Dampening Paper May 16, 2008
On large printed areas, I find it hard to get consistent ink coverage on cotton paper. Sometimes if the image is really large, I break up the plate into 2 pieces which works, but man, what a pain! Recently I started to wet my paper and it makes a world of difference. I take a cloth or sponge and wet it and wring out most of the water so your cloth is slightly damp. Depending on where the image is I will just moisten that portion of the paper. Make sure to just moisten the paper not drench it. I read somewhere that someone puts the paper in front of a humidifier to moisten their sheets. I think that’s genuis and I think I will give it a try.
Hi,
I have a technique for dampening the paper I learned in a Japanese woodblock class. In Moku Hanga you want your paper just barely damp and my teacher used chipboard which he brushed with water using a wide soft Japanese brush. The chipboard is very absorbent so in a matter of minutes there won’t be any visible water on the surface. Then you interleave your paper with the chipboard. Chipboard comes as regular or acid-free. Chipboard is also called Davey board and comes in different thicknesses. The thinnest works best for this process. After interleaving, weight the stack for about 15 minutes and print away!
Comment by Lynn Starun — September 3, 2008 at 12:26 pm