[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking.

Baren Digest               Sunday, 9 August 1998       Volume 04 : Number 240

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 07:48:25 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 1352] Re: Cases, etc. 

Dave wrote....
>Here is the info that I sent to Jim the other day:
>"My box maker here in Tokyo supplies me with cases for my print
>collections.  These are B3 size, hand-made, cloth bound, with bone
>fasteners.

Does the box maker use acid free materials.?


>I think that's around $20 US (at present).

That a good price for the Yanks.....  $40 here  Ugh....

Regards,

Graham

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 08:43:46 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Baren 1353] Re: Baren Digest V4 #238 

April wrote....
>I didn't understand Grahm's instructions to him about how to treat Stonehenge
>paper, though. Run it through a press?

Yes ... twice through an etching press.   This is a technique that Noboru
Sawai uses when he uses BFK Rives and other than Hosho papers.
The repeated wetting and pressing makes the paper more suitable for baren
printing.


>I just dampen the back with a single
>brush stroke of a wide brush, and leave it overnight between damp blotters,
>wrapped in plastic. The blotters don't add or subtract water, just keep the
>sheets evenly moist.

Yep.. this is the technique for hosho and or woodblock printing paper.


>The other suggestion I would make to Roger is to try printing gouache
>instead of watercolor. The added calcium carbonate in the paint makes it
>print more evenly. The spotty effect can look interesting, but only if you
>want it!

More paste with transparent watercolours is better.....Gouache can go
chalky.  A no .... no ....
I often have 3 to 4 overprintings of colour.   Can you imagine the chalk
and mirky look.

Regards,

Graham

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sun, 09 Aug 1998 20:20:55 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1354] Re: Cases ... 

Graham wrote:
> Does the box maker use acid free materials?

If you mean 110% certified, guaranteed for 999 years, 'stop Father time'
materials ... then no, he doesn't.  The cases are made the same way that
books are made, with an under-structure of a sort of thick 'card'
material.  A lightly patterned decorative paper is glued on the inner
faces, while the outside is covered with the sort of 'cloth' material
that one sees (used to see ...) on hardback books, and which 'wraps'
around all the edges and corners. 

That whole 'acid-free' business doesn't really get much attention here
in Japan.  The overwhelming factor when discussing preservation in this
climate is controlling damp and trying to stop mold.  The traditional
method of preserving books, prints, etc. is to keep them in storage
cases like the ones I use.  These cases are then kept in a generally
well-aired environment.  (This is the ideal, and is certainly not
followed by everybody).  Once a year at least, and twice is better, the
cases are opened up and the material allowed to air out and breath for a
few hours.  Books are left open on a table, and the pages riffled once
in a while; print sets like mine are simply allowed to sit and get some
fresh air ...   This is usually done on a dry clear autumn day.

And that's pretty much it.  The 'enemy' is mold, not acid ...

I should also mention that even institutions like the Toyo Bunko, where
the original of the Shunsho book that I am reproducing is stored, use
exactly this same type of storage case.

Perhaps Toda-san (the case maker) will have more to add to this
discussion.  I'll bring it up when I go see him about these cases.  Maybe
he offers 'acid-free' materials as an option ...

Dave

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End of Baren Digest V4 #240
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