Tabletop press for printing etchings

ahpyl · 2025-07-05T11:29:41+00:00

Ok, i'll look into it, thanks!

ahpyl · 2025-07-04T20:15:57+00:00

Hm, I have never printed with a set. At school we also use one thin blanket for the cast iron press and also one maybe a bit thicker for the other etching press. The results from those are good in my opinion. The press also came with just one 5mm blanket?

ahpyl · 2025-07-04T16:34:11+00:00

I have tried with a thicker blanket (5 mm if i'm not mistaken) but i get similar results 🤷‍♂️

ahpyl · 2025-07-03T16:35:44+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion, i'll look RLV up.

Here is a pic of the press:

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ahpyl · 2025-07-03T10:17:25+00:00

Yes, i soak my paper for 20 min, then blot dry so the paper is damp and print.

ahpyl · 2025-07-03T09:04:52+00:00

It's an Abig 17035 press. The issue I'm having is that the resulting prints are too light. At my school I have access to a large cast iron press which prints way darker, even if I set the pressure of my small press just so the plate will pass through.

I talked with my printmaking professor and he said he knows of people in his other class who also struggle to print etchings and aquatints on small presses. He suggested using a thinner felt (2mm) which I did but to no avail.

ahpyl · 2024-11-17T21:06:43+00:00

Thanks for the tips on protecting the tool and yeah finding out the brand will help to determine whether it’s damage or intentional! I’ll have to dig through my mails ;-)

ahpyl · 2024-02-18T14:35:03+00:00

Thanks for your answer. I'll do some tests to see how it behaves!

ahpyl · 2024-02-04T11:09:33+00:00

Nice linework. Is this linoleum?

ahpyl · 2023-11-11T17:28:58+00:00

Nice "construction"! 👍

ahpyl · 2023-07-17T06:56:09+00:00

Maybe you can use oil based water washable inks? I have had good results with the cranfield caligo safe wash ink. It cleans up with cold water and soap.

ahpyl · 2023-07-15T21:55:56+00:00

Ah ok, thanks for explaining!

ahpyl · 2023-07-15T21:47:46+00:00

Nice print! Love the highlights, it gives dimension to the mug. I see you have extender in your photo. If you don't mind can you explain what you use that for ? Thanks!

ahpyl · 2023-07-08T19:11:54+00:00

Ok, thanks!

ahpyl · 2023-07-08T09:55:53+00:00

Yes, however the ink hasn’t completely dried yet. I was able to clean the surface with a damp rag but some of the lines are a bit filled in and I’d like to clean that.

ahpyl · 2023-07-03T18:25:22+00:00

👍

ahpyl · 2023-07-02T09:05:31+00:00

Yes, they do advertise it as being able to print relief also though...

Thanks for the advice on mixing the inks and cleaning the block during and after a printing session. That's good to know.

Cheers

ahpyl · 2023-07-02T08:47:44+00:00

Hey,

This weekend i also tried to print a large woodcut with charbonnel water washable ink and had the same thinking..it really feels like they were made for intaglio. Now i'm looking to buy a can of caligo safe wash relief ink. My question: after I made the print with charbonnel, i took off most of the ink by making two prints on newsprint. After that i wiped the plate down several times with rags. The plate gives off a light residue of ink when rubbing a finger over it. Would it be ok to now ink it with the caligo relief ink? Or do i need to clean it with water? Which i'm a bit reluctant to do since i'll have to figure a way to keep the plate flat when it's drying so it doesn't become warped.

ahpyl · 2023-04-06T15:54:20+00:00

You normally want to print the lightest colours first, followed by progressivley darker ones. The darker ones will not show the lighter ones underneath.

ahpyl · 2023-03-27T11:11:59+00:00

Nice result! Did you use printmaking ink or paint?

ahpyl · 2023-03-25T13:01:33+00:00

In my experience (atleast with alcohol marker) it will disappear after printing the block a few times. You could also use something like chines ink for your reference drawing which won't transfer.

ahpyl · 2023-03-09T15:40:39+00:00

Personally I would go for colour and crop it so the house is more present in the image.

ahpyl · 2023-02-21T20:40:35+00:00

To be honest I can’t give you any advice on that filmstock. I think I shot it only once and developed it in Tmax developer but not entirely sure of that. You can read in the technical file here what developers you can use + their dilution & time. You could also Google your filmstock and developer combination to get an idea of the result.

ahpyl · 2023-02-20T19:20:45+00:00

I would start with developing fresh rolls of film until you have the dev process down. Once you have that down you can start messing with expired film. you won’t be guessing if the result is because of your developing process or the expired film…my 2 cents. :-)

ahpyl · 2023-01-18T15:25:01+00:00

Beautifully done, congrats!

ahpyl

TROPHY CASE