Step 6 of the process
Dry and clean up
Drying runs from a couple of hours for water based ink in a warm room to days for oil based ink, and about a week before washing printed fabric. Clean the brayer, slab and block before the ink sets, then sign the dry prints in pencil.
- Water based ink
- hours in a warm, dry room
- Oil based ink
- days, longer in cold or damp air
Lay or hang prints so nothing touches the ink. How long they need depends on the ink, the paper and the room. One maker of water based ink quotes about 2 hours on a warm rack and weeks in a cold, damp studio. Oil based inks dry over days. Fabric printed with fabric block ink is usually left about a week before its first wash. Drying times by ink type has the table.
Clean up before the ink sets. Water based ink comes off the slab, brayer and block with soap and water. Water-washable oil ink is loosened with liquid soap first and then rinsed. Do not soak lino, since water can warp or swell it, and keep solvents off rubber rollers. Dried ink is harder work, see how to clean lino blocks and brayers.
Store the block flat and the brayer so that its rubber rests on nothing, see how to store lino blocks. When the prints are dry, mark the edition in pencil under the image: number on the left, title in the middle, signature on the right. How to sign a linocut print explains the numbering.
Ready to move on when: Prints are dry to a light touch and leave nothing on a fingertip, the tools are clean, and the block is stored flat.
Common mistakes at this stage
- Stacking prints while the ink is still tacky.
- Leaving a brayer resting on its rubber, which flattens one side.
- Washing printed fabric before the ink has cured as its label says.