Why is my lino print patchy, blurred or ragged?
Four print faults that look similar and come from completely different places — the ink film, the burnishing, the cutting angle and the paper. How to read a bad print backwards to its cause.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 4 min
Short answer
Patchy and faint means not enough ink or not enough pressure. Blurred and spreading means too much ink. Ragged black edges mean the cuts were undercut and are crumbling. Grey in the white areas means the cuts are too shallow. Print six and judge from the third — the first two are always the worst.
Do this first
A relief print is a very simple mechanical event: ink on a raised surface, transferred to paper by pressure. That means every fault points at one of four things — how much ink, how evenly it was applied, how much pressure, or the shape of the cuts. Reading the print tells you which.
Step by step
- Change one variable at a time.Ink quantity, inking pattern, burnishing pressure and paper are four separate things. Changing two at once means you learn nothing from the next print, and lino printing gives you a fresh test every couple of minutes.
- Look at the block, not just the print.Ragged edges and grey smudging are visible on the inked block before it touches paper. Inking the block and inspecting it under a light finds cutting faults before you waste paper.
- Keep the failures and annotate them.Write the ink quantity and paper on the back of each. Six annotated bad prints teach the whole process, and a print run without notes teaches nothing.
Tips
- Roll ink out on the slab far longer than feels necessary. The film should be even and the roller should make a distinct hissing sound. Most patchy prints start on the slab, not on the block.
- Clean the block between colours and at the end of a session. Dried ink in the cuts fills them and produces exactly the shallow-cut fault, on a block that was cut correctly.
- A softer roller picks up more ink and lays it more heavily; a harder roller gives a thinner, crisper film. If you print regularly, having both is genuinely useful.
Common mistakes
- Adding more ink to fix a patchy print — It fixes the pale areas and blurs everything else. Patchiness is more often uneven inking or uneven pressure than a shortage of ink.
- Judging the block by the first print — The first impression is always the poorest as the block takes up ink. Discarding a block after one bad print discards work that would have been fine by the third.
- Storing rollers on their rubber — It develops a permanent flat spot that lays ink unevenly for the rest of the roller's life, and the resulting stripe looks exactly like a technique problem.
If it doesn't work
Faint, patchy print with pale areas
Cause: Too little ink on the block, or not enough burnishing pressure in those areas — Fix: Roll out more ink until the roller hisses on the slab, ink the block from several directions, and burnish systematically over the whole area rather than in a few passes.
Blurred edges and ink spreading beyond the design
Cause: Too much ink, which squeezes sideways under pressure — Fix: Take ink off the slab, roll it thinner, and ink the block with fewer passes. A thin even film gives sharper edges than a generous one.
Stripes of heavy and light ink across the print
Cause: Rolled in one direction only, or a roller with a flat spot — Fix: Roll across the block from several angles. Store rollers hanging or resting on their frame, never sitting on the rubber, which flattens it permanently.
Ragged black edges around shapes
Cause: The cuts were undercut and the unsupported lip is crumbling — Fix: Recut the affected edges at a shallower angle. The damage is permanent on the existing block and will worsen with each print.
Grey haze in areas that should be white
Cause: Cuts too shallow, so the roller lays ink into the channel floor — Fix: Deepen and widen those cleared areas with a large U gouge.
The print moved and shows a double image
Cause: Paper shifted during burnishing — Fix: Hold the paper firmly, or make a registration jig from two strips of card so the paper and block always meet in the same place.
The paper stuck to the block or tore
Cause: Too much ink, or paper too thin and damp — Fix: Use less ink, and peel from one corner slowly. Thin paper needs a light touch when lifting.
Fine detail disappears entirely
Cause: Ink filling the fine cuts, or detail cut too shallow to survive — Fix: Thinner ink film, and cut fine detail deeper than feels necessary — the roller reaches further into a narrow channel than into a wide one.
The print looks flat and grey overall
Cause: Ink too thin, or the wrong ink for the paper — Fix: Build the ink film slightly, and try a smoother paper. Heavily textured paper needs a press to reach the ink.
First prints are much worse than later ones
Cause: Normal — the block absorbs ink until it is seasoned — Fix: Print a run of at least six and judge from the third onwards. Editions exist partly for this reason.
Questions people ask
Should I dampen the paper?
For hand burnishing on most papers, no. Damp paper is a technique from etching and some traditional relief printing and it needs a press and careful handling. Dry, smooth paper is the straightforward route.
How do I get a solid black area?
A large uncut area needs enough ink and thorough burnishing, and even then may print slightly mottled by hand, which many people like. If you want it perfectly flat, a press is the honest answer.
Can I recut a block that has gone ragged?
Yes, and it is normal. Cut the damaged edge back cleanly at a shallow angle. The design will shift slightly, which is part of the character of the medium.