How to build a simple registration board for linocut printmaking! DIY option for cleaner prints 🎨, by Blocky Bird Prints on YouTube. 1 min 26 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 26 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Cut a board a few centimetres larger than your paper on all sides. A craft knife or saw works, but cut on a mat and keep the blade away from your hand.
Lay the sheet of paper on the board where you want the print to sit. Run masking tape along the bottom edge and the left edge of the paper to make a corner stop.
Add a second strip of tape over each stop so the edge is firm. Keep the layers thin, because a thick ridge pushes the paper out of line.
Set your lino block on the board in the spot where the image should land. Draw around it with a pencil, or outline it with thin tape, then lift the block away.
Slide a sheet of paper into the corner stop and set the block inside its outline. Check that the image sits where you want it, then adjust the outline if needed.
Test the fit with plain paper. The sheet should touch both tape edges without bending, and the block should sit inside its marks with a small gap.
Ink the block and place it face up inside the outline. Hold the paper by the top corners and lower it onto the block, keeping the bottom edge in the stop.
Rub the back of the paper with a baren or the back of a spoon. Lift the paper straight up by the top corners and return it to the stop for the next print.
Tips and common mistakes
Write the paper size on the board so you do not mix up templates later.
Seal a bare MDF board with a coat of paint or varnish so tape lifts off cleanly.
Press the paper into the corner stop with one finger before you lower it onto the block.
Print one test pull before starting a run, and check the margins on all four sides.
Questions
Can I use the same board for a two colour print?
Yes. Keep the paper in the same corner stop and mark a separate outline for each block. The paper never moves, so the colours line up.
What board should I use?
MDF, plywood or thick cardboard all work. It needs to be flat, rigid and a few centimetres bigger than your paper.
Do I need a printing press?
No. A baren, a spoon or a clean roller pressed by hand gives good results on a board like this.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
