What is Monoprinting?
Monoprinting is a form of art printing where only a single impression can be made. This results a unique one-off edition print. You can take multiple impressions whilst the ink is still wet, but no two prints will turn out the same. Monoprints are also known as Monotypes. The two words are often used to describe the same process and similar techniques, with monoprint being the more common and generic of the two. Some distinguish the two related printing techniques by suggesting monoprints have a repeatable capability whereas monotype prints are one-off prints.
Monoprint and Monotype are a direct and immediate form of printing. They incorporate elements of drawing and painting, with an immeasurable amount of opportunities for experimentation and creative discovery. Monotype and monoprinting techniques are diverse and incredibly versatile, and can involve combining other printing and multimedia techniques such as block printing, etching, woodcut, collage, painting, and drawing.
There are many monoprinting techniques artists use, with most of them being very easy to replicate. In this article, we shall cover some of these techniques and provide you with the information you need to purchase the right tools and substrates to print onto.
Where Can I Do Monoprinting?
Monoprinting can be accomplished anywhere, from a studio to on your kitchen table! Thanks to the range of non-toxic and water-based inks now available, dangerous chemicals are no longer needed, and you don't even need a printing press! Also, unlike screen printing which forces ink through a screen, with monoprinting you're painting or rolling ink onto a flat printing surface. Once the printing slab has been inked, you can either manipulate the ink then place your paper down onto the ink to impress the image onto the paper, or lay your paper onto the untouched ink and create your image by working on the back of the paper.
Monotype and Monoprinting are known as Planographic Printing, which basically means printing from a flat surface. Relief Printing has a raised surface and Intaglio Printing has an incised surface.
Professional print artists may use oil-based printing ink and a printing press, however as a beginner this isn't really necessary. To start with, you can use almost any soft-body acrylic paint and mediums such as Daler-Rowney Adigraf Acrylic Block Printing Medium to convert paints into printmaking inks. Similarly, there are mediums available to turn oil paints into printing inks.
What Equipment Do I Need for Monoprinting?
To start with, you should try to acquire a clean, flat, scratch-free surface – such as glass, acrylic, acetate, or plastic – to prepare your inks upon. Essdee ink trays are purpose-built for this.
You'll also need at least two Brayer or Ink Rollers, which you can find in our Printmaking Collection. One is used for preparing the ink on the tray and applying to the surface, and the other is to press on the back of the paper when pressing down onto the inked plate. This second roller should be kept clean. The more rollers you have, the more colours you can use, as ideally you will need one for each coloured ink.
As mentioned before, you can create you own block printing inks with block printing mediums. However, you can also find purpose-made block printing inks on the ARTdiscount website, which allow you to get printing right away.
Printmaking is a messy business, so we recommend you keep plenty of paper towels or rags to hand for cleaning up! These can also be used for lifting ink off your plate for a reductive technique. A soft rag bunched up into a soft ball can also be used to apply pressure onto the back of your paper, transferring the ink from the plate onto the paper. Move in a circular motion with medium to hard pressure.
You should try to acquire a range of different coloured and/or different weights of papers. These don't necessarily have to be typical artists' papers, you could use old book pages, newspapers, tracing paper, and more for interesting creative effects! For a more professional finish, you could use specifically-made artists papers. Those with a smoother texture, like hot-pressed watercolour paper or cartridge paper, usually work best.
To demarcate your printing area and for attaching your paper, you'll need some scotch masking tape.
Keep a range of different drawing tools to hand, with a variety of thick and thin shapes; pencil, biro, chalk, graphite stick, crayons, kabab stick, and toothpicks are all great for creating unique marks.
Plastic palette knives are handy for mixing paint with Adigraf, or to use when creating tints and tones of new colours. You can also use them to make marks on your inked surface. Use a plastic knife rather than metal so that you don't scratch the surface of your printing plate.
Though this is more optional, tools like Catalyst by Princeton Silicone Blades and Catalyst Contours are great for mark-making in your ink before printing and there are lots of different shapes to choose from.
Additional Materials; Texture and Mark-Making Tools Found Around the Home
Interesting mark-making tools can be found all around the home (or even on your daily walks)! These items will allow you to create exceptionally unique textures and marks on your prints. For example, you could press leaves into your ink before printing to create shapes and textures, or leave them on the plate to create a stencil. Alternatively, you can press textured wallpaper or sponges into the ink before printing to create other interesting and varied textures.
You could draw into the ink with kebab sticks or toothpicks for ultra-fine line work, which is great for adding details. You can also use them on the back of the paper to trace a line or make a mark. The only thing to remember is not to use anything that is very sharp, as it may scratch your printing surface permanently.
Some item suggestions include:
- Bubble wrap
- Corrugated cardboard
- String and cotton
- Leaves and sticks
- Cotton buds
- Kebab sticks
- Tooth picks
- Odd bits of raised textured or patterned wallpaper for creating texture on the printing slab/matrix
- Small bits of card
- Old newspaper or old book pages to print onto
However, you could use almost anything for these marks! Look around you and use your imagination, you never know what you may find.
Monoprinting and Monotype Printing Guidelines
Monoprints are a really easy form of printing to do both as a beginner or as a professional. Young creatives will especially love monoprinting because the techniques are fun and very easy to get the hang of.
The basic principle behind monotype printing is that ink is rolled out evenly with a roller or painted with a brush onto your printing slab/matrix. An image can be created in the ink before paper is placed onto the inked surface, or an image can be worked on the back of the paper placed on top of the inked surface. Below is a step-by-step guide to help your first printing adventure.
Let's begin!
Preparation of Equipment - Health & Safety First!
Prepare your equipment and have everything at hand. Make sure your printing surface and the surrounding environment is clean and dust free.
Wear suitable protective clothing. Because even water-based acrylic paint can damage your clothes, we highly recommend wearing aprons and gloves.
Choosing an Image to Print
If you're just starting out or are working with young creatives, choose easy shapes first, such as shells, leaves, seaweed. From there, you can move onto advanced themes like florals, figures, landscapes, animals, trees. Alternatively, you can explore creating abstract patterns and textures. Use a photocopy of your image/photograph or have a copy of your sketch at the ready. Don't use your original design/drawing, as you will be tracing over it.
A good point to remember when monoprinting is the image is always reversed so if you wish to print any letters or numbers, they will have to be copied in a mirror image format first.
Deciding on Scale and Marking Out Your Printing Area
If your image is an A4 size (21.0 x 29.7cm), using masking tape mark out a rectangular shape on your printing surface in either landscape or portrait, depending on your image. Aim to print your A4 image onto A3 paper so you can have a good, clean border around your artwork. After marking out your A4 printing area, mark out your A3 paper scale also. This is so you can lay down your paper in the same place for registration every time you print.
Mask either on top of your Perspex if you are using an opaque slab/matrix or, if you are using a transparent printing surface, then turn your slab over so the tape is underneath. This way, the tape won't get covered in ink and this will help you to register your design or image for multiple monoprinting techniques.
Paper borders can also be used to prevent leakage of ink and keep your printing paper clean.
The inked area should always be smaller than your paper. When you have finished printing, wash your slab/matrix and remove the masking tape straight away. If left to dry, the glue from the tape will become very difficult to remove.
Inking Surface; Your Slab/Plate/Matrix
If you only have a small printing surface, you can roll your ink out onto a separate inking tray first. Remember, printing ink is slightly thicker and tackier than normal paint. If you have mixed your acrylic paint with a printing medium like Adigraf, make sure you have combined them thoroughly.
Roll out your ink several times back and forth on your inking tray/palette (or to the side of your printing area if you have a large plate) until it slightly changes in consistency from a thick glue to a more smoother and more velvety consistency.
Work your roller over your inked area a few times until your ink is nice and velvety smooth in texture. Remember you don't need a lot of ink; a little goes a long way! Once the ink has changed consistency, it will be ready to be transferred onto your printing area that you marked out with tape.
Rolling your ink away from your printing surface first will allow you to pick up just enough ink to then put down onto your demarcated printing surface, leaving most of the excess ink behind in the tray.
Applying Your Ink
Once you have demarcated your printing area with tape and loaded your roller with ink, proceed to apply your ink onto your plate. Work your inked roller over the surface a few times until it is nice and smooth and velvety in texture. Don't apply too much ink, and keep within the area masked off with tape. This will give you a clean, sharp border.
You can also use a paper border on top of your inked surface to keep your paper clean; the wet ink will adhere the paper border to the plate. Just use copy paper for your border paper. Discard it straight away when you have finished printing, as it will stick to the plate if left to dry.
Choosing Your Paper
Select the paper you wish to print onto. You can basically use any paper for monoprinting, but one that has a smooth tooth, and is flexible and slightly robust will allow you to print on it several times or over it if you are trace printing. We recommend Hereford Block Printing and Etching Paper, but any cartridge paper between 130gsm to 150gsm will suffice. Good quality copy paper can be used at least once.
However, if you're the adventurous type, you could use dyed paper, old book pages, old pattern pieces, and maps make interesting backgrounds.
Once you have completed creating your image and you feel that the ink has transferred successfully, carefully peel off your paper and lay it somewhere clean and flat to dry.
Registration and Mark Making
For consistent registration whilst printing, you can create a masking tape hinge. Tape your paper to the top of the demarcated printing area. The tape acts as a hinge so you can lift up your piece of paper to check your design and place it back in the same place.
The heavier the pressure used with any of your line making instruments, the darker the mark, so try to keep fingers or the side of your hand from resting on the paper as you draw. Use the borders around the inked area for support.
Linear Trace Monoprinting Techniques
Linear trace monoprinting is an easy technique to follow, as you are either tracing over a copy of a photograph or a copy of your own original drawing.
Once the printing plate has been inked and your printing paper is in place over the ink, lay your image to be traced over the printing paper and secure at the top with a piece of tape and you are ready to go.
If you wish to create interesting variations of line, use different implements to draw with; pencil, biro, chalk, crayon, tooth picks, or kebab sticks are great for this. Ensure you also use different levels of pressure to create a variety of line weights and marks.
Additive Techniques
The additive method simply means adding layers of paint onto the printing plate with a brush or other soft implement. You can create a whole print by placing an image under your transparent Perspex sheet or glass to use as a guide, then apply ink with a variety of brushes or sponges to create texture or with a plastic palette knife to achieve the desired effect on your blank paper. Also, with this technique you don't need to cover the entire surface with ink, only paint it in the places you choose.
You can also use this additive technique after you have printed your image but want to develop it further. You can use the subtractive method in conjunction with the additive method when you become more confident with your printmaking technique.
Subtractive or Reductive Techniques
A subtractive or reductive method can be used when creating negative painting techniques. Instead of painting the shapes, the ink is removed from your inked slab/matrix before you transfer the image onto paper. The printing ink can be removed using items such as a rag or a soft brush, bubble wrap, or cotton buds to create interesting textures.
Ghost Printing
Ghost Printing is when, after the initial linear image has been traced and lifted off as a first print, a second paper is laid down over the ink and a second print is taken from the leftover ink on the plate. The result will be a lighter print than the first as there will be less ink on the plate. The outcome of this ghost print is the negative of the first image.
Before laying down your piece of paper for a second time over the ink, you can draw back into the ink to develop the image further or draw on the back of your piece of paper to develop the image.
Using Stencils
There are many papers that make a good stencil for this kind of monoprinting, thin photocopy paper can easily be cut into, and sharp shapes can be created using a craft knife on a cutting mat. Unfortunately they can only really be used once as the paper will disintegrate once lifted off the plate.
Special stencil paper will last longer and may be used several times. Sheets of acetate can also work well, as it is easy to cut and can be used many times over. Glossy magazine paper is also great to use as stencil, but can only be used once.
Ready made stencils may be found around the house for example, paper doilies, bits of old lace, plastic cut out craft ribbon etc...
Organic materials such as leaves and petals and soft stems can be used as stencils.
Equipment for Cutting Out Your Own Stencils:
Advanced Monoprinting Techniques:
Chine Colle - Before monoprinting, tissue paper is glued down onto the substrate (heavier paper) and left to dry. You could use different coloured tissue papers to your image or thin book pages, sheet music, maps, or even something like dress pattern paper. This technique provides a two-layer paper support for your image and could make for some interesting outcomes? This technique originated from China and Japan.
Multi-Coloured Monoprinting - There are two ways to create different colours. One would be to roll different colours on top of each other on the plate. The other is to roll two colours at the same time with your roller, half and half, then transfer the colours onto your plate/slab.
Using the additive technique you can brush as many colours as you wish onto the plate before printing.
Cartridge and Watercolour Paper for Monotype Printing
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ARTdiscount Cartridge Paper Pack A1 - 25 Sheets
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Hereford Block Printing and Etching Paper
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Seawhite All Black Paper Starter Sketchbook
- Seawhite Tropical Coloured PAPER A3 - 10 sheet pack
- Hot-Pressed Watercolour Paper Collection
Colourful Ready-to-Use Inks
Make Your Mark!
We hope you have found this guide helpful and are now inspired to create monoprints using various techniques and other methods detailed above. Stay curious, stay creative, and remember, as we suggested at the beginning of this blog, you can create an original image and develop different art prints very easily with inexpensive equipment and household items.
Good luck in your creative adventures and please share your work with us on social media!
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