Recommended Tools & Materials for Linocut and Screen Printmaking

I am excited to announce that I am now an Opus Art Supplies Collaborator, which means I have a special link that will get you 10% off your purchase! (valid once per person).

You can also use code MOLLYGRAYART at checkout.

Opus Art Supplies - Founded in Vancouver. There are stores all over the lower mainland.

Linocut Tools & Materials

Speedball Multi- tool - This is a great starter tool. It comes with 4 gouges & 1 blade.

Pebeo Carving Tools - This set of three carving tools by French company Pébéo comes with a "V" gouge for finer details and 2 "U" gouges for larger details and clearing. This is a great option if you are wanting to have the convenience of not having to change blades when you want a different gouge like the Speedball multi-tool.

Speedball Baron - There are many different kinds of Barons. This one is decent, for small prints I just use my fist as shown in class. A wooden spoon will work well also.

Speedball Speedycarve Rubber - This is a great rubber for learning and making smaller stamps, great if you're wanting to make a bigger print but aren't ready to graduate to hard linoleum, it comes in sizes up to 11.75 x 11.75".

Pebeo Lino - This lino is smooth to carve and holds really fine detail. It is available in the following sizes A3 size, A4 , A5.

Pébéo Brayer 5cm - If you're looking for brayers that have a more professional feel, give these brayers a try. Available in three sizes. and made with wood handle, metal and rubber. You can feel the quality.

Pébéo Brayer 10cm

Pébéo Brayer 15cm

Speedball 2" Brayer - This is the kind I use in class. They are durable and wash up well. The rubber can get a little sticky over time, but you can use a little cornstarch to revive them.

Speedball 4" Brayer

Tracing Paper - The easy image transfer method.

Pencils for Transferring Image to Lino- This is a pack of 4b pencils, you can also use 2b, or 6b.

Scraper for clean up - These scrapers are absolutely necessary for making ink clean up a breeze. You can also find a cheaper plastic version at the dollar store in the hardware section.

Stazon Ink Pad - This is a solvent based ink as mentioned in the ink section.

Speedball Watersoluable inks - Great to start relief printing with. They dry relatively quickly, and are easy to clean. Down side of these, is that if you wanted to add watercolour to your prints, the ink will bleed, so if you're wanting a watersoluble ink that can be used with watercolour once dry.... USE PÉBÉO LINO INK:

Pebeo Lino Watersoluble inks are super cool because they come in a wide range of colours and once they are dry, you can add any other medium to your art and the ink won't bleed. Clean up is SUPER easy, just water and maybe a tiny bit of soap. Just don't let it fully dry or it will be permanent. Available in 24 colours!

Speedball Supergraphic Black - This is an oil based ink that washes up with soap and water. It's also available in a tube format that is easier to deal with and ends up with less wastage.

Printing on Fabric - Speedball really has a monopoly on the block printing fabric ink. It comes in large tubes and smaller tubes and a fairly wide range of colours. I have used this ink for block printing on fabric since 2017!

Printmaking Starter Kits

Speedball Super Value Block Printing Kit - This kit has a brayer, an ink, a carving plate, and a multicarving tool - it's a great budget kit to get started.

Speedball 7-piece starter kit - Basically the same kit as above but with fabric ink, which makes this kit more versatile because you can print on paper and fabric.

Speedball Fabric Printing Kit - This is the kit I would most recommend as it is the most versatile. You can use the fabric ink on paper and fabric.

Speedball Deluxe Screenprinting Kit - This kit has everything but a darkroom to get you started with photo emulsion screen printing. I have not taught this method in any of my workshops but it is a good starting kit for this type of printing. We did stencil screen printing in-class, and the following set is ideal for that:

Speedball Screen Printing Craft Vinyl Kit

Ink/Ink Pads

Stazon Ink Pad - This is a solvent based ink, which means it dries almost instantly when it hits the paper. I love using this for card printing and test printing my linocuts to see if I've removed enough, or missed any spots before rolling out ink.

Pébéo LINO Inks - These inks are made in France, water-soluble which makes them eco friendly, and are permanent once dry. That means you can add water colour, or any other paint to your prints and you won't have to worry about ink bleeding.

Speedball Watersoluable inks - Great to start relief printing with. They dry relatively quickly, and are easy to clean. Down side of these, is that if you wanted to add watercolour to your prints, the ink will bleed.

Speedball Supergraphic Black - This is the professional oil-based ink I use for all my print editions. I like the viscosity and the way it prints. Oil-based inks are archival and will last for a long time. Once dry (about 2 weeks) you can add watercolour or other art mediums ot your prints. Washes up with soap and water. It's also available in a tube format that is easier to deal with and ends up with less wastage.

Speedball Fabric Ink Kit - If you enjoyed printing lino on fabric, this is the ink for you! This is a great little starter kit to try different colours. Once you know what you like, you can purchase them individually in small tubes and large tubes.

Speedball Screenprinting Ink - If you are printing on light coloured t-shirts, this fabric screen printing ink is great! This is a 4-colour starter set, but you can also get large individual ink pots. Requires heat-setting

Speedball Flex Water-based Screenprinting Inks - This is Speedball's latest screen printing ink. It is more flexible and can be printed on a variety of fabrics. As with the acrylic based inks, you can mix colours together to create your own unique colours.

Paper

Any cardstock paper is a great economical paper to get started. Bonus, great for card-making. Downside of this paper is that it is not acid-free, which means it will yellow/degrade over time, so it's not ideal for fine art prints, however, it's great to learn on.

Professional printmaking paper is EXPENSIVE and highly personal to the artist. Everyone will have their preference and it's a matter of trial and error to find what you like. Here are a variety of papers that I use, or have used:

Arnhem 1618 - This is an acid free paper making it archival my favourite paper for editions. Everyone will have different preferences in printmaking paper.

Strathmore Printmaking Paper Pad - This is an acid-free paper that's great to use for your first few editions. Maybe it will be your favourite, maybe not. Won't know until you try it.

Strathmore Mixed Media Paper Pad - This is an acid-free paper that's great to use for if you want to experiment with mixed media.

Below are the two papers that university art professors push students to use and they go on and on about how great it is. Try it, you might love it, and that is valid. I find it too thick and textured for hand printing, and it is also quite expensive. I think that is it overkill when getting started.

Stonehenge Paper 250gsm Sheet White 38" x 50"

Stonehenge Paper Pad 5 x 7" (15 sheets) 250gsm

ARCHES Rives BFK Printmaking Paper - 300gsm White 31" x 47"

ARCHES Rives BFK Printmaking Papers - 280gsm White

ARCHES Rives BFK Printmaking Papers - 250gsm White

ARCHES Rives BFK Printmaking Paper - 180gsm White 19" x 25"

Tracing Paper - This is what we used in class for the second lino transfer method we learned. Simply trace your image, turn the tracing paper over and place it on the lino, and use your thumb nail or a bone folder to scratch the tracing paper until the image thas transferred to the lino. If your image is detailed. I recommend going over your transfer with a fineliner before you start to carve so your image doesn't get blurred while you carve.

Newsprint - By no means do you have to buy this particular newsprint, any blank newsprint will do, or eco-printing paper. This is a low cost paper that it used for your first proof for relief printing, or as paper to put down on your working space to keep things clean.

Screen Printing

Wood Frame Screens- These Speedball screens are great because you can swap out the screens if you accidentally over burn a screen and cant' wash it out, or the ink dries on the screen and you can't wash it out. They come in a variety of sizes as well.

Metal Frame Screen - If you're wanting to do vinyl and stencil screens, choosing a metal screen may be a better choice for you as then are very taught and are easier to clean. Just don't let your ink dry on the screen.

Squeegee - This is an economical Speedball squeegee. It will work fine. It is the one you get in the kit. I will also recommend another kind. You all know I love options!

Squeegee Option 2 - This is the more professional type of Squeegee, but unless you're wanting to go full out into screen printing, the one above will work just fine.

Inks - See the ink section for the full list of inks.

Stencil Film - this transparent sheeting is great for cutting out stencils.

Other stores that may have the products mentioned in this post:

DeSerres - This is a company founded in Quebec. There is a location in Vancouver. Fun fact: this is where I purchased all my art supplies at University when I lived in Quebec!

Rath Art Supplies - This is a store to check out in person. I don't think they have a huge Printmaking section, but it's a really neat small business art store!

Michael's Art and Craft Supplies - Often have 30-40% off coupons available for online and in-store purchases. Great for those one item purchases. Not my favourite to shop in-person because of the florescent lighting.

Above Ground Art Supplies - Located in Toronto. This is my favourite store for pricing, reasonable shipping fees/shipping time. This is where I order linoleum by foot, printmaking paper and inks.

KMS Tools - For professional palm tools like Pfeil, and Flexcut.

If you are reading this and noticed I missed a tool, or useful item, please let me know!

Cheers,

Molly