Relief Printmaking Registration Template

Series Summary

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing on paper. Prints are created from a single original surface, like metal plates, stone, wood blocks, or linoleum. The plates or wood blocks are then inked and run through a press to create a print. Though many prints can be produced from a single plate, each print is considered an original piece of art since it is not a replica of an existing piece. Albrecht Durer of early sixteenth century Europe created woodcuts and etchings of the highest quality, which increased the use and popularity of this art method. Today, hundreds of artists still use the same printmaking techniques of old to create truly unique prints. One type of printmaking is relief printing. In this method, the raised portions of a wood block are printed, and the carved areas are left without ink. Registration in relief printmaking is a process of lining up a wood block and paper in the exact same place multiple times. Print registration is significant when printing an edition of identical prints. In this free printmaking video series, an experience printmaker demonstrates the print registering process. Learn how to make a registration template and jig guides. Find out about different registration options that help ease the printmaking process. Create a whole series of prints with these simple instructions.

Video Transcript

"Now, I'm going to talk about registering your print in your block of wood so that you can print evenly and cleanly. And it's helpful when you're making an edition. In order to do that, the first thing I'm going to do is I've got this piece of newsprint paper, which is going to be my template. And this is my paper that I'm going to print on. So, I need to put this onto my template. First thing I'm going to do, actually, is tape down this template to keep it from moving (tapes). Then, I'm going to give a quick outline of my paper, so I know where I want to lie my paper every time I print. In order to keep this consistent, if you have several pieces of paper, they're going to need to be the same size. I'm going to mark a few lines just for me to know where that piece of paper needs to sit. OK? So, my outside line here is my paper. And next, I'm going to want to line up my block of wood. Now, my block of wood is actually going to be in reverse. But since the ink is still wet, I'm actually going to use it face up for our purposes. And here, if I want to, I can measure exactly so that I know that I can have it perfectly centered here. I have about five centimeters on the other side (measures). And at one millimeter off, so we're going to move it this way. Generally, when printing prints, we wait on the bottom, meaning that you give a little bit of extra space on the bottom than you do at the top of the edges."