Nik Semenoff on Safer (and
More Interesting!) Printmaking (I)

Seeking Safer and Easier Printmaking Methods Until the mid 80's, most printmakers were quite content to make do with the processes developed over the last few hundred years. While many complained about the odor of commercial products or the smell of solvents, few realized that some of these chemicals were dangerous if used carelessly over a long period of time.

My research into safer printmaking started with my concern in the use of hydrocarbon solvents for screen printing at the printmaking studio at the University of Saskatchewan. As students hurried to finish projects at the end of term, the amount of solvent used increased and had nowhere to go in the tightly sealed buildings designed for subzero weather. Although my main interest was lithography and the problems in printing grease tusche washes, I was also concerned about the use of hydrocarbon solvents within this media.

Safer, Less Expensive, Readily Available
As I tried to find a better way to get interesting wash effects in my chosen media, I also looked for the safest, least expansive and most available materials. By the time I had worked with the four main print media, I was fortunate to find new methods and many less toxic materials. (I must add there are no non-toxic printmaking methods - only less toxic.)

Knowledge of materials and care in using all products is the only way to be safe to practice any craft or profession. By knowledge I mean to get the true facts and not listen to some of the scare mongers who seem to find nothing safe to use. It is important for printmakers to know their materials just as well as the processes which they employ.

Using Dry Copier Toner for
Images in All Printmaking Media
Dry copier toners have many desirable characteristics for use in all printmaking media. Not only do they act as a delicate masking material for washes and charcoal like images in lithography, but also the very opaque nature of each small particle produces excellent positives for use in lithography, screen-printing, intaglio and relief printing. Toner is now available for copiers and laser printers from many makers.

The make-up of toners will vary with the company manufacturing them and the needs of the machine; in view of the patents of competing companies. While not all toners are the same, practically all I have encountered can be used when one understands their characteristic. Buying fresh toner from a stationary store can be expensive, but it should be available for free from the many new companies that refurbish laser printer cartridges.

Hazardous Waste?
To them it is material to be disposed of as hazardous waste, which is really not the case. Toner is mostly plastic, depending on the particular manufacturer. From the MSDS information I have, only a small part is pigment and other necessary compounds. According to the MSDS data, it is not the dangerous toxic substance that some individuals seem to think it is. It is messy to handle and should not be inhaled - just like any powder. In the small amount that a printmaker would use to make an image, there should be not problem in using any dry copier toner.

Two Types of Toners
In my research I have found that there are two basic different types of toners. The earlier types used a higher fusing temperature and were not affected by hydrocarbons such as paint thinner. Because of environmental concerns, lower fusing plastics and waxes have been introduced into the makeup. The earlier toners I designated as A and the new products as B. This can be important in lithography, especially if one uses them in traditional gum etch printing. Type A toners are harder to find these days, as most are now the lower fusing material, or a product somewhere between the two.

To find out which toner you have, a simple test with hydrocarbon paint thinner will show you that the toner will slightly fuse or ball-up; designating it as type B. Type A is very useful to do solvent washes on stone or plate where you have gummed out an area to keep white. Since there is no oil or grease in toner, the solvent wash will not darken within the image because of reaction with the substrate and print as drawn. When toner is used with water, one must use a surfactant to wet all the particles.

Stay Away From Soap
There are many good wetting agents that work, but stay away from soap if you are doing traditional lithography. Alcohol will wet all toners, and paint solvent will wet type A toners. You cannot use type B toners with solvents. The easiest way to make up a working tusche of toner is to add a small amount of surfactant to a small quarter-full jar of water. To this add toner powder until the jar is three quarters full, then tightly close the lid and shake. All the particles should be wet and can be applied to a dinner plate to be diluted with water to the desired consistency. It can be use in all media and becomes your stock supply.

Like Nothing Before
Do not worry if it dries hard in the jar, a wet brush will dissolve it like a block of children's tempera color. Unlike grease tusche, toner will give you greater variety of reticulation, depending on the dilution and the type of surfactant you use. A thicker application will retain the brush stroke, allowing for images unlike any before. With proper processing, the tints can be very light and delicate, retaining their quality even in very large editions.

 

"Coat of Arms 1," 76 x 56 cm., 1997, waterless lithograph on Stonehenge 300 gsm rag paper. Image was plastic shapes on glass enlarged on to HC negatives. Edition was two Diazo negative plates, the rest used the Kwik-Proof registration for Sumi ink and toner. Printed by my linear offset system on a transfer press, 12 colors, 10 plates.


 

Images by Nik Semenoff
(Click to enlarge)

Closeup of "Summer Storm," 11 x 8 cm. section of Waterless lithograph drawn on the plate in 1990; one month after developing basic process. Image was drawn with toner wash on smooth grained aluminium plate.

 

 

 

 

"Summer Storm," 40 x 57 cm waterless lithograph on Rives BFK. Dark grey blue Van Son Rubberbase plus ink.

 

 

 

 

"Medal for Benjamin Jon," 65 x 50 cm waterless lithograph printed in 1994. Fourteen color edition using eight plates on Rising Mirage calendared rag paper. A 4 x 5 inch glass plate with plastic shapes attached was exposed to two HC negatives for the Diazo wipe-on plates. The remaining were drawn with Sumi ink and toner to Kwik-Proof exposed plates for better registration.

 

 

 

 

"Evans' Sunshine," 56 x 76 cm. waterless lithograph printed in 1994 on Arches 88, 14 colors from nine plates. Image was enlarged plastic shapes unto HC negative film. Two Diazo negative plates used to print the brown and black line image. Blue Kwik-Proof was exposed from the black line negative for registration purposes. The blue background is a toner reverse, while the flat colors were drawn with Sumi ink.

 

"Blueprint for a Henge," 76 x 56 cm. waterless lithograph printed in 2001 on Rives BFK by my linear offset. Nine colors from nine positive plates, using my own formulation. Image was clear plastic that was scanned and changed to line in Photoshop. Two of the plates were exposed to transparency from an Epson 3000 inkjet printer. Toner washes directly on plate and one line positive drawn on Mylar for exposure.

 

 

From "Jacobs' Coat," 71 x 51 cm. waterless lithograph printed in 2001 on Fabriano Rosipina by my linear offset. Image scanned and converted to line in Photoshop, the transparencies printed on an Epson 3000 inkjet. The line image was exposed to my own positive plate formulation. Flat areas were cut from red paper affixed to Mylar for exposure to positive plates, 13 colors, 10 plates with three iridescent pigments applied to still wet ink through stencils. A set of embossing dies were made from heavy card, hardened with epoxy resin, then run through the transfer press.

 

"Medal for Zackery," 66 x 48 cm waterless lithograph printed in 1998 on Arches Cover mostly by linear offset. I used 24 plates to print 24 colors to test the feasibility of using my positive plate formulation. A 4 x 5 inch glass plate with plastic shapes attached was exposed to two HC negatives. These were used for the line plates and red paper flats on Mylar for the color and texture plates.

Use in Lithography
I discovered the use of toner for traditional lithography because of the uncertainty of grease tusche washes on stone or plate. Since it contains no grease, it can be manipulated over the surface with no fear of producing a ghost image. Unwanted images can be completely removed and redrawn or manipulated until the artist is satisfied with the work. After the water or solvent has evaporated, the image can still be removed and reworked. When the image is finished, the toner is bonded to the surface with heat, or solvent in the case of type B material.

More toner washes can be applied over a set image without fear of disturbing any of it. When used with grease crayons, I suggest that the toner image be applied and set first because of the possibility of spreading grease with heat or solvent. Because of the strong bond of plastic to the surface, a lower pH gum etch can be used for much better desensitization of the stone or plate. I have found that it is advisable to use vinyl lacquer after washing out the toner image on stone. The plastic penetrates the limestone surface and prevents asphaltum from reacting as it should. A coat of vinyl bonds to the plastic in the limestone and accepts grease very well.Using toner in my waterless litho process is very easy - it becomes a delicate mask to prevent the silicone from contacting the surface. More on that later.

Using Toner as Photo Images
Because of opaqueness of individual toner particles, drawings on Mylar will produce perfect images without resorting to a halftone screen. This technique can be used with lithographic positive plates, screen-print emulsions, and the new plastic intaglio material such as Solarplate. The simplest way to get the toner to stick to Mylar is to mix into your diluted working solution a little bit of acrylic medium. It does not take very much to bond the particles to the Mylar and the amount of acrylic can control the reticulation of the wash - the more water, the more texture.

I suggest using one of the acrylic floor polishes now available as the Mylar can be reclaimed with diluted household ammonia. Screen printing requires that coarse halftone photopositives are used for graduated tints, but this is unaesthetic for most artists. By using yellow screens above 250 TPI, it is possible to produce reticulated washes that would be mistaken for lithographs. I know, as some of my screen prints have been confused with lithos by experienced lithographic printers. Only the very finest tints are lost in screen-printing due to the very small amount of open area in the stretched fabric.

Toner images on Mylar and positive litho plates are a natural choice for many images. Commercial positive plates are capable of retaining the finest tints if printed by my waterless process. Photo intaglio methods have changed with the introduction of many UV sensitive plastics into the media. Of the ones I have tried, I find Solarplate capable of producing the best results.

Toner and Intaglio
I have also seen wonderful large prints done from presensitized zinc plates etched with acids. If applied directly to a copper or zinc plate as a resist and etched, you will get a negative image; if printed as a relief plate, it will produce a positive image. I cannot cover all of the toner techniques in this article, but it is well documented in publications and on my own website.

For those interested in learning more about this and other of Nik Semenoff's innovations in printmaking, go to his website at: http://homepage.usask.ca/~nis715.

Or, better yet, sign up for Nik's open workshop in June at the University of Saskatchewan. The Canadian prairie is beautiful in late spring! E-mail him at: nik.semenoff@usask.ca.

 

About the Author, Nik Semenoff

•Born 1928 in Canada, studied painting 1947-50
•Worked as a graphic artist and designer at a large litho plant in the 1950's.
•Became interested in lithographic process at that time and built his own transfer press to practice the planographic arts.
•Became art director of the local TV station in 1954.
•Hired as media specialist for Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan in 1965.
•Started to do research into improving printmaking methods in 1982 after seeing how toxic materials were used in the printmaking studio and their complete disregard by students.
•Researched an electro-etching method of producing intaglio plates in 1987.
•Developed waterless lithographic process using common materials in 1990.
•Researched the use of simple starch based pastes as bases for pigmenting and printing screen prints in 1991.
•Invented in 1992 a 3-part lithographic roller for better rolling up of waterless plates.
•Retired from university in 1992.
• Developed a safer mordant using copper sulfate and salt to etch aluminium and zinc intaglio plates in 1992.
• Discovered a simple way to recycle aluminium litho plates in 1998.
• Started research into making one's own positive litho plates by using recycled plates in 1998 - ongoing research to retain finer detail.
• Developed a "Palm Press" in 1999 that allows reasonable sized waterless plates to be printed on a flat hard surface.
• Researched in 2000 how to make litho and intaglio inks easier to clean up with detergents instead of hydrocarbon solvents.

See Nik's new website here: http://www.ndiprintmaking.ca

And his old one here: http://homepage.usask.ca/~nis715

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