Frequently Asked Questions

What is relief printing?

Relief printmaking is a form of art dating back over two thousand years. It is the most ancient method of taking an impression from one object and putting it on another- essentially a stamp! The raised image area picks up ink when rolled on with a brayer. The inked block is then pressed onto paper or textiles by being hand cranked through an etching press.

What materials do you use?

Blocks: Blick unmounted linoleum in battleship gray. I buy these by sheets or by the roll from Dick Blick Art Supply. They are hard but can be warmed up to carve easier. If you are a beginner, Speedball makes a rubber block that is pink and easy to get the hang of the carving process.

Paper: Mostly, Legion Stonehenge paper. Stonehenge is a traditional fine art paper with a smooth surface. It is machine-made in the United States, from 100% cotton fibers. It's acid-free. I also use Bordeaux Lotka paper for a pop of color or pattern.

Textiles: Tea towels are natural, unbleached, 100% cotton, and come in size 18x22 (block printed) or 16x24 (screenprinted). Shirts sold through Press Relief may vary. Please read description for details on sizing and material. Bandanas are 22x22 and 100% cotton.

Ink: Hanco oil based etching ink is used for all linocut prints on paper. Fabric inks vary from Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks (block printed by me) or screen printing fabric ink (outsourced). Details are in each listing!

Carving Tools: Flexcut. In my 10+ years as a printmaking artist, I have never steered from Flexcut!

How do you print your blocks onto paper and fabric?

I have a Conrad Etching Press. The bed of the press is 18x36, so comfortably the largest image area it can print is around 17x30. The press serves as a high-pressure printer. I lay the inked carving on the steel bed of the press (ink side up), put paper on top of the inked carving, then hand crank the bed through the steel roller where the pressure forces the paper into contact with the ink, transferring the image. Embossment from the pressure can be felt on the back of an original block print. This process can be repeated many times to print multiples; typically hundreds of impressions (copies) can be printed before the carving shows much wear.

Are the paper prints you sell digitally printed?

No! Currently, every work on paper sold by Press Relief or signed Masy Chighizola is an original work of art. The beauty of printmaking is that this process allows you to reprint the same image simply by re-inking the carving and cranking it through the etching press again. However, some block prints are called “Limited Edition” because they cannot be reprinted. Those are created with multiple colors by carving more and more from the same block for each color layer, which leaves nothing left to the block in the last layer.

To the modern reader, the word print might suggest mechanically mass-produced commercial products, such as books or newspapers, however, the print in printmaking refers to the original creation of an artist who, instead of the paintbrush and canvas, used pressure to transfer the image onto the paper.