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Message 1
From: Catherine Dreiss
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 09:49:22 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
Subject: [Baren 23945] Re: Plywood
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Thanks for your advice. I like making big prints too but in the past I have always used lino. I have a question for you though. I was under the impression (no pun intended) that the way wood block printing worked was by the pigment getting into the grain and pores of the wood so that when you pressed down on the Baren the pigment was forced back up into the paper. So if you prime the wood wouldn't that defeat the object?
Steve, hmm, I never thought of wood block printing that way. The process of ink getting into the grain and pores of the wood and then being forced back up onto the paper sounds more like a intaglio method than a relief method. I am new to this forum and a lot of the Japanese methods of printing that I read about are new concepts for me. My own prints are very juicy and always were, even before I started to prime the wood. Another advantage of priming is that it is much easier to see your transfer and where you have carved.

I remembered the name of the type of plywood I use...Baltic Birch. It is used as a flooring underlayment and has very few gaps in the glue. Birch doesn't splinter too much and yet is soft enough to carve easily. I'm working on a print now that is 3 by 4 feet, so I feel intimately familiar with the wood's properties.

Caye

Catherine Dreiss

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Message 2
From: Catherine Dreiss
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 09:49:38 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
Subject: [Baren 23946] Re: Plywood
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Archivist's Note: Message text deleted as it was a repetition of Message 1

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Message 3
From: Catherine Dreiss
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 09:49:22 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
Subject: [Baren 23947] Re: Plywood
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Archivist's Note: Message text deleted as it was a repetition of Message 1

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Message 4
From: Catherine Dreiss
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 09:53:43 -0600 (GMT-06:00)
Subject: [Baren 23948] Sorry for sending the last message three times...
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(Aplogy for sending same message three times. See Subject line)

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Message 5
From: "marilynn smih"
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 08:37:26 -0800
Subject: [Baren 23949] Re: David Bull opening in Tokyo
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CONGRATULATIONS, David Bull. A nice looking show, thanks for sharing.
Marilynn Smith

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Message 6
From: "marilynn smih"
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 08:37:33 -0800
Subject: [Baren 23950] Re: David Bull opening in Tokyo
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Archivist's Note: Message text deleted as it was a repetition of Message 5

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Message 7
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 08:37:47 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 23951] Re: Plywood
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Steve,
The wood absorbs water and swells closed, the pigment and paste actually sit on top of the wood in a thin film. This is why we dampen the wood before we print, or all of our pigment and paste would be in the wood instead of on top. If you need so much pressure to print, you might use different ink. The speedball ink prints more like oil that the waterbased pigment used in traditional printing. It dries very fast so that is also a problem in printing, but the damp paper should dissolve the pigment. This takes a lot more pressure than a regular baren and a spoon would work very well. This is how oil based pigment is printed by hand, and you can use dry or damp paper for oil. (the key word here is damp, not wet, we all made that mistake when we started out)

I thought I was seeing things with all those duplicate emails, I thought my own computer was going nuts!
Best to all,
Barbara

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Message 8
From: "phare-camp # imp-s.com"
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 17:20:07 -0500
Subject: [Baren 23952] RE: grain and print density
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Hi guys:

Some of you have been discussing plywood, grain and ink density: or lack of
density. I work with inexpensive pine and sometimes with birch plywood.
One of the things I discovered was that if I wet the board well (without
over soaking it) it absorbs just enough water to plump up the wood fibers
and less ink/paint soaks into the wood. Then when the print is pulled most
of the pigment releases and transferes to the paper. Frequently while
printing an edition I will very lightly mist the plate before rolling it up
with pigment to keep the wood fibers plumped up (every two or three pulls).
I use a good spray bottle for this and keep it right at hand while
printing. Each wood block is different so you have to experiment a few
times with this on initial use. I have also found that when I do this I
don't need to pull ghosts or clean a clogged plate as often as when I don't
do it.

BTW I'm sure getting a kick out of all the monkeys in my mailbox! I'm
printing mine this weekend (was sick all last week and half of this one) so
you'll should be getting them sometime next week (with the exception of
exchangers out of the U.S [sorry international mail can be sooooo slow])

Hope you all like him!

Patti Phare-Camp

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Message 9
From: James G Mundie
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 20:48:40 -0500
Subject: [Baren 23953] absorbancy of wood; shunga in progress
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Steve wrote:

> I was under the impression (no pun intended) that the way wood block printing worked
> was by the pigment getting into the grain and pores of the wood so that when
> you pressed down on the Baren the pigment was forced back up into the
>paper. So if you prime the wood wouldn't that defeat the object?

Well, yes and no. While some of the pigment will invariably soak into
the grain of the wood, it isn't a requirement in order for that matrix to
'give up' the pigment to the paper. In fact, it isn't really all that
desirable for too much pigment and moisture to enter the block, beyond
the certain intangible point where everything is primed for maximum
printing efficiency (something one can only learn through experience,
sadly). One doesn't want the wood to be too sponge-like (both expanding
from the moisture and giving off the moisture in tremendous volumes with
every print), which is part of the reason harder woods (denser and less
permeable) work better for water-based printing applications. The idea
is for the majority of pigment to wind up on the paper rather than
absorbed into the block.

In some recent discussions we talked about how the Yoshida family often
used a zinc matrix to print the key blocks for their intricate prints.
Clearly, zinc will not absorb the pigment like wood has a tendency so to
do.

__

On another note: I am nearly finished carving my shunga block for the
exchange. As it's cold as a [fill in appropriate colloquial expression
of your choice] and fixing to snow here all weekend, I plan to remain
indoors and hope to be proofing and printing no later than Sunday
afternoon. So John, if all goes well [knock on not-too-soggy wood] you
should have my prints by the end of the week.

__

James Mundie
http://www.missioncreep.com/mundie/images/

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Message 10
From: Cucamongie # aol.com
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 23:17:20 -0500
Subject: [Baren 23954] congrats, barens and such
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congrats Dave, and congrats also to Frank -
Steve, you mentioned that you were using a speedball baren. You will get a lot better result with a Murasaki Baren (around $100) or a ball bearing Baren (these are quite pricey, but if you're going to be printing BIG, then it will be worth your money). There may be other barens that are cheaper than the Murasaki that work OK, I'm sure the other members will chime in.
I can tell you that if you are going to be printing large flat areas, the Ball bearing baren is the best! it's like a power tool of barens, and you don't have to fuss with replacing the bamboo sheath, which is a plus.
happy printing!
Sarah

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