When inking for letterpress, very little is always better. You only need a very light layer of ink on the top of your plates. We suggest the 2-step method of inking.
You will need these items:
- A new brayer (throw out the one that came with the machine and purchase a soft rubber brayer)
- The hard plastic sheet that comes with your machine – approx 6”.
- An ink knife
- Another piece of glass (or plastic) for part two of your inking – at least 8” wide and long.
Steps:
- Squeeze out an inch or two of ink from the tube. Or if you have a can of our Van Son ink, take your ink knife and scoop out a tablespoon of ink from the surface of the ink can. Place it on the 6” square and start to mix the ink to make it more fluid and smooth. Use a motion like scrambling eggs where you turn the ink over, pull the knife through and repeat. The ink should soften a little while you mix.
- Take the ink knife and pull a small ⅛” thick roll of ink from the mixture with your blade. Move this ink to the second piece of glass. Dab that ink across the glass until it’s about equal to the width of your brayer. Roll your brayer back and forth and side to side through the ink until it’s spread out evenly on the brayer. The ink may make a little noise like its snapping as you spread it out.
You will need very little ink for printing and this two step method means that you can control your ink coverage better. Using your roller bearers (polymer strips we ship you), lay the strips on both sides of your design plate. These support your brayer for smooth inking. Take your brayer and ink up your polymer plate – usually 1-2 rolls of the brayer. If your inking is fuzzy and on the sides of your impression, you have too much ink. Wipe off your brayer and roll it through the ink again.
With a little practice you will learn to control inking. To add more ink to your second inked glass, pull a small bit from the first mixing square – always 1/8″ thick roll or less.
Posted in: L Letterpress, L Letterpress Supplies Category