Dec 2020 from CathyO - itty bitty printing press

 

I'm only 50% sure that the next batch of envelopes have never been posted. I found them in a folder that indicates some of them have been posted - others have not. If anyone spots something that has already been posted - please let me know.

This set is from CathyO and it is so.much.fun. Those were lovely stamps and it's an inspirational idea. Below is the card and the Pogo cartoon - source of what Boston Charlie means. 

I HIGHLY recommend you take 2 minutes to listen to the entire song. It is classic -- and mentions scribbling.

LINK to Pogo song

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I have no idea if there are any printmakers reading the blog. Not everyone understands the difference between prints that are copies of original art and prints where each one is an original image.

There are 4+1 basic types of prints - that are original works of art and not cheap *prints* of other art:

1 - relief print where you have a plate or block and you carve away the part that is not image. This can be a potato print or a very sophisticated multi-plate (multi-colors) wood block print.

2 - intaglio - where you scratch (etch) lines (grooves) into a metal (lucite) plate, spread ink over the plate, wipe off the ink leaving ink down in the grooves (scratches) then send it through a press that applies so much pressure, the ink in the groove transfers to the paper and after it dries, you can feel the ink because it is raised (it compares to the feel of money and postage stamps - where the ink is raised*)

3 - lithography - an image is established (often on a stone - but commercially it is on a metal plate) without either the image or the non-image being raised. The principle of oil and water not mixing is used to get the ink to stick to the image which is then transferred to paper or whatever.

4 - silk screen ( & roto-graveur) squeeze ink through a mesh - 

5 - Digital printing - significantly different from the others (since there are no plates), but, worth mentioning

Forgive these overly simplified descriptions -- but if you have ever had the opportunity to do intaglio printing -- it is one of the coolest processes - but you have to have access to a very large, heavy, expensive press. Here are 2 very clever fellows who have invented a press for a very reasonable price -- and you're limited to postage stamps sized art -- so, it's a win-win for some of us.

LINK to very cool printing press

And here is the amazing part -- rather than buying a press from them - if you have a way to do your own 3D printing - you can make your own from their FREE plans. I am sooooooo tempted. 

And just to be clear about thermography:

* thermography, on wedding invitations and business cards is fake intaglio (sometimes called engraving, as in *an engraved invitation*) To save money, they invented an ink that was sticky. After they printed the invitation, they dusted some powder on it - and then sent it through an oven that melted the powder and gave that raised feel. For a long time, it was shiny and looked like a cheap imitation. Eventually, they figured out how to make it matte - so it looks a lot better these days -- however - you can still tell the difference because thermography does not require a lot of pressure. Engraving still requires pressure - so you can see on the back of the invitation where there is a very slight indentation.