Ink, Slabs, Hand-Rollers and Driers
Inks, Driers and Transparent Medium
We source all of our ink from Lawrences whose linseed-oil based range is perfect for relief printing of all kinds. Most of their customers are artists and designers, so they have a palette of colours closer to oil paints than the process colours used by the printing industry. They stock the Cobalt Driers that work with all their linseed-oil based inks, too.
If your ink tins develop a skin, leave it on! Peel it back when you need to get at the good ink underneath, then use it to cover what's left and help prevent further drying. Use a disc of cooking foil under the lid of new tins to reduce skinning in the first place.
They can also supply the popular transparent ‘Reducing Medium’ with which you can create translucent effects and there's a selection of blacks ideal for text.
We haven't tried their waterbased inks but they might be worth looking into if you're printing with children!
Hand Rollers
Buy polyurethane if you can afford it; it's gentle on type and picks up ink well. Lawrences Artist Quality Durathene hand-rollers are the very best you can get, but at but at £60 - £250 we think you'd be better off plumping for the Student Quality Durathenes!
Glass Inking Slabs
A local glazier will be happy to make you an inking slab in pretty much any size you like (12 x 10" is a nice size). Ask for plate glass with arrised (rounded) edges. Lawrences have a small inking slab for a good price, too.
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