How to Linoleum Block Print Your Holiday Cards

Once you've designed the holiday statement you want to make and carved your linoleum block, you're ready to print your cards.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Linoleum Block Carving Tool Sets
• Linoleum Block Inks
• Linoleum Blocks - Carved
• Clean Rags
• Envelopes
• Ink Rollers
• Paper Or Greeting Cards
• Paper Towels
• Soft-lead Pencils
• Tracing Paper
• Paper towels
• flat, glass baking dishes

1. Set out your materials: you'll need your block (or blocks), an ink roller, a container with a smooth surface (such as a glass pie plate), ink, and your paper or blank cards.

2. Dust off your linoleum block with a paper towel or clean rag.

3. Squeeze some ink onto your smooth surface.

4. Roll it around with the roller until the roller is evenly and thinly coated.

5. Roll the roller back and forth over your linoleum block until the entire surface is coated.

6. Set the roller down.

7. Pick the block up.

8. Flip it over and set it down squarely onto your paper.

9. Press gently, but do not wiggle or twist the block - if you twist, the design will smear.

10. Lift the block straight up off the paper and set it down.

11. Place the paper in a safe, clean place to dry.

12. Repeat.

Tips & Warnings

• Professional printers leave the inked surface in place and put the paper face down on top of the block. You'll need an extra roller to apply pressure to the back of the paper if you want to try this.

• Experiment to see how much ink is the right amount: too little and coverage will be skimpy; too much and the ink will fill in the design, causing you to lose detail. If you absolutely can't get it right, you may need to wash off the block, dry it, and use the carving tools to make some adjustments.

• If you're using more than one color, experiment. If you layer colors when they're wet, they'll mix a bit. If you wait until the first layer is dry, the second will coat the first without mixing.