The artist creates an image by working with the principle that oil and water don't mix. Greasy marks are made on the matrix. Places where greasy marks have been made become hydrophobic, meaning those areas will repel water and will accept ink. Places where the matrix has not been touched are hydrophilic and will not accept ink. Lithography ink will adhere to the positive image, the greasy marks, and the water will adhere to the negative image, the clear areas. When the image is loaded with ink, the stone and paper are run through a lithography press transferring the ink from the stone to the paper. After an edition has been printed, a lithographer can grind down the surface of the stone and apply a new image.
Typically only artists use stones anymore. Although, stones are becoming less common with artist's as well because of their expense, weight, and the labor involved in treating their surfaces. Modern lithography uses an aluminum plate treated with a chemically receptive polymer instead of a stone. Aluminum Plate Lithography is the most common form of printing technology today. Most books are printed via a version of this process. Aluminum plates have the disadvantage that they can only be used once.
Polyester Plate Lithography, the most recent incarnation, is an economical way to gain experience before moving on to more involved and expensive techniques. This method is capable of reproducing a broad spectrum of marks; hand drawn brush strokes, ink wash, texture, crayon and pencil marks, and is good for digital imaging. It has the added benefit that the plates can be printed on a etching press and don't require a special lithography press. It has the drawback that it is hard to achieve even, consistent results and the plate can only really be used once.
Polyester Plate Litho doesn't exactly rely on the same chemical properties for creating an image as stones and plates. These plates contain tiny pores that accept and hold water. By covering those pores with a waterproof substance the artist creates an area that will accept ink. Images can be created with any water-proof material that will stick to the plate; Sharpies, Future floor wax, lithography crayons, copier toner, ball point pen, finger prints, etc. The plates can also be printed with a laser printer or a photocopier. In both cases, plates should be heated to produce a stable lithographic printing surface.
Before the first day on this assignment write yourself a brief description of lithography in your journal and make a few drawings to go from. We will be making Polyester Plate Lithographs. Look at both the lithography and polyester plate lithography links on the blog. They're almost the same processes. You'll need at least one sharpie to draw with, preferably a few of different widths. Remember, everything is going to be reversed in your print. Text will be backward, etc.
1: DRAWING ON THE PLATE:
The matte side of your polyester plate is the image side. Avoid touching this side. Fingerprints may hold ink. Experiment with mark making, but be careful. You can't really erase. You may be able to scratch back into the plate to remove ink and reclaim white areas. However, this ruins the surface of the plate and it most likely will not accept ink again.
Sharpies achieve the best results for covering an area. However, Ultra Fine Sharpies do not seem to work for line work. For lines work try Zebra F-301 pens, Sakura Pigma Micron pens with #1 Archival Ink, and Faber-Castell Multimark Permanent markers.
When you have finished your drawing, put your plate on the hot plate for 30 minutes to set the ink.
2: PRINTING: Remember, you are only going to get one printing section out of your polyester plate. Make sure you have the time and materials to pull all the prints you need.
- Tear your paper to the same size as your plate before you do anything else.
- Some litho inks are very stiff and others are looser. Stiff inks give the best detail. Looser inks are easier to apply and give an image greater contrast. You may fins that you need to add of a small amount of magnesium carbonate to stiffen it your ink. This will also help avoid scumming.
- Sponge the back of the plate. This will help it adhere to the press bed.
- Sponge the plate with water. You are trying to achieve a thin, uniform film of water on the plate, not too much, not too little.
- Roll-up the plate with ink. Repeat at least five times if you haven't pulled a proof or print yet. You will need to sponge before each roll-up to keep the surface pores ink-repellent.
- You are building up layers of ink on top of your drawing. More layers means a darker black, however too many layers may result in the ink smearing during wiping or smooshing around under the pressure of the press.
- Peel the inked plate off the slab and place it on the press. Lay the printing paper on top, carefully registering the edges to the edges of the plate. Lower the blanket and roll through the press.
ASSIGNMENT OUTLINE:
- The class will be divided into groups. Find a printing partner in your group.
- Each of you will produce an edition of six consistent prints to contribute to you group's portfolio. A print portfolio is a group of limited edition prints organized around a single theme and usually on the same size paper (though not necessarily the same print process). Typically, the number of the print edition is based on the number of its participants who each then get a copy of the portfolio. Often an additional portfolio is created for the purpose of exhibition, or for critique in our case.
You will each receive two sheets of Stonehenge paper from which to make your prints. Tear all of the paper you will need for the entire project before you begin proofing.
You will be making your prints from an 9.5"x12" inch plate. Your prints must have a 1" margin on the top and sides and a 1.5" margin on the bottom. They may be oriented horizontally or vertically.
1: DRAWING ON THE PLATE:
The matte side of your polyester plate is the image side. Avoid touching this side. Fingerprints may hold ink. Experiment with mark making, but be careful. You can't really erase. You may be able to scratch back into the plate to remove ink and reclaim white areas. However, this ruins the surface of the plate and it most likely will not accept ink again.
Sharpies achieve the best results for covering an area. However, Ultra Fine Sharpies do not seem to work for line work. For lines work try Zebra F-301 pens, Sakura Pigma Micron pens with #1 Archival Ink, and Faber-Castell Multimark Permanent markers.
When you have finished your drawing, put your plate on the hot plate for 30 minutes to set the ink.
2: PRINTING: Remember, you are only going to get one printing section out of your polyester plate. Make sure you have the time and materials to pull all the prints you need.
- Tear your paper to the same size as your plate before you do anything else.
- Second prepare the press and set the pressure before you do any inking. Little or no felt material is needed between the rollers Printing a polyester lithographto gain maximum contact between plate and paper. Use one thin blanket and a good amount of pressure.
- Put out about a tablespoon of ink on the slab. Use a circular scraping action inside the can to get the ink out, then re-cover the surface of the ink inside the tin to prevent it drying out. Work it around with a scraper for a few minutes.
- Roll out a thin layer of ink on the glass. Work in multiple directions with the roller until it looks like velvet and makes a kind of hissing sound as you roll it. - Put out about a tablespoon of ink on the slab. Use a circular scraping action inside the can to get the ink out, then re-cover the surface of the ink inside the tin to prevent it drying out. Work it around with a scraper for a few minutes.
- Some litho inks are very stiff and others are looser. Stiff inks give the best detail. Looser inks are easier to apply and give an image greater contrast. You may fins that you need to add of a small amount of magnesium carbonate to stiffen it your ink. This will also help avoid scumming.
- Sponge the back of the plate. This will help it adhere to the press bed.
- Sponge the plate with water. You are trying to achieve a thin, uniform film of water on the plate, not too much, not too little.
- Roll-up the plate with ink. Repeat at least five times if you haven't pulled a proof or print yet. You will need to sponge before each roll-up to keep the surface pores ink-repellent.
- You are building up layers of ink on top of your drawing. More layers means a darker black, however too many layers may result in the ink smearing during wiping or smooshing around under the pressure of the press.
- Peel the inked plate off the slab and place it on the press. Lay the printing paper on top, carefully registering the edges to the edges of the plate. Lower the blanket and roll through the press.
- You will need to pull proofs until you get your plate charged with enough ink to achieve a black black. This may take several proofs. Each time you pull a print your plate will retain ink and you will not need to build up with as many layers. You may use as much newsprint as you need to make proofs. You will each have only two sheets of good paper from which to create your final prints.
- Rolling up may leave smudges where they should not be: this is called scumming. You should be able to remove this scum with the sponge. However, be careful about scrubbing too hard on the plate. It is very easy to push ink around and get it were you don't want it.
- Rolling up may leave smudges where they should not be: this is called scumming. You should be able to remove this scum with the sponge. However, be careful about scrubbing too hard on the plate. It is very easy to push ink around and get it were you don't want it.
- Work with a partner. When printing your images, you handle all of the inking and messy work. Your partner will keep their hands clean and assist; handling the paper, blankets, and press so that your prints will come out clean and neat. You will then assist your partner as they ink their prints. Work together to realize each other’s prints; problem solve, tear paper, run prints, and whatever is necessary to complete the assignment.
- You have a partner for a reason. Messy prints will cost you points. Work together!
3: CLEAN UP:
- If you want to attempt to re-use your plate in the future, run it through the press a few times with newsprint to absorb excess ink.
- If you want to attempt to re-use your plate in the future, run it through the press a few times with newsprint to absorb excess ink.
- Wipe the plate with concentrated dish soap solution -use a ratio of around 1 part dish soap to 10 parts water to obtain a strong detergent that is powerful enough to dissolve any greasy ink residues.
- Stubborn ink residues can be removed with toothpaste applied using a soft cloth. A blob of toothpaste on a soft rag should mop up any ink residues from the plate then clean and de-grease the plate with strong dish soap solution.
- Do not use soap, water, or Simple Green on your plate or on the rollers. Use only phone book pages and mineral spirits on your plate and the rollers.
- Clean the slab in successive stages using vegetable oil, mineral spirits, and then Simple Green.
- Take the blankets off of the press and store them either folded on top of the press or hung on the rack. Blankets left in the press will develop compressed areas that can cause uneven results in your prints.
- Leave the press bed centered in the press. It will sag over time if left extended.
On critique day, you will have ten minutes to get ready before we begin.
- Make sure you have identified your prints in pencil. Under the bottom left of the image, identify each print with a fraction, the number of the print over the number in the edition. Make your best print number one and the last one the print you are least satisfied with. Put the title in the center. Put your name or signature on the bottom right of the image like so:
1/6 “Really Awesome Print” Michael Merry
- If there is even a remote chance that I cannot read your signature print your name on the back.
- Hang number one from your edition of prints vertically centered at about sixty inches above the floor. Use a loop of tape on the back; do not put tape on the front of your print. Hang your print with your group’s.
- On your typed project statement include, your name and the names of the people in your group.
- Paperclip your artist's statement on top of your prints and place them on the table outside my studio.
- Paperclip your artist's statement on top of your prints and place them on the table outside my studio.
When you receive your grade and comments, you will receive five prints, four of your own and one from your partner. I will keep your project statement and one of your prints. If it matters to you which one I keep, mark it somehow.
This assignment will be scored based on three criteria. These criteria will be weighted and assessed as follows:
1. Concept: 5 Points.
Interpretation and application of your own ideas to the assignment using expressive, emotive, and aesthetic elements. Ask yourself “What am I trying to say with this image?” “How can I visually convey my idea?”
2. Participation: 10 Points.
Attendance, involvement with your group, putting in time in the shop, proper shop etiquette, participation in discussions and critiques.
3. Process: 10 Points.
Display an understanding of the process, making an edition of consistent prints, registration, and general neatness of the work.
Additionally,
- Failure to turn in a statement with your prints will cost you a letter grade.
- You can loose up to a letter grade if you have fingerprints or smudges on the image side of your prints.
- Prints turned in or hung after critique begins will be considered one day late and you will loose a letter grade.
- Failure to properly identify your prints will cost you a letter grade.
