Welcome back, my printmaking nerds! Thanks for being a member of this thriving community! Was this forwarded to you? Well, sign-up here.

Summer is upon us and you know what that means? Your prints will (hopefully) dry faster!

In this week’s issue…

• Community Survey Results

• Test-printing Cranfield Caligo Inks

• Question Time! 

Let’s dive in…

Cartoon of the week

Community Survey Results

It is much appreciated for those who submitted a response to my Community Survey. As an advocate for transparency, here are the main takeaways from the survey.

My goal is to write something that you can read in under eight (8) minutes. So far, the articles have ranged between 839-2411 words. All of which can take the average person, reading at 300 wpm, between 3-8 minutes. Moving forward, article lengths will be 1500-2000 words.

This newsletter will continue to be emailed on Mondays at 6:00 AM Pacific Standard Time. For my non-West Coast friends that means:

• Denver/El Paso 7:00 AM MDT

• Chicago/Mexico City/Houston 8:00 AM CDT

• New York/Ontario/Raleigh 9:00 AM EST

• Chile 9:00 AM CLT

• United Kingdom 2:00 PM BST

• Sweden/Germany 3:00 PM CEST

• Perth 9:00 PM AWST

• Sydney 11:00 PM AEST

‘The Inkplate’ is a newsletter for Printmakers, Students, and Collectors. This is exactly how you identified yourselves. I was right on the money with this one.

I am happy to know that you are the exact audience I strive to reach. We are a great mix of artists with varying talents and backgrounds.

The cartoon question is split among the audience! I have decided to call it the best of both worlds. Moving forward, I will alternate between a sketch from my private sketchbooks and a New Yorker cartoon each week.

Articles will continue to be educational with topics on printmaking techniques, highlighting living artists, material/tools reviews, and the business side of art. I will also be writing a limited number of opinion pieces on motivation, habit building, life as a working artist, issues affecting artists, art books and art courses/classes.

Cranfield Safe Wash Ink

I see so many people on Instagram working with Canrfield Ink. I had bought a tube some weeks ago but had not cracked it open yet. Ironically, one of ‘The Inkplate’ readers asked me my opinion about them last week. So, I had no choice but to get to work!

The Basics 

Despite being a British brand, you can find these inks on popular American retailers: Amazon, Blick, McClains. Both lines of inks, Traditional and Safe Wash, have received a ‘non-toxic’ label by the ACMI. Don't test your luck by eating them or using them as lotion!

Cranfield has a large range of colors. In my opinion, they are competitive over Speedball and Gamblin.

• Cranfield Traditional: 28 hues + 1 transparent base

• Cranfield Safe Wash: 19 hues + 1 transparent base

• Speedball Professional Relief Inks: 10 hues + 1 transparent base

• Gamblin Relief Ink: 9 hues + 1 transparent base

Cranfield packages their inks on a tube instead of a tin and I personally like this better. A tin is easier for storage purposes but in my experience the ink tends to get clumpy as it ages. The tube, as long as the cap is sealed tightly, does a good job preventing ink oxidation. A common problem I have with tins is that they never seal tightly. I resort to taping them down with masking tape.

It is also so much neater to squeeze out a bit of ink from a tube which can help you be mindful of how much ink you are using and to keep expenses down.

Brand: Cranfield Caligo Traditional Relief Inks.

Price: $10.71 for 75ml tube.

Dry Time: Dry to the touch for 24 hours, rub-proof for 2 days (continued on Final Thoughts) 

Smell: Very faint linseed oil. I had to take a deep sniff of it to detect any odor.

Clean Up: Roll a brayer into newspaper to remove the ink, add a little bit of vegetable/linseed oil to loosen up remaining ink and wipe clean. An ink plate can be wiped up with paper towels. Finish with soapy water to cut greasy residue.

Recommend: Yes.

Negatives: Longer clean-up.

Final Thoughts: The formula for this ink is great. A perfect balance of tack and viscosity, whereas the Speedball Professional line can be little clumpy and at times grainy (if air got into the tin). When rolling into the inking plate it did not create any clumps and I was able to thin it out without having excessive amounts of ink flying off the roller or my hand.

Since the ink is oil-based, you don’t really need to rush. I also noticed that ink does not clog the fine lines of blocks. This could also have been due to the fact that I was able to really thin out the ink.

When it comes to drying time several things could come into play here, weather being the first one. My prints dried relatively quickly since California has entered the scourging hot summer months. Day time temperatures reach over 100℉ and my studio has a large wall facing west, turning the studio to an oven past 4:00 PM. These dry and hot conditions seem to have sped up the drying process.

Overall I would use it again, and will be purchasing different hues to test out in the future.

Brand: Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks.

Price: $17.70 for 150 ml tube.

Dry Time: Dry to the touch for 48 hours, rub-proof for 3 days (continued on Final Thoughts)

Smell: Similar to it traditional twin.

Clean Up: Mild Soap and cold water on both brayer and ink plate.

Recommend: Yes.

Negatives: None in my opinion.

Final Thoughts: Similar to its 'Traditional Ink" counterpart the formula feels the same, the ink reacts in the same manner. Obviously, the chemistry is different since this ink can be cleaned up with soap and water and you can notice that since this ink is wetter and smoother.

When it came to drying time, these prints took a little longer to dry, as mentioned before weather can be a factor. The temperatures dropped over the weekend, and we went from the 100s Fahrenheit to 70s. Still the ink was dry to the touch within two days, and fully rub proof in three days. Regardless of dry time I leave all my prints hanging one week.

Overall, I will use them again, the one advantage both of these inks have is their mild smell. Which is important if you are working from home, like me.

Question Time!

What’s your advice on packaging / mailing / to frame or not to frame (i.e. let buyer handle that?) - Anonymous

Thanks for your excellent question! I use the United States Postal Service to ship all my work and have not a single problem.

I mail anything 11x14 and smaller on flat corrugated reinforced recycled cardboard mailer. Sheesh, that was a mouthful! The print itself is inside an acid free photo bag with a cardboard backing.

Larger pieces up to 18x24, I ship either flat or in tubes. This depends more on the paper weight. Certain papers will crease when rolled. I suggest you test some paper before you decide to roll!

All my packaging is 100% PCR, which has a higher upfront cost to me, but it aligns with my environmental beliefs. I am also phasing plastics from my packaging, which is harder than you may expect.

I do not mail framed pieces. The cost for both packaging and shipping increase dramatically. Plus, you really have to be great at framing and packaging to ensure that your piece arrives…well in one piece! 😉

Have a question you would like for me to answer? Reply to this email!

Thanks for reading. See you next Monday!

-Daniel