On Saturday I decided that I wanted to create some gift tags for Christmas… and I decided I would print them…
… but not on a printer… intaglio (dry point), on a press.
Specifically, a tiny press.
This little gadget is wonderful — it’s 3D printed, and so much fun to use. It’s great to have a press that can exert enough pressure to make intaglio prints at home.
Lovely, professional etching presses weigh a lot and take up a bunch of space. Tabletop presses are usually heavy. This is a nice way to be able to participate in an activity I’m new to (and not great at… yet) without overcommitting.
My first prints weren’t great though.
As I’m sure you can tell, I’m not an expert printmaker. And I don’t practice that often. I tried to do too much on my 4 cm x 6 cm plate, a sheet of heavy Dura-Lar. (I’m sure a competent printmaker could have pulled it off; I needed more space to to what I wanted to do.)
And my inking skills leave much to be desired.
Next attempt is closer. I upsized my plate a little bit and ran it through the “big” press, which, in my house, is a pasta machine.
Getting there. I’m going to give this sheet time to dry completely and see if I can add some watercolor to it. We’ll see how it works out.
Maybe someday I’ll upgrade to a Sizzix machine, or join the print center to get access to the beautiful big press. But for now, the pasta machine and my tiny press will do.
Carmen Yount 