Our Blog

It can be interesting to include natural textures in our relief prints. Wood grain is a beautiful organic pattern and can be printed especially well if we emphasise the natural grain in the wood. We can do this with a blow torch. Scorch the surface of the wood to bring out the wood grain. (Please be careful when using the blow torch by working outside on a non-flammable base).  Read more

There are many objects that can be gathered from around the house to add to your printmaking kit! Here are some of our favourite alternative uses for easily found objects that we use in the studio every day!  Read more

Using a hinged board to screen print onto paper is a game changer. It allows you to register layered prints and print in identical editions. Here's how we made our latest batch of A2 hinged boards in the studio: Read more

Making your own inks for screen printing onto fabric is an economical way to get a wide range of colours exactly to your specifications. The mixed inks will leave the fabric soft and washable. Here's how to mix them: Read more

Having a fabric printing pad makes a huge difference when you're printing at home or in the studio. When screen printing or block printing onto fabrics, it helps to have slight padding underneath your printing surface to ensure you get an even print. You can also pin out fabric to the pad. We use these in the studio to print lengths of fabric, t-shirts and tote bags. They're also fantastic to use when printing with Thermofax Screens. They're really easy to make. Here's how: Read more

It's January and time to kick start our creative selves after the hustle and bustle of Christmas. We've had a brilliant year of Meet the Maker interviews in 2018. Scroll down for a chance to remind yourself of who we've talked to this year and take a look at the advice they offered.  Read more

Choosing the right roller for your relief printing can get confusing. Different uses, budgets, sizes and preferences can dictate which roller is best for you. We've put together a guide to lino rollers to help you choose the best roller for you. Read more

When transferring designs to a block, there are several factors to consider: can the design be seen on the block? Will it wash off? Will the design be transferred to the print? In this project, we test two different carbon papers on six different relief blocks. We test them with three types of ink: waterbased, water washable and oil based to see which combinations work the best.  Read more

Making a batik is the satisfying process of layering wax and dye to create bold, intricate designs. The more layers of dye and wax that are added, the thicker and stiffer the fabric will become. At the end of this process, you're left with a hard, milky-looking piece of cloth. Here's how to iron the wax out of your batik to get the vibrancy back into your designs!  Read more

Translating drawings into print doesn't have to include scanning and digitally manipulating your design on a computer. By using opaque film markers onto screen film we are able to skip the digital part altogether and create a photographic screen directly from the drawings you produce. This allows you to work in full scale, even tracing other print layers or design elements so that they will fit exactly.  Read more