjects you can get quiteacceptable results with dry paper. But remember that if you are using water-mixableoils, you will probably have to use dampened paper just to get the color to come off.


As with most everything else in printmaking, you really need to experiment withpapers, dry and damp, to see what suits you and your subject.

IV.B. Presses

Once the plate is made and inked, you will want to print it. Basically you just layyour selected paper, dry or damp, on top of the plate. Cover with a couple of piecesof fabric store felt, and use some means of applying pressure. You do not need touse an etching press to print it. In fact, there are some good reasons NOT to do so.

One of the primary problems with using an etching press to print your plate is that ittends to stretch the aluminum foil, producing wrinkles. The problem of stretching isworsened if the printing surface of the foil is closest to the driving roller. Forexample, on my press, the driving roller is below the bed. If I place felts on the bed,then the paper, then the plate (printing the plate face down, as it were), then I getmore stretching than if I place the plate on the bed, then the paper, then the felts.With the printing surface facing the driving roller, the following sequence happens:the driving roller pulls on the bed; the bed pulls on the felts; the felts pull on thepaper; the paper pulls on the foil; the foil pulls on the plate; and the plate pulls onthe upper roller. Using the foil to pull the plate, rather than the plate to pull the foil,seems to stretch the foil more.

However, some small etching presses with small diameter top rollers suffer fromblanket creep ... the blanket tends to be dragged by the top roller, rather than turningthe top roller. If you are printing with the plate on the bed, paper on top, and youhave blanket creep, then you are very likely to stretch the foil when you print. Theblanket will pull on the paper, which will pull on the foil. In cases of blanket creep,you can sometimes lessen stretching by printing the plate “upside down” ... put acouple of layers of fabric store felt on the bed, then the paper, and finally the plate,covered by the etching felt; use a bit less pressure on the top roller. In some cases, itmay help to turn the plate 90 degrees to your normal orientation. As a last resort,you may have to use velcro strips to attach the etching felt to the bed.

A second problem with using the etching press to print the foilograph plate is thehigh pressures which may result unless a great deal of care is exercised. The heavierthe pressure, the shorter the life of the plate. Aluminum tends to flow underpressure, so the foil will become very thin at the high spots and eventually tear. Justas when making the plate, I find it useful to put two rails down the side of the bed,


made of the same material as the plate backing. Leave room between the rails forthe plate and the paper. Then adjust the pressure so the roller and blankets are ridingon the two rails ... good, firm pressure on the rails should be sufficient. Then thepaper and plate should give plenty of pressure to print without stressing the foilunduly. If you are using thicker paper, you should use less pressure. If you are usingdry paper, then use less pressure than with dampened paper. If you are not gettinggood results, try placing an extra loose sheet or two of thin felt from the fabric storeover the paper. That little bit of extra flexible thickness is often all that is requiredto get the pressure just right. Experience is the best guide.

To print your foilograph plate, you can use a letter press, a book binding press, animprovised bottle jack or car jack press, a “walking” press, a marble rolling pin, oreven a “bean can” press. These techniques produce less shearing action, so thereshould be less of a problem with wrinkling the aluminum foil. Also, these printingoptions generally do not result in as high a pressure as an etching (or similar action)press, so your plate should last longer and you will get more impressions from it.

For simple in-line pressure presses (letter press, book binding press, bottle jackpress), just place the plate on a backing board, cover with a sheet of paper, thencover with some cushion material (felt, foam), place the whole in the press, andapply pressure. Since there is no shearing action, there is less wrinkling of thealuminum foil.

Walking presses can be quite simple or more complicated. The basic idea is to placethe paper over the plate and cover with a cushion (felt or foam). Then with barefeet, walk carefully around on top, using the toes and balls of the feet to applypressure all over. With foilographs, I find this works best if you put a thin layer offelt down, then the paper, then the plate, and cover the whole with a thick cushionlayer. A walking press consists of a simple backing board with a long leather or (orsimilar material) flap attached at one end of the backing board. The plate-paper-felt-cushion sandwich is placed on the backing board and wrapped with the flap to holdeverything in place as the user walks around on top of the flap.

To print with a rolling pin, place the plate on a firm table between two rails of thesame thickness as the backing. Place the paper over the plate between the rails, andcover with a cushion (felt or foam) also between the rails. Place the rolling pin onthe rails, lean over the rolling pin with stiffened arms to put pressure on the rollingpin, and roll over the sandwich. You may need to roll over the sandwich several


times to get a good image. A marble rolling pin works just as well as the veryexpensive stainless steel “pin press” sold by art suppliers.

A “bean can” press works in much the same way as the rolling pin press. Place theplate-paper-cushion sandwich between rails as with the rolling pin. Then place apiece of thin plexiglass across the rails, on top of the sandwich. Place a small can oftinned vegetables or fruit on end on top of the plexiglass. It may help to apply asmall amount of lubricant to the bottom of the can (e.g., petroleum jelly). Thenplace both hands on the top of the can, use stiffened arms to put pressure on the can,and rub the can all around the plexiglass. The same technique will work using thepalm press described earlier.

IV.C. Cleaning the Plate

If you get too much ink on your plate or you want to switch to a different colorscheme, or when you have finished printing your edition, you will want to cleanyour plate. In preparation for cleaning, it is a good idea to remove as much of theink as possible by printing the plate under light pressure several times on papertoweling.

To clean the plate, I just wipe it with a damp tissue when using water mixablecolors. For normal oily inks, I use tissue and a bit of vegetable oil. Alcohol on a bitof cotton batting works well to clean foilograph plates. Or you can use soap andwater. No matter what you use, you must be very carful not to introduce liquidsbeneath the foil, or you will produce bubbles and wrinkles that ruin the plate.

If the ink dries on the plate, I find I can sometimes get it off easily by just buffingsoftly with a dry tissue. Alcohol and water can also sometimes be used to removedry inks. As a last result, acetone will generally remove dried inks.

After printing, just remove the aluminum foil to retrieve the specimen. Or you canstore the plate, provided that the enclosed specimen is well dried and will not mold.If you want to keep the plate, note that the aluminum foil is reasonably delicate, sowrap the plate in newspaper to preserve it for future use.

V. Advanced Topics

V.A. Multiple Passes and Plates


Figure 48: Registration pins

In the printing, one fundamental question concerns whether there will be just onepass through the press or multiple passes. Multiple passes and/or multiple platesintroduce the usual problems of registration. With foilograph plates, registration ismore of a problem because usually the foil wrapped around the edges of the backingdoes not give a precise registration edge.

There are some simple pin registration techniques which work well. Eachregistration pin consists of a flat, thin tab about an inch long and 3/4 of an inch widewith a small perpendicular dowel at one end. The dowel must be the exact size ofthe holes made by the punch (frequently 1/4 inch or the metric equivalent of 6 mm).Registration pins of stainless steel may be purchased from lithographers’ supplyoutlets. Or they may be made from brass, aluminum or plastic. I made some simplyby cutting small pieces of thin plexiglass and gluing a short 1/4 inch plexiglassdowel at one end.

The basic idea is to use double backed tape to attach the plate to one end of a carriersheet consisting of a long piece of mylar, acetate, or similar material. You could usepaper for your carrier sheet, but I prefer to use plastic since any stray ink can beeasily wiped off. To be sure the plate stays in position on the carrier sheet, the tapeshould attach to the backing material of the plate, not to the foil. The carrier sheetmust be long enough to extend well beyond the plate. You want to be able to printthe plate but keep one end of the carrier sheet from going under the roller orpressure plate. In Figure 49, I have used a piece of blue paper for the carrier sheetfor ease of viewing.


Figure 49: Registrationtechnique

Use a two or three hole paper punch to punch holes in the end of the carrier sheet.Use the same paper punch to punch holes in one end of the printing paper. Usingthe two or three hole punch ensures that the holes are placed at the same position inall of your material. Then you can use lithographers’ registration pins or similardevices taped to the bed or bottom plate of the press to locate the plate on the bed.

Carefully note that the registration pins must be placed in such a way that they donot go under the roller of the etching press nor under the pressure plate of the in-line press. That is why the carrier sheet is generally quite long. For a bottle jackpress or similar press, you will probably need to make an extra bottom plate or“sliding board” of plexiglass or other material that extends out to the side beyondthe pressure plate. The carrier sheet may be placed on this extra bottom plate withthe registration pins positioned out of the way of the pressure plate. You can thenposition the inked plate+carrier and the paper on the plexiglass bottom plate andthen slide it into position in the press. You can then easily remove the carrier sheet,leaving the pins taped in place; but you will be able to replace the carrier sheetexactly where it was before by placing the holes in the carrier sheet over the pins onthe bed.

So, attach the plate to the carrier sheet. Ink the plate. Position the plate+carrier sheet


on the pins. Use the pins to place the paper over the plate. Cover with cushions asusual. After one pass through the press, you can remove the paper, remove thecarrier sheet with the plate, and re-ink the plate leaving it attached to the carriersheet. Then you can replace the plate on the pins exactly where it was before byusing the registration pins and the holes in the carrier sheet. Then you can use theregistration pins to reposition the paper exactly.

In this way you can over-print one plate several times, perhaps changing the inkingat each pass.

You can use the same technique to align several plates to print in registration witheach other. Attach your first plate to a carrier sheet as before. Then instead ofprinting on paper, print on a piece of mylar or other clear material that is alsopunched and registered on the pins. Remove the transparent print and the first platewith its carrier sheet. Place a second carrier sheet on the pins. Place your secondplate in approximately the right position, but do not tape it to the carrier sheet yet.Place the transparent print from the first plate on the registration pins over thesecond plate. You can then use the image on the transparent sheet as a guide toposition the second plate. When you have the second plate properly positioned, usedouble backed tape to tape it in position on the second carrier sheet. In this way youcan register as many plates as you like to each other.

Since your printing paper is punched and registered to the same pins as your plates,you should be able to print multiple plates in registration on your paper. Afterprinting, the end of the paper with the registration holes can be cut or torn away.

V.B Embossing Powder Plates

I owe the idea for the technique of using embossing powder to make plates to FredMullet, to whom I extend my very warm thanks.

If one is more concerned about artistry and not so much concerned about biologicalaccuracy, then one can produce very nice results using plates made with embossingpowder. Much biological accuracy is lost because of the embossing powders tend toform small lumps when fused. But the general characteristics of the subject areretained.

Embossing powder is essentially very fine particles of plastic that will melt under


moderate temperature. You can purchase embossing powders from most craft storesand from outlets carrying rubber stamps. The powder is very fine, and in use tendsto go everywhere. So be sure to cover your work area with old newspapers orsomething similar.

The basic technique is very simple. First you make a print of a leaf or similarmaterial on good quality card stock or similar paper, using an oil based ink. Youcould make a design with a paint brush instead of a leaf print; just be sure the ink isnot too thick on the paper. Then you sprinkle liberal amounts of embossing powderover the print. I use an old salt shaker for this purpose. The powder will adhere tothe wet ink, but should not adhere to the dry paper.

Next, you want to remove all the excess powder. The excess powder can be re-used,so you want to capture it. Fold a piece of paper in the middle and then open it outflat on the work surface. Turn the dusted print upside down over the paper and tap iton the back to remove the excess powder; the powder should fall onto your creasedpaper. Examine the print closely. The inked areas should appear dull from theadhering powder. You may see powder in other places on the print. Use a small drybrush to dust off areas of the print where the powder should not be. Set your print toone side. Carefully pick up your creased paper with the excess powder. Gently re-fold the paper, and let the powder slide down the crease and back into yourcontainer. Be sure to put the lid back on your powder container at this point.

Now you are ready to fuse the embossing powder. You will need a good heat gun tofuse the powder. A hair drier will not do the job. You can buy heat guns forstripping paint or welding plastic, and many craft stores sell appropriate heat guns.You may want to hold your print down with a couple of stones or something similarat the edges, as the heat gun blows very hot air. Direct the flow from the heat gunonto the powdered print. As it gets hot, the powder will fuse, turning from opaqueto shiny. Carefully go over the entire print to be sure all the powder has fused. Becareful not to set the paper on fire.


Figure 50: Print withfused embossingpowder

Figure 51:Detail ofembossing powder plate

Once it is fused, the ink should feel dry to the touch, and the plastic should beslightly beaded up on the surface of the paper. At this point, you make a foilographplate from the embossed paper in the usual way. Place the paper, embossing up, ona stiff backing, such as plexiglass. Cover with aluminum foil, wrapped around twosides. Apply pressure from a press. These plates are very low relief and require a lotof pressure. Finish the plate in the usual way.


Figure 52: Embossing powderplate print

Because the plate is so low relief, perhaps the most successful way to print it is toink and wipe it as intaglio.

CONCLUSION

This is a VERY simple technique, which seems more complicated in the telling thanin the doing. Give it a try, and by all means, experiment with it. Let me know how itworks for you. SEND ME COPIES OF YOUR PRINTS !!

Charles Morgan More Comments on Intaglio Inking

More Comments on Intaglio Inking

A number of students seem to have trouble with intaglio inking of a foilographplate, so I thought I would make a few additional comments.

The first thing I want to emphasize is that intaglio inking is quite time consuming.If you try to rush the process, you will be unlikely to have much success. You needto be prepared to spend 15 minutes inking a small plate, and of course much longerwhen inking a larger plate. Take your time ... do not be in a hurry.

You need to be careful in your selection of inks. I have had good success with oilbased inks, but less success with water based inks. You may try true water basedblock printing inks, like Speedball. But you will most certainly need to use aretarder to keep water based inks from drying too quickly on the plate. In general, Ihave not had good success with acrylics. These days many manufacturers areproducing inks advertised as “soap and water clean up”. Such inks are really oilbased inks, but the oil has been modified to be mixable with water. I find that watermixable oil colors dry much too quickly to be used for intaglio inking of afoilograph plate.

The next thing I want to emphasize is that you should use very loose inks forintaglio inking a foilograph plate. When inking a foilograph as intaglio, it is quitedifferent from doing collagraph, etchings, or engravings. You need to use LOOSEink. Remember, that foil is thin and stretches easily; the characteristics that allowthe foil to reveal such fine detail make it difficult to ink with stiff inks. Standardetching inks are much too sticky; even most block printing inks are too stiff.

You may want to use Miracle Gel or Easy Wipe to loosen your oily inks. I havegood results with plain artist’s grade linseed oil. You want to loosen your inks witha product that will dry and harden over time, like linseed oil. Other ink additivesmay lead to creeping, oily stains on your print over time. The linseed oil will dry.

When inking standard etchings, engravings, and collagraphs, one frequently uses avery stiff, hard applicator, like matboard, to apply and spread the ink. Never do thiswith a foilograph; you will stretch or tear the foil. When applying the ink to afoilograph, I have had the best results using a soft dabber to smear the ink aroundon the plate. Use a gentle, circular motion. If the ink is sticking and the dabber is


dragging, loosen the ink. Do not press the dabber down and then lift it straight up,or you will lift the foil ... gently slide the dabber around in the same plane as thefoil. Remove the dabber by sliding it off an edge of the plate. Remember, if you liftthe dabber straight up, you will lift the foil.

Wiping etchings, engravings, and collagraphs is usually done with a fair amount ofpressure and vigor. With a foilograph plate, you must be much more gentle. Paycareful attention to your wiping materials and technique. NEVER use tarlatan, orany similar stiff, rough material. I use old phone book pages. I wear disposablegloves to keep ink off my hands. For small plates, I begin with a sheet of paper onmy upturned left palm and place the plate flat in my left hand, ink side up. Forlarger plates, you will have to place the plate on a flat working surface. To keep thelarge plate from slipping, you may want to place it on some rubbery, nonskidmaterial. Then I cover the inky plate with another sheet of paper flat in my righthand ... use a gentle, twisting motion to blot the plate and take the ink off the highspots. Again, do not lift the paper straight up. Try to wipe the plate, moving thepaper toward an edge, like wiping your palms together.

As more of the ink is removed, put your finger near the edge of a piece of paper anduse it to wipe the ink from the specimen toward the edge of the plate. BE GENTLE.You are not going to be able to remove all the ink from the aluminum ... you willnot get it shiny clean. You are looking for good contrast between what is left on thespecimen and what is left on the plate. The inking is more like a dry point than anetching ... you will be wiping the high surfaces clean and leaving ink in the lowspots next to the relief.

I would not use paper towels or kleenex to wipe the image, because that will taketoo much ink out of the image. You could use paper towels or kleenex to wipe theplate from the specimen toward the edge of the plate, but not for general wiping ofthe specimen.

If you are getting white lines when your are wiping, it means you are dragging anedge or a fold in your wiping paper. Try to wipe only with flat material.

I do not clean between inkings unless there is way too much ink ... even then, Iusually just print the plate several times on paper towel to remove excess ink. If youfeel you must clean the plate during a run, BE GENTLE. For water based inks, usea lightly moistened kleenex. For oily inks, put a few drops of linseed oil on a piece


of kleenex and carefully wipe the plate ... then use clean kleenex to take off theresidue. Or you can use baby wipes to clean the plate.

Charles Morgan Inking Very Thin Subjects

Inking Very Thin SubjectsUsing an Inking Sheet and Mask

Charles MorganMossworks Studio


CANADA

(250) 920-0281

[email protected]

www.mossworks.com

© October 22, 2006

Foilograph plates made from very thin subjects offer special challenges when itcomes to inking. It is very difficult to apply ink to the foil covering exceedingly thinmaterial without getting ink on the background as well.

For some thin material, intaglio inking seems to work well. However, for somesubjects it is difficult using intaglio inking to get good contrast between the subjectand the background. And the look obtained by intaglio inking and wiping may notbe what is desired by the artist.

If the thin material consists of just one area, like a flower petal, then good resultsmay be had by cutting a close fitting mask of acetate or other thin material andinking the plate with a roller. However, if the thin material is complex in shape,with many voids, then using a roller and a simple mask often leads to deposits ofink in the many voids, resulting in an unsuitable print. If one uses a very hard rollerin an effort to avoid getting ink in the shallow voids, then it is often the case thatsignificant areas of the specimen will remain un-inked. The problems is that there isenough variation in the thickness of various parts of the specimen that a hard rollerwill miss the thinnest parts.

To help solve some of these problems, I have developed a technique which I call


Figure 53: Fine down plate

Figure 54: Mask in place

“sheet inking”. As an example of a subject that is challenging to ink, I made afoilograph plate from a wispy piece of down.

The first step is to cut a mask from a piece of acetate or similar material. Start withthe plate face up on a piece of newsprint on your work surface. Then place the maskon the plate. You may find it useful to use tape hinges at one end of the mask tomake it easier to flip the mask out of the way, but to return it when needed.


Figure 55: Inking sheet in place

Rather than using an inked brayer to apply ink to the plate, we will use a sheet ofacetate or flexible plastic table cloth material. My personal preference is to use thethickest version of plastic table cloth material. It is flexible enough to reachappropriate areas of the specimen, but still stiff enough to bridge over the really lowareas. Let your own experience and working habits be your guide.

To begin, we use a brayer to roll an even coat of ink on the inking sheet. You willwant enough ink on the sheet to transfer readily to the foil covering the specimen.But, you do not want the ink to be so sloppy thick that it oozes into the low spots onthe plate. Moderation is the key. When the sheet is evenly inked, carefully place thesheet, inked side down, on top of the mask, which is in place on the plate. Becareful not to move the mask.

Now, use an un-inked brayer and a light touch to roll over the back of the inkingsheet, pressing it lightly down on the plate. You will probably need to make severalpasses with the brayer in several different directions. As you progress, you shouldbegin to see the specimen through the inking sheet. You can use the developingimage of the specimen as a guide to tell where you need to do a bit more with theun-inked brayer. When the image of the specimen is reasonably clear, you arefinished.


Figure 56: Inking sheet after rolling

Figure 57: Inked plate

Now you may carefully peel the inking sheet away from the mask and the specimento reveal the inked plate.

If the inking is too light, you may re-ink the inking sheet and reapply it. But great


Figure 58: Finished print

care is needed to re-apply the inking sheet; the tendency is to get too much inkwhere it is not wanted. If the inking is too heavy, you must clean the plate and beginagain. If there is only a bit of excess ink in a few places, you may carefully removeit with a cotton swab. When the inking is satisfactory, you may proceed to removethe mask and print the plate. The scan of the print reproduced below has beenrotated and flipped to correspond to the orientation of the image of the plate printedabove, so that you may compare the two.

Getting good detail is especially important with very thin specimens. I find that Iget the best detail with such plates by printing them dry on very smooth, hard paper,like card stock. Again, experimentation is the key. Try various papers, damp anddry, to get the effect you want.

Charles Morgan Printing Foilographs with a Palm Press

Figure 59: Non-slip material

Printing Foilographs with a Palm Press



Canada

©October 21, 2006

(250) [email protected]

In order to print a foilograph with your palm press, you will need to keep the paperfrom shifting on the plate while you make multiple, overlapping strokes with thepalm press. For small plates, you can use a clipboard and some of that non-sliprubbery sheet that is sold for shelf liners. The rubbery stuff can be found in marineand RV supply outlets, but it is cheaper if you buy it where shelf liner is sold inlarge cut-rate department stores.

First, put a sheet of non-slip material on a firm, flat surface a bit below waist height.

Next, place the clipboard down on the non-slip material. This will keep the


Figure 60: Clipboard in place

Figure 61: Non-slip on clipboard

clipboard from moving around during the printing process.

Now place another piece of non-slip material on the clipboard, held in place by thespring clamp. This will keep the plate from moving around while you are printing.

Place your inked plate on the non-slip material, inked side up. Position the plate sothat it will print where you want it when the paper is under the spring clamp.


Figure 62: Plate in place

Figure 63: Paper in place

Carefully slip your dampened paper under the spring clamp.

Cover the paper with two sheets of thin, fabric store “felt”.


Figure 64: Place felt under camp

Figure 65: Begin firstpasses

****It is important to start at the end nearest the spring clip.**** That will helpkeep the paper from moving while you print. Place your palm press at the bottomedge, with one roller on the plate and one off the plate.

Begin with the palm press toward one side edge ofthe plate. Put both hands on top of the press. Keep your arms stiff and lean yourbody weight onto the press.


Figure 66: Palm press position

In this position, you now roll the palm press forward and off the far edge of theplate. Pick up the press and bring it back to the lower edge of the plate again, andcontinue making overlapping strokes from the bottom to the top until you have goneover the entire surface of the plate. The paper will now have the plate mark wellembossed, and this will help to hold the paper in position.

Now you want to repeat the process, but beginning at the end of the clipboard awayfrom the spring clip.


Figure 67: Begin second passes

As before, put both hands on the palm press, lean your upper body weight onto thepress, and then roll the palm press forward and off the far edge of the plate. Pick upthe press and bring it back to the lower edge of the plate again, and continue makingoverlapping strokes from the bottom to the top until you have gone over the entiresurface of the plate.

Hopefully your foilograph will now be printed. You can check on your progress bygoing to the edge furthest from the spring clip and carefully lifting the top felts andthe edge of the paper.


Figure 68: Check progress

Figure 69: Finished print

If the image is not satisfactory, let the paper and the top felts relax back intoposition, and repeat strokes with your palm press in any places that seem too faint.

Be careful not to shift the paper as you make additional strokes. I have not had goodsuccess running the palm press from side to side. For me, doing so almost alwaysresults in shifting the paper slightly, with a resulting double image. Such shiftingcould probably be eliminated by putting another clip on the clipboard along oneedge, at right angles to the original spring clip. But with two clips so arranged, itbecomes more difficult to lift the paper and check on the progress of the print.


For larger plates, the process is much the same, but of course you will probablyneed something larger than a clipboard. Art supply stores sell sketching boards thatwork very well for our purposes. These boards are 18 inches to several feet on aside, and come equipped with two large spring clips like those found on clipboards.Alternatively, you can easily make your own printing board from a piece ofplywood or MDF. Simply cut it to size and screw on a couple of spring clipspurchased from an office supply store.

Charles Morgan Bottle Jack Press

Bottle Jack Press



(250) 920-0281

www.mossworks.com

[email protected]

© October, 2006

This little bottle jack press is very handy for relief printing, and it can even handlemost collagraphs and mono-prints. I have shown it with a 6-ton jack; but if you aredoing only relief work, a 2-ton jack would probably be sufficient.

There are many designs for such presses available. In some the jack sits stationaryon the bottom and raises the bed, with the unmoving platen fixed to the top bar. Ipersonally prefer a press with a fixed bed and a moveable platen, and that is thedesign I used for this press. This press has the same action as a bookbinding (ornipping) press, and could be used for that.

The top and bottom bars are made by screwing and glueing two pieces of 2x4lumber together. This construction provides ample strength. One could use 4x4material, but it will be more prone to cracking and not be as strong as the laminateddesign.

I used slotted steel angle for the uprights ... 1/8 inch thick, 1 3/8 inches per side.This material is readily available, cheap, light, and amply strong. Also, it need notbe drilled. The wooden top and bottom bars must be drilled through to take the boltswhich attach them to the uprights. I used threaded “ready rod” for the through bolts,cut to appropriate length. I used wing nuts to make disassembly easy.

I use bungee chord to retract the platen and the jack. One could use springs, butthey are expensive to buy in an appropriate size. Bungee chords are cheap and easy


to find, and they work well. If the bungee chord available to you is too wimpy toraise the jack, simply double it. Some designs dispense with the bungee chords andsprings altogether, relying on retracting the jack by hand. I find this to beexceedingly tedious, especially during an edition.

I used old 5/8 inch thick melamine counter top material for the bed and the platen,but one could use plywood. The bed is well supported from the bottom, and onelayer is sufficient. The platen on my press is just two layers to improve stiffness. Inmy design, the two layers need not be attached to each other, as the pressure of thebungee chords and jack will hold them in place.

The bottom plate is centered on the bottom bar. Supports of 2x4 material areattached to the underside of the bottom plate at each end, parallel to the bottom bar.I used angle brackets to attach the bed to the bottom bar and the end supports. Besure the screws for the brackets are shorter than the thickness of the bottom plate sothey do not come through the surface.

The platen needs to have some play in order to be self-levelling. But too much flopis to be avoided. I put two guide screws in the edge of each side of the platen toprevent too much back and forth sway. You may find it desirable to use blocks ofwood or dowels attached (glued and screwed) to the edge of the platen for the samepurpose. The side to side motion of the platen is restricted by the uprights.

The jack should be centered on the top of the platen. If you find the jack shiftingaround in use, just glue some corner guides to the top of the platen to match thebase of the jack.

It is undesirable for the ram of the jack to be digging into the wood of the top bar.And it is desirable to have some means of keeping the ram centered on the top bar.Because I had a piece of scrap, I used a piece of box sectioned steel tube, with ahole cut out for the ram, screwed to the underside of the top bar. A piece of thinsheet metal and a couple of angle brackets would serve the same purpose.

In use, the printing plate needs to be well centered on the bed. I use a ruled sheet ofplexiglass. Place the plate with the paper on top in the center of the plexiglass sheet.Cover the paper with whatever felt blankets or backing material you choose to use.Then just slide the plexiglass in place on the bed.


To apply pressure, be sure the valve on the jack is closed ... most turn clockwise toclose. Then place the jack handle in the appropriate recess and pump up and down.This action will extend the ram, lowering the platen. When contact is made,continue pumping until the desired pressure is obtained ... experience and thequality of the print will guide you.

To release the pressure, you must open the valve on the jack. Most jacks aredesigned so you can use the jack handle for this purpose. One end of the handleshould be a close fit over the head of the valve. Turn in a counter clockwisedirection to release the pressure, and the jack and platen should start to rise. Closethe valve when you have enough clearance to slide out the plexiglass sheet withyour print and plate.

None of the dimensions nor the material is crucial. Use whatever material is to handand adjust the dimensions appropriately. The only proviso is that if the bed is muchlarger, then a stronger jack must be used for large plates.

If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.And of course I would be delighted to hear from other press makers and to getphotos of your creations.

Cheers ..... Charles

foilography printmaking - mossworks studio

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