Today I experimented with papers designed specially for block printing and had much better success.

Better paper makes a world of difference.

I used Dick Blick water soluble printing ink on five different papers. Here are the results:

1. Masa Paper – excellent transfer, good detail, inexpensive
2. Hosho Paper – good transfer, but very delicate – the ink began to soak through and I had to stop rubbing because the paper was disintegrating
3. Canson Edition Bright White – good transfer, but ink sits on top of paper instead of soaking in.
4. Rising Stonehenge – poor ink transfer, but I printed on the smooth side so I need to test again on the rough side.
5. Daniel Smith Lennox – good transfer, but ink sits on top of paper instead of soaking in.

Overall, it seems that thinner papers with a nappy surface work the best.

Five prints on five different papers.

The pumpkin notans were so successful I decided to reproduce them as linoleum block prints. I haven’t done this sort of a project since elementary school, but the block cutting went well. I pulled two test prints by hand using a baren and was pretty happy with the block, but still need to sort out the ink and paper combination so that I get solid blacks. My first print showed good detail, but the ink transfer was poor. I used a lot more ink on the second print and this helped the blacks, but I lost a bit of detail.  Both prints were made with Dick Blick water soluble printing ink on Strathmore 300 Bristol Vellum. I’ve heard that oil based inks work better on cotton fiber papers, and that water soluble inks are better on Japanese rice papers. I also suspect that a thinner paper would take the ink better than the Bristol.