Part of the process
Add more colors
A second color needs registration: a repeatable way to put the paper and the block in the same place every time. A corner jig or pins and tabs do it. Reduction printing uses one block cut in stages, multi-block printing uses one block per color.
- Reduction print
- one block, lightest color first
- Registration
- corner jig, or pins and tabs
Any print with more than one color depends on registration: the paper meets the block in exactly the same position on every pass. The simple version is a board with an L-shaped corner for the block and marks for the paper. Pins and tabs fix the paper more precisely. Four ways to register a linocut compares them, and pins, tabs and jigs lists what is sold.
In a reduction print the same block is carved further between colors. The lightest color is printed first across the whole edition, then more is cut away and the next color goes on top. The block is used up as you go, so the edition cannot be reprinted and spare sheets are needed for mistakes. The sequence is laid out in reduction linocut.
The other route is one block per color, each registered to the same marks. It takes more carving, but any layer can be reprinted or changed later. With either method, let each layer dry enough that the next one does not lift it, and expect oil based layers to need longer between passes than water based ones.
Ready to move on when: Each new color lands on the last one in the same place on every sheet of the edition.
Common mistakes at this stage
- Printing the second color before deciding how the paper will be registered.
- Carving the next stage of a reduction block before the whole edition is printed.
- Printing a new layer onto ink that is still wet.