Security inks
Today's post is about materials, namely printing inks. I typically print with water based inks for quick test prints and then use oil based inks for the real thing (more cleanup so I use those when I print several prints not just 1-2 tests). Although I do relief prints, I typically use etching inks and change the viscosity of the ink using burnt plate oil or flash oil. I hear some people use lithography inks the same way.
Recently I discovered rubber based inks in various letterpress classes I took. That was a totally new kind of ink to me but I quite like them. Rubber based inks - in essence - are commercial printing inks, like you would use in commercial presses. But they work really well for letterpressing and also for relief printing from the few experiments I have done so far. And as I just found a source for smaller quantities of these inks (meaning: I don't have to buy a minimum of a 1 pound can of each color) I'll probably use more of these in the future.
But what I really wanted to write about is a neat web site I just found when I looked up information on rubber based inks. A company called Gans makes all sorts of commercial inks, including inks I never even thought of. And looking at all the inks on this page I started to wonder what interesting and unusual art projects might be possible with inks like these...
Imagine a linocut that becomes visible only when rubbed with a coin, or that can be seen only from an angle or that has to be submersed in water to become visible. Think of a print that looks one way when dry, but the owner knows there is a second hidden print on the art piece that will appear only when the artwork gets dropped into water. But till that happens, it is invisible.
I must say I'm very tempted to order some of these inks, just to play with those possibilities.
Here is the page I am talking about
PS: An interesting tidbit of information about rubber based inks that I found on the gansink.com web site: Rubber based inks dry by substrate prenetration only, therefore they should not be used on coated paper, mylar, plastic etc. This information is on this page. Another thing about rubber based inks: As I mentioned I found a source for smaller quantities. Essentially, somebody who is buying large amounts and filling the ink into tubes. However, I noticed that rubber based inks are reeeeally stiff and so it's pretty hard to get the stuff out of the tube. You can get it out, but it requires a bit of work ;) Still beats throwing away half the can because it dries out before you have opportunity to use it -- if you use the stuff only every now and then, like I do.
Recently I discovered rubber based inks in various letterpress classes I took. That was a totally new kind of ink to me but I quite like them. Rubber based inks - in essence - are commercial printing inks, like you would use in commercial presses. But they work really well for letterpressing and also for relief printing from the few experiments I have done so far. And as I just found a source for smaller quantities of these inks (meaning: I don't have to buy a minimum of a 1 pound can of each color) I'll probably use more of these in the future.
But what I really wanted to write about is a neat web site I just found when I looked up information on rubber based inks. A company called Gans makes all sorts of commercial inks, including inks I never even thought of. And looking at all the inks on this page I started to wonder what interesting and unusual art projects might be possible with inks like these...
Imagine a linocut that becomes visible only when rubbed with a coin, or that can be seen only from an angle or that has to be submersed in water to become visible. Think of a print that looks one way when dry, but the owner knows there is a second hidden print on the art piece that will appear only when the artwork gets dropped into water. But till that happens, it is invisible.
I must say I'm very tempted to order some of these inks, just to play with those possibilities.
Here is the page I am talking about
PS: An interesting tidbit of information about rubber based inks that I found on the gansink.com web site: Rubber based inks dry by substrate prenetration only, therefore they should not be used on coated paper, mylar, plastic etc. This information is on this page. Another thing about rubber based inks: As I mentioned I found a source for smaller quantities. Essentially, somebody who is buying large amounts and filling the ink into tubes. However, I noticed that rubber based inks are reeeeally stiff and so it's pretty hard to get the stuff out of the tube. You can get it out, but it requires a bit of work ;) Still beats throwing away half the can because it dries out before you have opportunity to use it -- if you use the stuff only every now and then, like I do.
posted by Andreas at 11:54 PM
1 Comments:
A brief follow-up to what I wrote about rubber based inks that don't dry well on coated paper etc.? Well, I made a large sheet with samples of all of my printing inks on them so I could compare all colors. I did that on Lenox printmaking paper, which is not really glossy but has a relatively smooth surface and is probably a hot-pressed paper. After one day most of the inks were mostly dry. Some of the oil-based inks had still a liiittle bit of tack (because I put them on thicker than you would in a print). The rubber based was almost as if it had just come out of the tube.
After 2.5 days the rubber based ink still was wet and it appeared as if it hadn't changed at all. I might end up throwing away that ink sampler because the rubber based ink simply doesn't dry on that paper. And that's not even coated paper! Yikes!
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