Waterless Lithography

Waterless lithography is a relatively new technique enabling the artist to create a successful lithographic image very quickly.
The procedure uses recycled aluminium offset plates and a silicone mixture to repel ink instead of the water used in stone lithography. The plates are printed on an etching press. The process is far less toxic to the printmaker than traditional lithography. The waterless images pictured above were created using various media including gouache, omnichrom, sharpie pens and multiple plates.

 “With a little experience and thought you can make waterless lithography quite low toxic and get amazing results: tonal range, mark, immediacy, good predictability. And it holds the alchemic magic of stone litho. It is a wonderful process. Plus, this is an area about to see some real progress towards even less toxicity”. Quoted from:  Don Messec - www.makingartsafely.com

Nik Semenoff, the inventor of the technique said he wanted to create “A process that would eliminate some or all of the toxic materials now used by printers. Materials should also be easily available and not too expensive. Anything that would simplify the processing of plates and produce long running clean images from direct hand drawn plates could become an important addition to the artist’s lithographic process”

Aluminium Etching

A solution of copper sulphate and salt in water is used to etch Aluminium. It is a very low toxic method of creating a plate. The action of the copper particles settling on the surface of the plate results in rich aquatints. Various “safer” grounds and stopouts are used to create an image with amazingly satisfying results. The word “etching” also refers to the print pulled from the plate.

Photopolymer Intaglio

The plate is composed of thin steel backing with a surface coating of light sensitive photopolymer which is soluble in water. The plate can be used for relief and intaglio printmaking. UV light hardens the areas not blocked out by the artwork and these unexposed areas wash out with tap water to reveal the etched surface. The plate is particularly durable and it is possible to make large editions from a photopolymer plate. Plates are sometimes called sun plates or solar plates.

Collagraphy

Collagraphs are prints of collaged materials. A collagraph plate, often cardboard, can be built up by gluing various media to the board, drawing into gesso, stripping back layers or incising. A variety of low relief textural materials that will hold ink can be glued to the base plate.

A collagraph plate becomes a very expressive method of developing a sensitive and textured print and is inked and printed in relief or intaglio on an etching press. The plates do tend to flatten out after a few prints but give some interesting textural results

Stencil - Pochoir

Pochoir is the French term for stencil. In the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras the colour application process of the stencil was rejuvenated by the French, and used to great effect when combined  with key images made by lithography, woodcut or etching, turning a decorative technique into fine art. In Australia the artist Margaret Preston used the stencil technique to create her stunning landscape and flower images.

Monotype and Monoprint

Monotype is the most painterly technique of all the printmaking methods. When creating monotypes the artist works on a clean, un-etched plate of perspex, acrylic, metal etc. Although images can be similar, no two are alike. The translucency of the ink and spontaneity of the method makes for interesting painterly prints. Ink can be added to the plate with rollers & brushes or taken away – subtractive method – using a cloth, eraser, stick, brushes or any other implement to obtain the final image.

Both monoprint and monotype employ the same methods to make a print but when creating monotypes the artist works on a clean and unetched plate.

When creating a monoprint ink is applied similarly but on an intaglio plate and the image is visible in all the prints from this plate no matter how they are inked. A monoprint is printed as a variable edition.