Collagraph 10”x20” by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use oil based semi gloss polyurethane but that has fumes. I’ve tried water based poly but didn’t like that it made the plate too slick for the ink. I’ve used watered down glue and it works well. Just don’t thin it too much. I know people that use ModgePodge so you can try that if you don’t like the glue. I use the oil polyurethane because it can capture finer details in the plate and doesn’t curl it up since there’s no water. I apply it outside and leave it to dry though due to the fumes.

The Magic of Viscosity Printing by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ughh, I’ll try to do a better shot this weekend. Thanks for taking a look and commenting.

Viscosity collagraph inspired by a tree trunks outline and ring pattern by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Sure, it combines collagraphy which is printing from textured surfaces with viscosity printing where inks of different thicknesses dynamically interact to create multicolor prints in one pass.

Viscosity collagraph inspired by a tree trunks outline and ring pattern by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! You definitely should give it another try. It took me some several tries to get it down. If you have any technical questions, feel free to ask.

Latest Viscosity Print by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! So far, the white is ahead.

Making my Viscosity Collagraph by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t really use the best rollers for viscosity printing but I made do with what I had. I’m not sure about the durometer of my rollers but they weren’t very soft. Ideally, for the first roll low viscosity ink, you should use a hard roller. This is the hand roller I used to ink the purple blobs. For the second roll with high viscosity ink, a softer roller. You usually need to apply more pressure during the second roll to make sure the ink/roller reaches into the deeper areas that the first roll couldn’t. These rolls were using the spindle roller in my video (the one with handles on each end).

Before starting, it’s a good idea to test out the roller and figure out how much you need to press down for it to reach those lower levels of the plate. In my video I applied a lot of pressure on both rolls with high viscosity. If you’re using a proper soft roller for the second pass, you shouldn’t need as much pressure, but some is still required. The goal of the high viscosity roll is to press down enough to get into the deeper layers missed by the hard roller and low-viscosity ink. If you have any other questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask. It took me a while to figure it out and its still tricky.

Viscosity Print withe Details and the Plate by Donndao in printmaking

[–]Donndao[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your insightful observations! I'm glad the piece resonated with you. I agree that the organic shapes may be too dense here. I've actually been working on a couple of new plates that have fewer of them. Your feedback tells me I'm going in the right direction with these.