The Printing Process

The cardboard design is covered in glue and the finished textured sand picture shows the designs covered in blue/green sand

Target Subject: Technology/engineering

Author

Yoo Jin Chung and Kate Fraser

Purpose

To understand how to create a print through letterpress printing.

Background Information

Many printing processes involve transferring a message or an image from one medium to another, such as a paper. There are various processes in creating printed materials.

Less than a century ago, about 40% of all printed materials were printed using letterpress printing presses. In letterpress printing, or relief painting, the printing surface is raised above the rest of the plate. The process is called flexography when the printing plates are made of rubber. The rubber stamps we often use are examples of flexographic printing plate.

Preparation

Ask for assistance to cut out two pieces of cardboard to be slightly bigger than a letter size paper. Examine the design on some rubber stamps.

Materials

corrugated cardboard (cardboard used in packing boxes), letter size paper (Braille paper works well), white glue, scissor, sand, small beads, glitter, anything that would create interesting texture. You can add tea leaves, spice powder, etc. for more interesting sensory experience!

The cardboard template has pieces of cardboard glued to it in the shape of a tree with no leaves a house, a rock and some grass.

Procedure

1. Imagine yourself a famous print artist. You will create an image that is tactile so that people with visual impairment can also enjoy it.
2. Decide on an image you would like to create. It can be anything as long as it fits in a letter-size paper.
3. Create your relief surfaces, like the letters on a rubber stamp, using cardboard. Cut out shapes from cardboard and glue it on a pre-cut letter-sized cardboard. This will be your printing plate. Make sure the glue dries completely before you move on to step 4. Keep in mind that the cardboard printing plate you have created will be flipped horizontally when your final print comes out.
4. Evenly cover the remaining pre-cut letter sized cardboard with a thin layer of glue. Make sure the layer is not too thick, so that only the relief surface with the cutout images will have glue on it when you press the printing plate over it. However, if the glue layer is too thin, it will dry out before you finish.
5. Press the printing plate with your cutout image over the glued surface, so that the relief surface is evenly coated with glue.
6. Press the printing plate, now with glue on it, on a piece of paper. Press on the back of the printing plate so that glue transfers well to the paper. Peel off the paper from the cardboard plate.
7. The paper now has the image you made in glue. Carefully, sprinkle sand or any material of your choice (spices, tea leaf from a tea bag, tiny beads, glitter, etc.) over the paper so that the powders stick to glue.
8. Carefully shake off the remaining powders that did not stick to the glue. Let it dry. If it did not work out well, try again.
9. Admire your work!

Resources

Introduction to Technology, 3rd Edition. 2005, Chapter 11, pages 270 - 271