Printing Techniques

Mono printing:
Mono-printing is to make an impression on paper, the process only allowing one print to be made.The process involves rolling oil based ink onto a piece of glass, making sure there is an even coverage, then placing paper over the top of the ink then adding a design on top of the paper that is going to be traced and transferred onto the paper by applying pressure into the ink. In terms of health and safety it is best to avoid skin contact with the ink in case of irritation.

This is the design that I wanted to trace for my mono print.

This is my first attempt of mono printing, I chose to use an orange ink as it is a very vibrant colour that would stand out on the paper. One thing that I did not take into consideration was due to the fact that I was tracing the image, the typography will be the wrong way round. Overall I think the outline of Mickey Mouse was slightly successful however I applied too much pressure to my wrist while tracing the design and therefore produced a very dark area where the ink had transferred to the paper. From this mistake I have learnt not to apply too much pressure in unwanted spaces and to blot the paper beforehand to get rid of any excess ink to avoid any big blotches.

This is my second attempt of mono printing. For this I used the same piece of glass and did not add anymore ink to it to avoid big blotches of ink (in previous image). I chose not to trace around the typography as I did not want it to be backwards and did not want to write it freehand. I feel as though this print was very successful compared to the first one as the image is more clear and there is less orange ink in the background of the image hence making the image stand out more. One thing I could improve is the neatness of the lines to make it look more professional.

Screen Printing: 
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil which is placed in between the paper and the mesh forms open areas of mesh that transfers ink which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto the paper. In terms of health and safety you have to make sure that all surfaces are covered with newspaper or other scrap materials to reduce the risk of spilling the ink and slipping on it. Another health and safety precaution is to, again, make sure to avoid skin contact with the ink.