Make simple prints using relief methods such as a foam, lino or potato block, understanding the printing plate, ink, the reversed image, and printing an edition

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to make simple prints using relief methods and to understand how printmaking works. Printmaking lets you make repeated copies of an image from a single block, and it has its own bold, graphic look. Learning the basics, the block, the ink, the reversed image and the edition, gives you a new way to make work and links to pattern and design. The central idea is simple: the raised surface takes the ink and prints; the rest does not.

The answer

What relief printing is

Relief printing is the most basic kind of printmaking. You start with a block and remove or press down the parts you do not want to print, leaving a raised surface. When you roll ink over the block, only the raised parts pick up ink. Pressing paper onto the inked block transfers the raised image, while the lowered or cut-away areas stay the colour of the paper. A rubber stamp works exactly this way.

The block or plate

The block (also called the plate) carries your design. Simple blocks you can use include:

• Foam sheet: press a design into soft foam with a blunt pencil; the pressed lines sit lower and stay clean while the rest prints.
• Lino or soft-cut block: carve away the unwanted areas with cutting tools, leaving the design raised.
• Potato or vegetable block: cut a simple shape into a halved potato.

Whichever you use, the design lives on the raised areas, so you have to think in terms of what prints and what does not.

Ink and taking a print

You roll a thin, even layer of ink onto the raised surface with a roller. Too much ink fills in the detail and smudges; too little gives a patchy print. Then you lay paper on top and press evenly, by hand or with a clean roller, and peel the paper off carefully to reveal the print. Even inking and even pressure are the secrets to a clean result.

The reversed image and the edition

Because the paper is pressed face-down onto the block, the printed image comes out reversed, flipped left to right like a mirror. This matters most for letters: any text must be cut backwards on the block so it reads correctly when printed. An edition is a set of prints made from the same block. To make several matching prints, you re-ink the block evenly each time and press with the same pressure, so all the copies look the same. This ability to repeat an image is what makes printmaking special.

Examples in context

Example 1. A traditional woodblock print. Classic woodblock prints are relief prints: the artist cuts away everything except the raised lines and shapes, inks them, and presses paper on top, often repeating the print many times. They show the bold, graphic look of relief printing and the power of repeating one carved block.

Example 2. A hand-printed greeting card. A student carving a simple motif into a small block and printing it onto folded card makes a clear, repeatable design. Printing a small edition of matching cards shows how relief printing turns one block into many copies, and why even inking and pressure matter.

Try this

Q1. Explain how a relief print works. [2 marks]

• Cue. You leave the design raised and cut or press away the rest; ink rolled over the block sticks only to the raised surface, which prints, while the cut-away areas stay blank.

Q2. Explain why a printed image comes out reversed and why this matters for text. [2 marks]

• Cue. The paper is pressed face-down onto the block, so the image flips left to right; text must therefore be made backwards on the block so it reads correctly when printed.

Q3. Describe how you would make several prints that all match. [3 marks]

• Cue. Re-ink the block with a thin, even layer each time and press each fresh sheet with the same pressure, so consistent inking and pressure make the edition of prints look the same.