Historical
Historically, blockprinting has first used wooden planks as an engraving medium.
From 1860, when the invention of linoleum by Frederick Walton, lino was gradually used as an alternative to wood, more flexible and easier to work. Today, in addition to wood and linoleum, there are a variety of materials that are more or less flexible, more or less thick. Each of these media has its specificities but the engraver has the freedom to choose according to the work to be carried out: printing in press, fine work or, on the contrary, in large areas of color, manual printing, “stamp” printing, etc.
Comparative
Linoléum
• Natural material*
• Solid and flexible (hot)
• Matte surface and good ink hold
• Thickness: 3.2 mm
• Plus: The relative hardness allows fine engraving and a clear and precise mark in the paper when printing
(therefore ideal for debossing and embossing)
Softcut
• Vinyl material
• Flexible
• Easy to engrave
• Thickness: 3 mm
• Plus: Softer alternative than gray linoleum
Mastercut
• Vinyl material
• Very flexible
• Ideal for stamp work
• Matte surface and good ink hold
• Thickness: 4 mm
Carving block
• Vinyl material without phthalates or latex
• Very flexible
• Ideal for stamp work
• Thickness: 6 mm
• Plus: blue color for good vision of the work
Speedycut
• Eraser
• Very tender (but crumbly)
• Ideal for stamp work
• Thickness: 10 mm
• Plus: Ideal for stamping (without fineness requirements)
Contreplaqué japonais
• Natural material
• Light and tender (but fibrous)
• Strong and rigid
• Thickness: 4 to 5.5 mm
• Plus: Requires good, sharp gouges
(be careful of plating shine if engraved too thin/tight or too deep.
Fineness limited by wood grain and veneer thickness).
* Gray linoleum is a material composed of “natural” elements:
Based on wood flour (originally cork) mixed with a flexible and gummy mass, obtained from oil transformed by oxidation, the whole is laid in regular thickness on a jute canvas which provides reinforcement on the back of the plate. This composition makes linoleum flexible when hot.
Hot linoleum burns easily.
