I recently realized that I’ve been blogging about printmaking for a while without giving a formal breakdown of supplies for your printmaking needs. I also don’t have all of the essentials myself so I will be going on a printmaking shopping spree after this writing this post.

I will make a list of supplies with economical alternatives for you to read and pick from. As always, feel free to leave comments below of your favorite printmaking supplies!

Carving Tool: Woodblock and lino cutting tools are different! Make sure you are getting the right tool for the kind of printmaking you’ll be doing. I have been using Speedball® Lino Cutter that comes with interchangeable blades.

Ink: Water-based block printing ink is the go-to when it comes to printmaking. I normally use Speedball® Block Printing Ink because it’s fairly inexpensive. I have also used acrylic paints that have worked out nicely in some of my projects.

Brayer: A soft rubber brayer is used to evenly apply the ink to a block or plate. I personally do not have a brayer, instead I will use a paintbrush to apply the paint. The ink does not apply evenly and sometimes it makes my prints a little messy. If you don’t want to get a brayer and you don’t want to risk having messy prints I suggest using a small paint roller.

These are the top three printmaking supplies. You also don’t necessarily need a printing press either. If you lay the print on paper and apply even pressure and then slowly lift up the block, you have your print!

I have been fortunate enough to have the printmaking studio in the Marywood Art department available to me when I need type or the printing press. I want to continue printmaking after Marywood so I think it’s time that I invest on my own materials.

featured image: https://medium.com/@rfreear/linocutting-and-printing-84908c655c3a