To clean ink off your press, we recommend California Wash used with rags or disposable shop towels. This press wash cleans up acrylic, oil based and rubber based inks well, is a low VOC solvent, and has a mild somewhat citrus odor. For an occasional cleaning and deglazing of rollers, use Easy Street Additive after press wash.
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Why shouldn’t I let oil-based letterpress ink dry on my rollers
Oil based inks will dry within a few hours if left unattended on press; dried oil-based inks can take a long time to clean and can even cause rollers to be permanently damaged.
How do I print with light toned letterpress inks on dark paper?
With letterpress, we most often print dark ink on light paper, because that is letterpress printing’s strength! Light ink on dark paper is really best suited for engraving. That said, if you really want light ink on dark paper, just be prepared for paper to show through. Think “chalkboard” for the end results. Letterpress uses transparent inks. Even with opaque white, printing light ink on dark paper will be like using a thin coat of white paint on a brown wall: you’ll see the brown color through the paint. If using a pure white ink, you can run a piece through the press twice to create a more dense color. Metallic inks will be more opaque and are the most popular choice for paper cover-up with dark papers.
How do I firm up my thin letterpress ink?
Add magnesium carbonate to your ink. Magnesium carbonate is available in our Supplies section from Boxcar Press. Inks are measured by their tackiness or stickiness and their body or how stiff it is. An ink’s body can be drippy like chocolate syrup topping or thicker like frosting or paste. The ink can also be described as being long or short. Long inks are tackier and when pulled up straight from the can will have a long tail. The white powder of magnesium carbonate will stiffen your ink and reduce tackiness.
What are the most essential basic letterpress ink colors for me to have in my shop?
Try our letterpress ink basic starter kit, which includes Printing Black; Warm Red; Reflex Blue; Yellow; Transparent White (mixing white); and Pantone Black (mixing black). With these 6 colors you can mix over 250 pantone colors. If you’re ready for more, you may want to try the remaining Pantone base colors.
What letterpress ink should I use: oil base, rubber base, or acrylic?
We recommend rubber-based inks for general letterpress printing—it’s the type of ink we use in our own print shop. Rubber-based inks dry by being absorbed into the paper. That makes them ideal for the cotton and bamboo blends of paper used in letterpress. Use the oil-based inks if you’d like a glossier ink that works well with coated papers . Oil based inks dry by oxidation or air drying. That is why they can form a skin on the top of the can after opening and why you won’t want to keep it on your press overnight. Try the acrylic if you’re looking for a glossier ink that can still stay open on the press. Acrylic inks will also harden in the can quicker than rubber-based inks so long term storage can be a factor.
It is best to mix only like inks from the same family—oil base with oil base, rubber base with rubber, and acrylic with acrylic.
Can I mix an oil-based letterpress ink with a rubber-based letterpress ink or an acrylic ink?
No, it’s not recommended to mix ink types. You can get unexpected results when you mix the different characteristics of oil-based, acrylic or rubber-based inks. The acidities, emulsifications, driers, and amounts of distillates can compete with each other and alter drying properties or tackiness.