Sumi Ink is fantastic for making hand-drawn screen films that create exposed screens with texture and loose spontaneous marks. Sumi ink can be painted onto Inkjet Screen Film or True-Grain film to produce a variety of marks.  We experimented by painting Sumi Ink on both types of films. Thin brush strokes on Inkjet Screen Film created loose, painterly, solid lines. Painting onto True-Grain caused the ink to reticulate pleasingly into speckled marks as it dried, almost like a halftone. We exposed all our experiments onto a screen. For more details about exposing your own screen, see the following blog posts and videos: What is an exposed screen? At Home Screen Printing with Bridget or find details of our Custom Exposed Screen service. Below, we can see how the Sumi Ink behaved on True-Grain. The image on the left is the screen film, on the right is the screen print it produced. The pale areas are where the ink was diluted before being painted on the True-Grain. Sumi Ink painted on Inkjet Screen Film can be seen below. The screen film is on the right, the print on the left. We can see that the Sumi Ink does not reticulate in the same way as on the True-Grain, and instead pools in grey tones, creating an interesting effect on the screen and therefore the final screen print. These differences can be seen in the following experiments. Top left square: Sumi Ink on True-Grain Top right: Screen print produced from Sumi on True-Grain Bottom left: Sumi on Inkjet Screen Film Bottom right: Screen print produced from Sumi on Inkjet Screen Film We used these experiments to put a three-colour layered screen print together. First, printing leaves (produced by using Sumi on True-Grain) in green ink.  Next, flowers (produced by using Sumi on Inkjet Screen Film) in lilac Finally, our line drawing in black (produced using Sumi on Inkjet Screen Film).  The marks on this print are a refreshing change to the sometimes rigid designs made using digital screen film prints or pen drawn positives and offer a nice alternative if you're looking to add a little more spontaneity to designs.  To create screen films using this method you will need: Sumi Ink Inkjet Screen Film or True-Grain film Brushes For more details about exposing your own screen, see the following blog posts and videos: What is an exposed screen? At Home Screen Printing with Bridget or find details of our Custom Exposed Screen service.

Hello. I’m a wood engraver and printmaker who specialises in portraiture. I work from my studio in South Bristol where I’m lucky enough to have an old Albion Press. I’ve lived in Bristol for 18 years and love the friendly and open-minded spirit which it seems to attract. Describe your printmaking process.  I use the 'reduction technique' which involves printing many layers from one block. I cut a bit – print a layer – cut a bit more – print another layer over the top of the first – and so on. The process is very simple and mind-boggling at the same time. Also, if I make any mistakes, the whole print edition is ruined! Portraiture has always been part of my practice. I love the shapes, colours, depth, and variety in human bodies and faces. The closer I look, the more detail and nuance emerges. Capturing this has become some what of an obsession. Recently I have been experimenting with ‘glazes’ as part of a research project at UWE Bristol. If you’re not familiar with Glazing, it uses a mixture of oil, resin and certain transparent pigments to create a very translucent and saturated paint or ink. By layering the glazes I am able to create a print which has a subtle glow or luminance.  How and where did you learn to print? Printmaking was encouraged during my time studying Illustration at UWE Bristol. Whilst in my second year, I went to an exhibition of Thomas Bewick’s engravings, with my parents. I was totally captivated by his minute vignettes and started to teach myself wood engraving. The Society of Wood Engravers gave me some funding to buy additional tools and I’ve been doing it ever since. Why printmaking? Part of the lure of printmaking is the kit – particularly the old and traditional equipment. I love being part of something with such a rich history. And compared to the endless possibilities of Photoshop, I love how finite print is. When it’s done, it’s done. I also enjoy how challenging it can be. The pressure to get every cut perfect, focuses the mind. It’s meditative.  Where do you work? Since 2011 I’ve been at BV Studios in Bedminster, Bristol. I share a large, cold room with a few other artists, and my corner is piled high with books, paper, lead type, jars of pigments and oil. The whole environment puts me in the mood for engraving, printing, and creating. Describe a typical day in your studio. After a quick breakfast and coffee at home, I cycle in and get cracking straight away. First I will look at the previous day’s prints with fresh eyes and remind myself which layer I have finished and what needs to come next. Then the engraving begins – which usually lasts a few hours. Then I’ll mix up some glazing medium with oil colour or dry pigments and print a proof. Once I’m happy with the engraving and the colour, I will spend the rest of the day printing the edition. How long have you been printmaking? Not including the obligatory linocut at school, my interest in printmaking started during my Foundation year at UWE. The Printmaking Department there is incredible and one of the best equipped in the country. The staff were very encouraging and nurtured my teenage interest in all the wonderful machines and chemicals. I started engraving in 2009 after visiting the (previously mentioned) Bewick exhibition at The Icon Gallery. After graduating in 2011 I took a part-time job working in the Print Department at UWE, where I remain to this day. What inspires you? I find human bodies fascinating. The colours, curves, bones, shadows, pits, layers and variety is captivating. As I look at someone and deconstruct their body or face or skin into colours and shapes, I am constantly mesmerised by the depth and nuance of nature. With in every colour there is more colour. With in every shape there are more shapes. I love to recreate this subtlety in my work. What is your favourite printmaking product? Ahh such a tricky question. The answer changes all the time. If I had to choose, I would say the woodblocks made by Chris Daunt. They are works of art, and wood is such a beautiful material to work with. What have you made that you are most proud of? At the time of writing – my latest print ‘Hera’. It turned out better than I had hoped and it's the culmination of much experimentation and research. It’s also, as far as I know, the first print to be made from ‘glazes' Where can we see your work? Where do you sell? I sell directly from my website and from the SWE website  What will we be seeing from you next? I will be having my second solo exhibition - The Ink That Glows - at Centrespace Gallery in Bristol. The private view is 8th August 6-9pm (All welcome), Open Daily 11-5pm from 9th to 12th August 2025. This will showcase all my recent engravings and lots of the preparatory and experimental work. Join my mailing list to find out more.   Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives? Learn how to do something and then do it differently To see more from Ben, follow him on Instagram!

One of the problems to overcome when printing a linocut is ink being picked up by the carved away areas of the block. These lines print onto the paper causing 'chatter' or 'noise'. Sometimes chatter on a print can add character or interest to a piece but other times it can just get in the way. This method uses Ternes Burton Pins and Tabs and a piece of Mylar to mask the areas causing chatter. Read on for instructions or scroll to the bottom of the page for a video. Set up a registration board with Ternes Burton Pins at the top and an area for your block underneath. Use pieces of mount board to create a space into which the block can slot. Prep your printmaking paper with the Ternes Burton Tabs. Place your block into its space on the board. Lay a sheet of Mylar over the lino. Clip a pair of Ternes Burton Tabs onto the fixed Pins and tape them to the Mylar. This way, the Mylar will go down in the same place over the lino each time. Take notice of any areas on the block that are picking up ink to create chatter. Use a permanent pen to draw around the main uncarved design onto the Mylar. Use the permanent pen sparingly as we don't want it to be left behind and transferred to the print.  Unpin the Mylar from the pins, place on a cutting board and use a scalpel to cut away the areas where you want the print to come through. Make sure the Mylar stays together and attached to the tabs. Trim away any pen lines.  You can now ink up the lino, place it on the board, lay the Mylar over the top using the tabs and then your print paper. The Mylar mask will stop unwanted ink from reaching the paper.   For this project you will need: - a board (the back of a picture frame works well) - masking tape - parcel tape - Ternes Burton Pins and Tabs - Mylar - Scalpel - Cutting Mat - Permanent Pen - Carved lino block

When designing artwork for exposed screens it can be very difficult to figure out what level of detail you can include. Different mesh counts will be able to handle different levels of detail. The mesh number relates to how many threads there are per cm of mesh: 32T has 32 threads per cm, 120T has 120 threads per cm etc. Ideally, 43T mesh is used for printing onto fabric and 90T is used for printing onto paper. We’ve put together a quick test to see what detail can be achieved on our two most common meshes: 43T and 90T.  We are often asked which font sizes are appropriate for each mesh but this is tricky to answer as different fonts come out at varied sizes and some have thicker and thinner parts to the lettering. For this test we’ve used Calibri (a plain sans serif font) Time New Roman (a serif font) and Apple Chancery (a calligraphy style font with thinner strokes) in sizes 8 to 22. The same sheet of samples was exposed onto a 43T and 90T screen. Scroll down to see the results of our prints with these screens. For prints on fabric we have used Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink in black. For prints on paper we have used Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink in black. These are both standard inks – opaque inks and metallic inks will be harder to force through the ink and block the mesh faster and are therefore more suited to higher mesh count and less fine detail.    Some of the areas have been halftoned through our rip software which turns grey areas into dots to give the illusion of tone.  43T Mesh onto Fabric We’re losing the detail on the font up until about size 14. The lettering on the right has been drawn with a 6px brush into Photoshop.    90T Mesh onto Fabric  90T mesh is not ideal for printing onto fabric as it puts down a lighter deposit of ink than a 43T. The prints can therefore appear paler and less bold. We’ve got more detail here on the smaller font sizes but it’s not printing very well on the weave of the cotton – this print has also smudged!   43T Mesh on Paper We’re still losing the detail up until font size 14. It’s putting down quite a heavy deposit of ink so it’s starting to blob a little in places with tiny detail.    90T Mesh on Paper We’ve managed to get most of the detail in the size 8 font here, although this small size may start to dry fast so quick printing is a must! 43T Mesh on Fabric This type of Font is a real problem on more open meshes as it has very thin areas that don’t expose well at all.  90T Mesh on Fabric We’ve got more detail but the font still isn’t great up until size 14. The 90T mesh also isn’t printing this evenly on the weave of the cloth. 43T Mesh on Paper On paper it’s easier to see the areas where the font is too fine for a 43T mesh. 90T Mesh on Paper It’s much clearer on a 90T mesh but we’re still missing the finest areas. 43T Mesh on Fabric This font hasn’t exposed properly until about size 16. 90T Mesh on Fabric The tiny serif lines are starting to show more but struggling to print on the fabric. 43T Mesh on Paper We’ve lost some of the serif detail which isn’t clear until size 14. 90T Mesh on Paper We’re getting good results from size 14 with legible results from size 12. These fine lines will dry ink quite quickly.  43T Mesh on Fabric Lines close together create vulnerable areas of emulsion and on more open meshes these areas will start to meld together. More may disappear as it’s printed and washed.  90T Mesh on Fabric We’ve got much clearer paces between the lines 43T Mesh on Paper 90T Mesh on Paper  43T Mesh on Fabric The lines that are 1 pixel, 2 pixels and 3 pixels wide don’t come out on the screen at all. The 4 pixel wide line is faint and patchy.  90T Mesh on Fabric We’ve got an extra line on this mesh – the 4 pixel line is clear and the 3 pixel line is faint and patchy.  43T Mesh on Paper 90T Mesh on Paper 43T Mesh on Fabric Here we’ve created a gradient halftone through our rip software. The 43T mesh has given a grid distortion making the tone uneven. 90T Mesh on Fabric On a 90T mesh the halftone is much more even with more detail as we go further down  43T Mesh on Paper 90T Mesh on Paper 43T Mesh on Fabric The grid pattern is prominent on this mesh give a moire effect. The palest grey halftone is barely there.    90T Mesh on Fabric The tone is much more even and we have much more detail on the palest tone.    43T Mesh on Paper 90T Mesh on Paper Order your own custom exposed screen here!