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LINOCUT

Linocut is a popular printmaking method for artists at all skill levels using a sheet of linoleum to carve the image to print.

Discover the range

What is linocut printing?

Linocut is a relief form of printmaking, first introduced in the late nineteenth century. The image is carved into a sheet of linoleum, removing the unwanted elements to leave a relief image ready for printing. Ink is applied, then paper is pressed on by hand or in a press to transfer the image.

Today, linocut is a popular printmaking method for artists of all skill levels.

Lacking any grain, linoleum is much easier to engrave than wood. Thanks to the lino’s features, artists can achieve smooth, curved and flowing lines on the material. These are carvings that would be extremely difficult to achieve on a natural material.

Lino can also be heated to decrease resistance when carving. However, linoleum is more fragile and pressure sensitive than natural surfaces. This means it can degrade faster than wood or metal plates.

Linocut: the process

Linoleum plates, linocut tools, water-based inks and printing papers: discover the process and the tools needed for lino block printing.

Linoleum is a man-made material, originally used as a floor covering. Without a directional grain, it's the perfect surface for many forms of mark making. Once the lino sheet has been carved and the relief image perfected, the surface is inked with a brayer. This is followed by the print process.

Manual or hand press printing can be used to reproduce the image. The manual process involves pressing a piece of paper onto the inked surface. The paper is then rubbed with a wooden spoon, or specifically made tools called barens and pads. This ensures the full imprint is transferred from the relief to the paper. The paper is then peeled away to reveal the print.

The hand press method involves a simple machine that sandwiches the plate and paper together. When the press is tightened, it exerts pressure transferring the image onto the paper. The paper is removed to reveal the image.

Linoleum plates

The linocut artist can choose from lino sheets in many different thicknesses, densities and colours. Many come with a textile backing or are mounted onto solid blocks of wood or MDF.

We offer a range of lino plates in classic grey with a flexible hessian backing. We also offer SoftCut, a newer plate material formulated for easy cutting. This substrate holds extra-fine detail without crumbling. It is designed to better withstand the pressure of the printing press. It has an off-white surface which is perfect for pencil drawing. These plates are flexible and double-sided, featuring a smooth texture on one side, and a coarser texture on the other.

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Linocut tools

Gouges

Gouges are hand-held chisels with concave blades used in engraving to carve away your image on lino. They allow the engraver to create defined shapes and carve precise angles needed to create an image. We offer a range of high-quality gouges with round, U-shaped or V-shaped cutting blades. We also have a fine grade gouge sharpening stone.

Knives

Linocut artists use metal knives in a range of shapes and dimensions to create relief and cut away excess lino. To achieve the most accurate results, these knives must be kept sharp. We offer a wide range of top-quality knives and a choice of sharpening stones.

Guides & Holders

Engraving requires the use of sharp tools. To protect the engraver from slips and cuts, there are a number of useful safety guards and holders that are used to fix your surface in place. Explore our durable rubber options.

Inking Rollers

Ink is applied to the lino with a hand-held brayer, also known as a roller. Roller heads are made from hard materials that maintain good contact with the relief without overloading it. We offer a range of sizes and styles, with plastic or wooden handles.

Pads & Barens

To achieve the perfect manual prints, it’s vital that you don’t dent or mark your paper when pressing it against your inked relief.

Pads & Barens are smooth, disc shaped objects, often with grips. They are designed to apply even pressure onto the back of your paper when you are transferring a print. We have a range of high quality barens and pads.

Hand Press

In addition to manual printing techniques, linocut can be reproduced with a hand press.

Essentially, hand presses are two hard surfaces that hold the inked engraved plate and the paper and press them together.

We offer an A4 hand press made from wood and metal, which can be used in all relief printing techniques. Our hand press is built to hold different thicknesses of printing plates. The metal handle is a lever arm that allows you to exert different degrees of pressure onto the plate.

Linocut inks

A selection of water-based inks

When printing with linocut, the most suitable relief inks are highly pigmented with a medium to strong adhesion. At Charbonnel, we specialise in developing the industries’ most trusted inks for printing. Aqua Wash is our emulsified, water-soluble and non-toxic ink. It can be cleaned with soapy water. We also offer the Lefranc Bourgeois water-based block printing ink range.

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Aqua Wash

Our solvent-free Aqua Wash range is made up of 24 colours, including seven blacks. It has the same high pigment concentration as classical inks but is made with emulsified, non-toxic oil. This means our Aqua Wash inks are water-soluble and can be cleaned with water rather than solvents.

Aqua Wash inks are used in the same way as traditional inks. They are suitable for most printmaking techniques including intaglio, linocut, aquatint and monotype. The colours are available in 60ml tubes. Aqua Wash Blacks are also available in larger 150ml pots.

We also have a range of supplementary products formulated to accompany Charbonnel Aqua Wash inks. Aqua Wash solvent-free transparent medium can be mixed with Aqua Wash inks to thin, lighten and increase the transparency. Aqua Wash Oil is equivalent to the clear, greasy, strong oils of our oil-based range.

Water based block printing inks Lefranc Bourgeois

Our fully water-based ink range is available in 12 colours, including black and white. Lefranc Bourgeois Block Printing inks are made to the highest quality professional standard. These inks are custom-made for wood and lino engraving printmaking. Each ink delivers precise, high pigment results.

Printing papers

Find the right paper for linocut printing

Linocut printing requires dry paper that is fine and smooth. The type of paper you use should be based on the type of printing you are doing, whether manual or with a press.

Getting started with linocut printing

Linocut printing tutorial Charbonnel

Download our step by step guide

Try linocut printing with our new step-by-step tutorial. Discover each step: from the material required, to the engraving of the linoleum plate and the printing of your work.

Download the guide