Printmaking With Water-based Inks
By Susan Rostow and William Jung

And Technical Notes for:
Carborundum & Photocarborundum Water-based Monoprints

Trout Fly, Susan Rostow.  Four color reductive monotype, 22" x 30".

Many fears and questions arose while making the decision of having a baby. Is it possible to make prints without breathing in toxic fumes from oil-based inks, solvents, acids and photographic chemicals? Are these fumes doing damage to our reproduction systems? Is it possible to print while pregnant? Will it be safe for the baby to come into the studio? Will we live a long and healthy life? Questions, questions, questions…

We knew in our hearts that the printmaking materials that we were working with were a hazard to our health. We read as much as we could about the harms that each substance could possibly bring on to our bodies. We knew we had to do something about it because we didn’t want to give up on printmaking for nine months or forever for that matter.

At first we tried monoprinting with water-based inks. Monoprinting was fine but we were unhappy with the quality of the water-based inks that were available. We found water-based woodblock inks to be loaded with fillers. This caused the finished prints to appear dull, chalky and hazy. We also tried water-based monotype colors and found that they did not roll well onto the plate. They also dried on the plate too quickly never allowing enough time to draw into the inked surface. Since the monotype colors were made to dry on the plate the paper had to be dampened for printing. Dampening paper prevented us from working with multi-registered plates.

We realized that "necessity is the mother of invention" and set out to make our own inks that would do exactly what we wanted them to do. We experimented with a variety of formulas after reading books on how to make watercolors. Our goal was to make water-based ink for reductive monotype that had a greasy working consistency similar to that of oil-based ink. It needed to roll-up smoothly and stay wet on the plate for a long period of time.

After testing many formulas we decided that very few ingredients were really necessary. We left out additives that ink manufactures use to keep the pigments suspended in the base. All this meant to us was that we had to shake the bottle of ink before each use. In return our colors would not have a plastic or chalky appearance. We also did away with fillers that are generally used to extend and stiffen inks. Fillers are powders that are inexpensive and are used by manufactures to fill up space in the container. These fillers only dulled the colors and were not necessary in making good quality ink.

After much experimentation we decided the best binder for monotype ink was gum arabic. Along with the gum arabic we added another ingredient to help the ink roll smoothly and another one to prevent it from drying too quickly. The real trick was in figuring out the correct proportions of binder and additives in combination with each individual pigment. We learned that all pigments have different characteristics and the formula had to be adjusted for each individual color.

Once we understood the necessary components of the base we focused on pigment selections. As artists we were concerned about the lightfastness of every color. We used The Artists Guide to Selecting Colors by Michael Wilcox and Hillary Page’s Guide to Watercolor Paints to guide us in deciding on which pigments to use. Printed papers taped to our sunny studio windows also reassured us of their lightfastness.

After years of research, experimentation, testing and consulting with chemists, toxicologists, printmakers and artists we came upon a unique water-based ink formula that fulfilled all our monotype desires. We felt confident that the inks we were using were of excellent quality since we selected only the finest and safest ingredients. In addition to meeting our needs, our new inks had tremendous advantages over any other oil or water based ink we have ever used.

Printmaking became more enjoyable than ever before. Cleaning up was so easy with just water and a sponge. Our new ink rolled out directly on the plate so the chore of cleaning an ink slab was eliminated. No time was spent soaking and blotting paper since prints were made on dry paper. Finished prints did not require the tedious task of drying flat under blotters. Now, more time could be spent on the creative level while less time was spent on preparation and clean-up.

Although we were quite pleased with the monotype process with our new inks we thought working from a plate with a fixed image in conjunction with monoprint techniques would be ideal. So once again we remembered the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" and set out to create new methods and materials. This time our goal was to develop a safe platemaking technique to work in harmony with our new water-based ink.

At first we constructed traditional carborundum plates by painting a mixture of carborundum grit and acrylic medium directly on plastic plates. Once the plates dried we applied our water-based inks and used an intaglio wiping process. After countless hours of printing and adapting our wiping techniques we were thrilled with our results.

We discovered the trick to printing this type of plate was to combine intaglio-wiping methods with a monoprint approach. We did this by wiping the plates with toulle’ fabric instead of tarlatan. Toulle’ (wedding veil) can be purchased in any fabric store. Toulle’ fabric is nylon and less absorbent than cotton tarlatan. Using the toulle’ reduced the problem of wiping too much ink from the plate. More plate tone remained on the surface of the plastic plate and less ink was removed from the carborundum areas of the plate. We used this to our advantage and selectively drew into the plate tone using cotton swabs and rags. Finished prints looked mysterious like a cross between soft ground etchings, aquatints, carborundum prints, lithographs and monotypes.

Pushing ahead we still had yet another area of water-based printmaking we needed to accomplish. We wanted to be able to print a photographic image with our new inks. To achieve this we incorporated the silk screen process into our platemaking procedures. First we made a photographic silkscreen. Then we pushed the mixture of carborundum grit and acrylic medium through the photographic silkscreen by squeegee onto a plastic printing plate. It worked beautifully. The photographic image was now fixed to a plastic plate.

We printed our new plates with our water-based inks in the same manner as traditional carborundum plates. We made prints that we’ve never seen before. They looked like a cross between photoetching, photolithography and monotype. We named this new process Photocarborundum.

We moved on ahead and tried the same exact procedure using a photographic stencil on a silkscreen but this time instead of using a photographic film positive we exposed a hand drawn film positive to the screen. Again we were very pleased with the final results which looked like a combination of soft ground and sugar lift monoprints.

As we were developing and testing all these different platemaking methods we continued to adjust the formula for our water-based inks and carborundum grit and acrylic mixture. We named our inks Akua-KolorTM and our carborundum grit and acrylic mixture Carborasive TM.

Today, many printmakers are using a combination of direct painting and reductive monotype processes including collagraph processes with Akua-Kolor. Recently they found their way into the hands of traditional Japanese hanga woodcut printmakers who say they are delighted with their results.

It took us five years to come up with what we believe to be a great combination of water-based printing inks, printing procedures and platemaking techniques for safe printmaking. We exceeded our goals by not only finding alternative methods but created a whole new look in printmaking.

Our baby boy was born in 1996. We had no fears as we worked all during the pregnancy. Jarrett is now three years old and a happy healthy member of our printshop.

Carborundum & Photocarborundum Water-based Monoprints

Applications:

Carborundum Platemaking

A carborundum plate is made by applying Carborasive with a brush onto a plate. Carborasive can be thinned with Carborasive Thinner for a smooth application.

Photocarborundum Platemaking

A photocarborundum plate is made by applying Carborasive to the plate by squeegee, through a photographic stencil adhered to a silkscreen. Any photographic silkscreen stencil will work. Once your photographic stencil has adhered to the silkscreen, squeegee the Carborasive through the stencil onto the plastic plate. This is done in the same manner as if you were printing silkscreen ink on paper. After the Carborasive is applied to the plate you will no longer need the silkscreen. Your image will be fixed with Carborasive on your plate.

Inking the Plate
Steps:
1. Shake bottle of Akua-Kolor before each use.

2. Add Akua-Kolor to the center of the plate.

3. Add Akua-Kolor Retarder.

4. Spread Akua-Kolor over the entire plate using

a mat board card.

5. Fold toulle’ into a circular wad. Very gently, wipe the

surface of the plate only once or twice with the toulle’.

Note: Akua-Kolor will remain in the coarse area of the

plate creating the darkest area of color. Plate tone will

remain on the smooth surface of the plate.

6. Remove plate tone by lifting selected areas of Akua-Kolor from the smooth surface of the plate using cotton rags or cotton swabs.

7. Print on dry paper.

8. Clean up with water.

Tips:
Most people have a tendency to over-wipe their plates.  Just a few very gentle wipes are all you need with the toulle’.  Ink-up your plate on a light table. Light passing through the inked plate will allow you to see how much Akua-Kolor is truly on the plate.

General Platemaking Materials :
• CarborasiveTM
• Carborasive ThinnerTM
• Plastic Plate
• Squeegee
• Silkscreen with an adhered stencil

Carborasive is a ready-mixed platemaking medium. It contains an acrylic binder, mixed with an abrasive grit.

Printing materials and equipment
•Same as for printing monotypes

(See Water-based Roll-up Reductive Monotypes)

Additional materials needed
•Toulle’ (purchase in a fabric shop. Ask for toulle’ or soft wedding veil fabric).
•Mat board cards

© Rostow & Jung Water-based Printshop & Inks, Inc.

 Water-based Roll-up Reductive Monotypes

Multi-color reduction printing requires rolling up and printing one plate several times using different colors each time. Each color appears on its own assigned area and in some cases they overlap each other. Aqua-Kolor is transparent and when colors overlap new colors will be created.

Note: Akua-Kolor is rolled directly onto the plate. It is not necessary to roll out Akua-Kolor on a separate ink slab.

Steps:
1. Make a sketch on a sheet of tracing paper using a black marker.

2. Flip the sketch over and tape it down on top of a light table

3. Place the plate on top of the sketch.

4. Shake the bottle of Akua-Kolor.

5. Squeeze a small puddle of Akua-Kolor on the center of the plate. Recommended Amount: 40 drops of Akua-Kolor for a 16"x20" plate.

6. Add a few drops of Retarder to the Akua-Kolor.

7. Spread the ink out evenly over the entire surface of the plate by using a soft rubber brayer.

8. Draw into the inked surface on the monotype plate while viewing your sketch underneath your plate. Create your image by removing the Akua-Kolor using cotton swabs, tissue paper, rags, sponges etc.

9. Print on dry paper.

10. Place the plate back in the same position over your sketch on the light table and roll up the plate with a new color. Repeat this process several times printing different colors one on top of one another.

11. Clean up with a sponge and water. If needed, use a mild dishwashing detergent for cleaning Akua-Kolor residue from plastic surfaces.

Tips:
• If your roller is slipping and sliding while spreading the ink over the surface of the monotype plate, too much Akua-Kolor has been applied. If this happens, reduce the amount of Akua-Kolor applied to the plate and try again.
• The light passing through the tracing paper will enable your sketch to be seen through the dense ink on the plate.

 Materials
•Akua-Kolor water-based inks
•Akua-Kolor Retarder
•Soft rubber brayer or roller
•Plastic plate
•Printmaking paper
•Cotton swabs
•Rags
•Sponge
•Tracing paper
•Black marker

Equipment
•Light table (optional but very helpful)
•Printing press or baren
•Sink or bucket of water

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