Printing Process for

Reduction Relief Linoleum Block Prints

The process of my work is by the relief and carving away of the linoleum printmaking technique. Relief meaning, that the ink is on the surface of the print plate rather than in the groves as in the etching method.  I use the reduction (carving away the linoleum) process to apply layers of color to the plate.

 I start the process by drawing in colored pencil on the surface of the linoleum the image that I desire. In the first cutting of the linoleum, only the areas that will remain white or show the color of the paper will be cut.

The first colored ink is rolled all over the surface of the block then the paper is put down on the block and the ink is transferred to the paper. Next, the areas of the image to remain as the first ink color are cut away and the whole block is printed in the second color.  This process continues until all colors that are to be used are printed and the print is finished. I typically will use seven to fifteen colors for one print.  This also means you must decide on the number of prints in the edition from the start as the block is gradually reduced so that at the final printing the block and can no longer be used. Registration, making sure the paper falls in the same place each time, is achieved by the use of lines on the back of the print that match up with lines on the press or registration chase.