IFPDA’s Print Month in October 2021 featured an online program called, Prints in Relief; Print Study Day Presented by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The IFPDA is the International Fine Print Dealers Association. One of the three speakers was Rachel Mustalish, Conservator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, who gave a talk titled, Linocuts: Making and Meaning.

I recently went back and watched it on YouTube and thought it was a compelling introduction to linocut printmaking, including its early days. The lino printing portion of the video starts at about the 58:33 mark.

Some of the subjects she touches on in the talk are:

• The invention of linoleum.

• The basics of making a linocut print.

• The Lark, May (1895) by Bruce Porter and other early linocut work.

• The aesthetic characteristics of a linocut and comparisons to woodcut.

• Linocut examples from Matisse, Claude Flight, Sybil Andrews, Lill Tschudi, Cyril Power and Picasso.

• The style and influence of artists associated with the British Grosvenor School.

• Contemporary approaches to linocut from artists such as Chuck Close, Bill Woodrow, Victoria Mamnguqsualuk and Kara Walker.

You might watch it if you’re interested in the history of the medium.

I’ve been working on a lot of linocut projects this year, most of which feature patterning, abstractions, line work or geometric forms. Here’s a small selection of some linocut designs from over the last few months.

They’re all carved in battleship gray linoleum blocks with v- and u-gouge carving tools. A couple of the lino prints are finished and available on Etsy.

Line pattern carved in a linoleum block.

Geometric design carved in linoleum. The final print is available on Etsy.

Linocutting a design with a carving tool.

Carved lino block with v-gouge tool. This final lino print is available on Etsy.

Linocuts are carved and printed from blocks of linoleum. What exactly is printmaking linoleum made of anyway?

Frederick Walton invented linoleum in the mid 1800’s and artists have been using it as a relief printmaking material for over 100 years. It’s a versatile alternative to wood for printmakers. But, most people know linoleum for its use as flooring.

Printmaking linoleum is a relatively thin material, about 1/8” thick, and is available from art supply shops. For purposes of this post, I’m not talking about the soft plasticky blocks like Speedball Speedy-Carve and Speedy-Cut, but rather traditional linoleum. According to a major linoleum manufacturer, art linoleum is made out of the following ingredients:

• Linseed oil

• Natural rosin

• Wood flour

• Limestone

• Jute (the backing)

Battleship Gray Linoleum Blocks

Battleship gray linoleum is one of the main types of lino that artists carve and print and it’s the type that I’ve used for many years. It does come in other colors, though, like tan. In addition to thin sheets of linoleum, sometimes it comes glued flat (i.e. mounted) to a piece of wood such as MDF.

If you’re curious about the environmental friendliness of linoleum, this Scientific American article talks about some of the green benefits of linoleum flooring, which is essentially the same material as art linoleum, as far as I understand. And, here’s a video about how linoleum is made and a funny little video about its natural ingredients.

Finally, I’ve been inspired by online conversations I’ve had with folks around the world seeking information here on my website about the art of linocut printmaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you.

I’ve wanted to do a test of papers for hand printing linocuts for a long time and I took it on this year. Though I almost exclusively print with a press, I know most readers and students print by hand, which presents its own challenges. When I help people troubleshoot their printing problems, the choice of paper is sometimes a factor.

There are some specific paper recommendations at the end of this post and I’ve included Blick and Amazon links because they're easy places to order paper. It can be hard to find good printmaking paper at a local art shop. Blick, in particular, has some helpful customer reviews to read if you want other opinions. If you click on their links and choose to buy something, I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) since I participate in their affiliate programs. You can find more details about this here. But, if you have a favorite neighborhood art supply store, go there by all means or try McClain’s Printmaking Supplies in the US.

Testing papers for hand printing linoleum blocks

What to Consider When Choosing a Paper for Hand Printing

If you were to ask me what block printing ink I think is the best, I would give you a couple suggestions and feel pretty confident that it will work for you. Paper is a little different, though. There are so many different types of paper to choose from and what you have available will partially depend on where you live. So, I don’t think there is necessarily a perfect paper for hand printing. But I’m going to give you suggestions on what to look for in paper to help guide you. I’ll also provide some specific recommendations.

A Paper’s GSM

Choosing a paper of the right weight is really helpful for printing linocuts, woodcuts or rubber blocks by hand. When you shop you’re going to notice a term on the package or product listing called, “GSM.” This stands for grams per square meter and is a measure of a paper’s weight. The higher the GSM the heavier the paper.

Importantly, if you’re printing by hand instead of a press, you’ll probably want a light to light-medium weight paper. Say, between 30-120 gsm, though this is not a hard and fast rule. You’ll want to avoid really thick paper like Stonehenge (250 gsm) or Rives BFK (250 gsm) when printing by hand, in my opinion. I would say, though, that those two papers are probably my favorites when printing on a press.

To give you a frame of reference for paper weight, I grabbed my pack of inkjet printer paper and it says it’s 75 gsm.

Paper Acidity

A final print you care about should be printed on acid free paper that will ensure it will last a lifetime, give or take. Here’s a good glossary that defines technical paper terms like acid free, neutral pH and sizing.

Paper Color

I’m reviewing neutral color papers than range from white to tan. Some papers are not nearly as truly white as others!

Paper Size

Paper comes in all sorts of sizes and is sold by the sheet or in a pad. Make sure the paper is a good size for your prints to reduce the amount of wastage. Some paper is of such odd sizes I just don’t feel like it’s much use to me.

Paper Texture

Some paper is extremely smooth, while other paper has a more rough handmade feel.

Very generally speaking, lighter / smoother paper will produce more consistently crisp prints with less effort by hand than heavier / rougher paper.

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Papers for Lino Printing by Hand

I used a small abstract linoleum block for testing a selection of the most promising papers. All the papers were printed dry. The linoleum block printing supplies I used for the test were:

• Caligo Safe Wash Relief Black Ink - (read review)

• Blick battleship gray linoleum

• Speedball soft rubber brayer

• The back of a metal spoon and/or a Speedball baren to burnish the print

The following are papers that I tried in my studio and found to be worth experimenting more with when hand printing linocuts. I’ve listed them from lightest to heaviest paper.

Six of the printmaking papers I tested for block printing

The lightest papers will be easiest to print consistently by hand. But, you have to be a little more careful with them because they’re thinner. They crease easier, frustratingly, and if you’re too rough when burnishing your prints little bits of the paper can slough off the back.

• Kitakata (30 gsm) - a delicate tan paper that comes in 16” x 20” sheets. Beautiful, neutral pH paper that’s competitively priced but thinner than I usually use.

• Awagami Mingeishi (45 gsm) - comes in three different colors and in larger sizes than many other attractive options. The paper is a little more see-through than the thicker papers like Rives Lightweight.

• Yasutomo Sumi-E Painting Sketch Paper (71.5 gsm) - this is an inexpensive white paper that prints well and comes in pads. I’ve used this on rare occasions over several years. Good for proofing blocks.

• Awagami Shiramine (110 gsm) - a new paper for me and I really liked it. It’s off-white. A little on the thicker side, but still produced a nice crisp impression.

• Rives Lightweight (115 gsm) - is sold per sheet and comes in medium and large sizes. An excellent, all-around high quality paper. It takes a fair amount of pressure to get a solid print. Keep in mind that even though there are a couple neutral cream-ish colors, none are truly white, in my opinion. Also, this is not to be confused with the 175 gsm option. I’ve printed successfully with this paper on an etching press.

• Strathmore Printmaking 300 (120 gsm) - one thing that’s nice about this paper is it’s relatively easy to find in art stores and online. It comes in pads of a range of sizes so it’s ready to use when you buy it. The downside is that it’s about as thick a paper as I would recommend for hand printing. It’s on the upper threshold for weight. It will produce very nice prints if you burnish the print with enough force.

So, there we go, a roundup of some good paper options for hand printing linocuts. They each have pros and cons so one printmaker might find one paper type better than a different person, so please keep that in mind. It’s worth trying a range of papers to see what fits your printing practice and studio / home conditions.

Have fun printing and feel free to contact me with any questions!

I’m excited to have a follow up to my How to Linocut online course for beginners, it’s an intermediate class all about reduction printmaking! In the class, I walk students through the step-by-step process of making a reduction linocut print. I also show how to make a registration jig. If you want a little background on this printmaking process, check out my reduction printing page.

Example Linocut Print from the Reduction Printing Course

I’ve used the reduction printing technique for many years, making prints like this linocut called Solitude II. Here’s a short trailer for the course.

By the end of this class, through practice, you'll be on your way to creating your own reduction prints. Here’s a kind testimonial from a student in the course:

“I really enjoyed this course. The presentation was clear, concise and well thought out. Thank you so much!”

— Kathryn, How to Make a Reduction Print Student (2018)

The British Museum in London posted a nice little video about Picasso's linocuts on Facebook this week. It breaks down his reduction linocut technique using one of his most famous lino prints, Still Life under the Lamp. While he is sometimes citied as the originator of the technique, research indicates otherwise. I've written in the past about Picasso and tips on making a reduction print if you're interested.

Art writer Charlotte Mullins takes a look at a set of Picasso linocuts acquired by the British Museum in 2014, with help from Art Fund. The two prints, Still Life under the Lamp and Jacqueline Reading, were both made in 1962, when the artist was 80 years old.