22nd September Mono-Printing Task

In Tuesday afternoon, we created a range of pieces for the “Hands on Project” through printing process called mono-printing. I was really curious to try and experiment with this process as I have never explored using prints and inks before. This made the task interesting as I was exploring new materials, tools and methods. Firstly, we were given a demonstration on how to use the materials and tools. Next, we took these instructions to create our own prints independently and collected a range of paper to work on. I wanted to practise and explore a variety of mono-prints on different surfaces so I designed on some surfaces and kept some surfaces plain. To decorate some surfaces I used tissue paper as it is thin material that will allow ink to print effectively onto the paper. I created a range of shapes such as circles and triangles for the decoration and I also created a hand shape from the same material to be placed on a surface. Also, instead of using normal plain A4 paper I also used brown parcel paper to explore different materials and to see which surface is the most effective to print a design onto the surface.

For the surface, I measured the paper in different sizes to experiment two different printing methods which are called the direct method and the indirect method. The direct method is where you draw directly into the ink and this was going to be used with the large paper in the workshop to transfer a free hand drawing into a print. Also, the other method is the indirect method where you place a piece of paper onto a clean roll of ink and place an image on top of the paper. Then you trace around the image that is placed on the paper, roll the surface and take the paper off the ink to reveal a print that has been transferred indirectly. Throughout the task we used the roller as a tool because it allowed the ink to be transferred evenly and present a good quality print and finish. It is important to roll the ink evenly because it will give an even surface that will give a good quality print that will show the design evenly.  

The decorated surfaces for mono-printing.

A mixture of decorated surfaces and plain surfaces.





















After decorating the surfaces, I used my primary images, which I collected from my independent study to use for the mono-printing process. The images are a variety of hands from my family and friends that have different skin texture and size. This allowed each print to be unique and to show a variety of texture and details from each individual hand.

Images placed onto the paper that was ready for mono-printing.

Next, I placed the images onto the paper that I measured and decorated earlier in the task. This made them ready to print indirectly into the ink. To create a mono-printing surface for the paper to be printed on, we placed an A4 plastic sheet onto the table and collected what coloured ink we wanted to use. Then I used the roller to roll the ink out evenly that covered the whole sheet and this made it ready to use. I placed the paper with the image onto the ink and used a pencil to trace the hand image onto the ink through the indirect method. Once the image was traced, I took the paper from the ink to reveal the printed hand. I repeated the process several times with different images, surfaces, decorations and the colour of the ink. All the prints I created are shown below.

The paper placed onto ink ready for mono-printing

The "hand writing mono-print"
shows texture and a build up of
lines which gives an effective,
final, print on the surface.

 

This was my first attempt at
mono-printing. The printed
hand presents an effective
mono-print with decoration
building up texture and makes
the hand stand out. The black
ink is also effective on the
brown paper surface.
 

The "Hand playing the guitar"
presents a rustic image onto
the brown paper as the black
ink stands out on the surface.
Also the print presents finger-
prints from my hand which
relates to the printed image.
 

The surface decoration is
presented on the sheet but
doesn't show the mono-print.
To improve I would change the
colour of the tissue paper
and the colour of the ink.

 

The hand image is presented
on the design clearly but doesn't
match the different colours on
the surface. To improve I would
change the colour of the ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My strengths in the task was that I developed demonstrations that I was given at the start of the lesson to create my own individual prints with different surfaces that I have designed by myself. Also, my strengths in the task was that I have took my independent study research and adapted it for print making which gave a high quality print finish. My weakness in the task was using tissue paper on the surface for mono-printing. When I created a hand shape and printed it onto blue ink the overall appearance looked blurry and didn’t show the mono-print onto the surface. To improve next time I will change the surface of decoration and pick a suitable ink colour so that the mono-print will be visible on the surface. Also my weakness in the task was time management as I didn’t have enough time to explore the direct mono-printing method. To improve next time in the mono-printing task, I will manage my time efficiently and explore direct mono-printing where I will draw one of my primary photographs of a hand into the ink.

Overall the task, was really interesting as it allowed me to explore printing for the first time and techniques that are involved with it. The task also allowed me to become independent with the methods and to create my own individual print finishes. It also allowed me to adapt and develop my own designs by creating my own surfaces with decoration that I thought would be the most suitable. From this task it will help me to develop my skills further and explore more printing methods in the “Print Workshop” that I am going to complete and tasks for the future.