Last year, I worked on a series of linocut prints inspired by desert skies in places such as California’s Joshua Tree National Park and Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The series of limited edition lino prints is called Here and Now and these are a couple of them.

Here and Now II - Linocut Print by Rich Fowler

The linoleum block print above is printed on 14”x11” Stonehenge paper (250 gsm), while the one below is larger and on 28”x22” paper.

Detail of the Lino Print Titled, Here and Now III

You can see a short video of me printing layers of this linocut on Instagram. The finished print is made up of more than 25 block printed impressions.

Both linocuts are available for sale on Etsy.

A while ago, I took a photo of a coral fossil because I thought the patterning was really cool. It was from a museum visit in San Francisco with my kids. I decided to use the pattern as a jumping off point for an abstract linocut print.

Using the reduction print technique, I made this two-color lino print on 11”x14” white paper. I used Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink and printed the yellow layer first, followed by the black. Here’s a short Instagram video of me rolling out ink on the block to test a color.

It’s titled, Grooves, and is a limited edition of four prints. The linocut is available on Etsy.

Reduction Linocut Print - Grooves (2021)

The linoleum block used for the reduction lino print.

I recently finished a new linocut print featuring a tall Ocotillo. You can spot these spindly plants in Joshua Tree National Park, Palm Springs and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, amongst other places.

This square lino print was made with Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink and Stonehenge paper. Original prints are available on Etsy.

Ocotillo Desert Plant - Linocut Print Artwork

The Carved Linoleum Block Used to Make the Ocotillo Lino Print

I’ve wanted to do a test of papers for hand printing linocuts for a long time and I took it on this year. Though I almost exclusively print with a press, I know most readers and students print by hand, which presents its own challenges. When I help people troubleshoot their printing problems, the choice of paper is sometimes a factor.

There are some specific paper recommendations at the end of this post and I’ve included Blick and Amazon links because they're easy places to order paper. It can be hard to find good printmaking paper at a local art shop. Blick, in particular, has some helpful customer reviews to read if you want other opinions. If you click on their links and choose to buy something, I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) since I participate in their affiliate programs. You can find more details about this here. But, if you have a favorite neighborhood art supply store, go there by all means or try McClain’s Printmaking Supplies in the US.

Testing papers for hand printing linoleum blocks

What to Consider When Choosing a Paper for Hand Printing

If you were to ask me what block printing ink I think is the best, I would give you a couple suggestions and feel pretty confident that it will work for you. Paper is a little different, though. There are so many different types of paper to choose from and what you have available will partially depend on where you live. So, I don’t think there is necessarily a perfect paper for hand printing. But I’m going to give you suggestions on what to look for in paper to help guide you. I’ll also provide some specific recommendations.

A Paper’s GSM

Choosing a paper of the right weight is really helpful for printing linocuts, woodcuts or rubber blocks by hand. When you shop you’re going to notice a term on the package or product listing called, “GSM.” This stands for grams per square meter and is a measure of a paper’s weight. The higher the GSM the heavier the paper.

Importantly, if you’re printing by hand instead of a press, you’ll probably want a light to light-medium weight paper. Say, between 30-120 gsm, though this is not a hard and fast rule. You’ll want to avoid really thick paper like Stonehenge (250 gsm) or Rives BFK (250 gsm) when printing by hand, in my opinion. I would say, though, that those two papers are probably my favorites when printing on a press.

To give you a frame of reference for paper weight, I grabbed my pack of inkjet printer paper and it says it’s 75 gsm.

Paper Acidity

A final print you care about should be printed on acid free paper that will ensure it will last a lifetime, give or take. Here’s a good glossary that defines technical paper terms like acid free, neutral pH and sizing.

Paper Color

I’m reviewing neutral color papers than range from white to tan. Some papers are not nearly as truly white as others!

Paper Size

Paper comes in all sorts of sizes and is sold by the sheet or in a pad. Make sure the paper is a good size for your prints to reduce the amount of wastage. Some paper is of such odd sizes I just don’t feel like it’s much use to me.

Paper Texture

Some paper is extremely smooth, while other paper has a more rough handmade feel.

Very generally speaking, lighter / smoother paper will produce more consistently crisp prints with less effort by hand than heavier / rougher paper.

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Papers for Lino Printing by Hand

I used a small abstract linoleum block for testing a selection of the most promising papers. All the papers were printed dry. The linoleum block printing supplies I used for the test were:

• Caligo Safe Wash Relief Black Ink - (read review)

• Blick battleship gray linoleum

• Speedball soft rubber brayer

• The back of a metal spoon and/or a Speedball baren to burnish the print

The following are papers that I tried in my studio and found to be worth experimenting more with when hand printing linocuts. I’ve listed them from lightest to heaviest paper.

Six of the printmaking papers I tested for block printing

The lightest papers will be easiest to print consistently by hand. But, you have to be a little more careful with them because they’re thinner. They crease easier, frustratingly, and if you’re too rough when burnishing your prints little bits of the paper can slough off the back.

• Kitakata (30 gsm) - a delicate tan paper that comes in 16” x 20” sheets. Beautiful, neutral pH paper that’s competitively priced but thinner than I usually use.

• Awagami Mingeishi (45 gsm) - comes in three different colors and in larger sizes than many other attractive options. The paper is a little more see-through than the thicker papers like Rives Lightweight.

• Yasutomo Sumi-E Painting Sketch Paper (71.5 gsm) - this is an inexpensive white paper that prints well and comes in pads. I’ve used this on rare occasions over several years. Good for proofing blocks.

• Awagami Shiramine (110 gsm) - a new paper for me and I really liked it. It’s off-white. A little on the thicker side, but still produced a nice crisp impression.

• Rives Lightweight (115 gsm) - is sold per sheet and comes in medium and large sizes. An excellent, all-around high quality paper. It takes a fair amount of pressure to get a solid print. Keep in mind that even though there are a couple neutral cream-ish colors, none are truly white, in my opinion. Also, this is not to be confused with the 175 gsm option. I’ve printed successfully with this paper on an etching press.

• Strathmore Printmaking 300 (120 gsm) - one thing that’s nice about this paper is it’s relatively easy to find in art stores and online. It comes in pads of a range of sizes so it’s ready to use when you buy it. The downside is that it’s about as thick a paper as I would recommend for hand printing. It’s on the upper threshold for weight. It will produce very nice prints if you burnish the print with enough force.

So, there we go, a roundup of some good paper options for hand printing linocuts. They each have pros and cons so one printmaker might find one paper type better than a different person, so please keep that in mind. It’s worth trying a range of papers to see what fits your printing practice and studio / home conditions.

Have fun printing and feel free to contact me with any questions!

I'm not sure what it says about me but I'm always experimenting with inks for block printing, wondering if there is something else out there that I'm missing. So with that in mind, over the last couple years I've been experimenting exhaustively with inks made by a wide variety of manufacturers from around the world. I've printed on all different sorts of paper from thin Japanese paper to Rives BFK, as well as fabric, mostly on a Blick etching press. These are the inks I tested:

1. Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink

2. Charbonnel Aqua Wash Etching Ink

3. Daniel Smith Oil-Based Relief Ink (now discontinued)

4. Gamblin Oil-Based Relief Ink

5. Schmincke Aqua Linoldruck Ink

6. Lukas Linol Ink

7. Akua Intaglio Ink

8. Graphic Chemical Water-Soluble Relief Ink

9. Blick Block Printing Ink

10. Speedball Block Printing Ink

11. Permaset Aqua Textile Screen-Printing Ink

12. Speedball Fabric Block Printing Ink

13. Gamblin Drive by Black Textile Ink

14. Versatex Screen-Printing Ink

15. Jacquard Screen-Printing Ink

16. Speedball Fabric Screen-Printing Ink

17. Blick Fabric Screen-Printing Ink

Some of these inks are fantastic, others not so much.

Inks reviewed for lino printing.

Update: Some of these inks are a little tricky to find and people have asked where to get them, so I've included links that will take you to Blick Art Materials and Amazon, where most can be found. If you click on those links, I get a small commission if you end up buying something there since I participate in their affiliate programs. You can find more details about this here. But, the opinions here are all my own and I bought all these inks with my own money. McClain's Printmaking Supplies is a smaller company that also sells relief printing materials. 

Best Oil-Based Ink for Printing Linocuts on Paper

Winner - Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink

Hands down the best overall ink on the market for lino printing, in my opinion. It's the ink that I've gone back to time and time again over the years. It has all the benefits of traditional oil-based ink but because of its special formulation, it comes without the cleanup hassle. Here's how to clean your inked brayer. Hold the brayer over the sink and squirt a fair amount of dish soap on it (no water, yet!) and rub it all around until the ink is completely coated with soap. Then rinse it all under warm water, rubbing it off with your hands. Done. Let it dry.

Caligo inks come in a variety of colors and are widely available online. I recommend starting with tubes of black, white and their process colors (red, yellow and blue). With this color palette you can pretty much get any color you want. I prefer the tubes to the cans of ink - avoiding problems with the ink skinning over. After you get used to the inks you can try the different ink modifiers that they sell. I sometimes use the extender to make the inks more transparent.

Unlike water-based inks, oil-based inks take longer to dry and Caligo is no exception. Expect at least a couple days in my experience but it often is longer, particularly if you've stacked a lot of layers on top of each other. Drying time can be affected by the temperature and humidity of the studio, how thick the ink was applied, the type of paper, as well as the number of layers of ink.

Honorable Mention - Charbonnel Aqua Wash Etching Ink

Yes, it's an intaglio ink but it works just fine for relief printing right out of the tube. Similar to Caligo but a little more expensive and smelly.

Least Favorite - Traditional Oil-Based Inks

Not sure I see the point of using using traditional oil-based inks anymore, given the availability of much easier to work with inks like Caligo and Charbonnel, but Gamblin's line of relief inks are reliable.

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Best Non Oil-Based Ink for Lino Printing on Paper

Winner - Schmincke Aqua Linoldruck Ink

Linocut Printed with Schminke Linoldruck Ink

This was probably the biggest surprise of all because I don't think it's widely used, particularly here in the US. However, I really, really like it! Schmincke doesn't dry too fast while you're rolling it out like other water-based inks do, but it dries to the touch on paper quite fast. It also doesn't require any modifiers and works fine straight out of the tube. I used this ink on my anglerfish print, which I recently finished.

On the downside, it is sort of expensive and you need to roll the ink on your block carefully to avoid leaving lap marks. It isn't widely available (in the US) but you can order it through Blick. If cost isn't a factor for you, it's the logical ink to replace the inferior Speedball and Blick Block Printing Inks.

Honorable Mention - Akua Intaglio

*2020 Update: please see this blog post about a problem cropping up with Akua Intaglio Ink and lightweight paper.

When applied in very thin layers, this ink works alright with linoleum. They also sell an extensive array of ink modifiers (transparent base, mag mix, etc.) to work with. I could see using this on a case-by-case basis, but it wouldn't be me goto linocut ink.

Honorable Mention - Graphic Chemical Water-Soluble Relief Ink

I'm pleased with the printing results of this ink. However, I found the water-soluble vehicle very sticky and messy to work with. Other downsides are that it's not distributed by major retailers here in the US and I wish they'd provide lightfastness ratings for their range of inks.

Least Favorite - Lukas Linol Ink

I'm sorry, but it worked terribly for me and I tried several different colors. Thankfully, it's very hard to buy for those of us in the US.

Now, onto printing on fabric.

If you've gotten this far and want to learn more about the linocut process, I've got the lino printing method broken down step-by-step. Now, onto printing on fabric.

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Best Inks for Block Printing on Fabric

Testing fabric inks for relief printing is a whole different animal. There are two schools of thought when printing linocuts on fabric: using screen-printing ink vs. block printing ink. The benefit of screen-printing textile inks is that they're washable when heat set and there are lots to choose from. In contrast, there aren't a lot of relief textile inks on the market.

I did extensive testing on these inks with copious amounts of notes and numbered fabric samples...it all bordered on insanity! Some of the testing I did included:

• Washing the fabric before printing vs. not washing it

• Mixing brands of inks in different ratios

• Adding modifiers to some inks to thicken them, increase tack or prolong the working time of the inks

• Using foam vs. rubber brayers

• Heat setting vs. not heat setting

• Heat setting by ironing vs. in the dryer

• Pre-washing quality of the print vs. post-washing quality

This post is all about choosing the best ink but I've got lots of information if you want to learn some specific techniques and tips for lino printing on fabric.

Okay, so this is what I think. You'll notice that I have two winners here: Gamblin and Speedball. Though I like Gambin's textile ink, it only comes in black and I like Speedball for its wide range of colors.

Block Printed Anglerfish T-Shirt Using Gamblin's Drive by Black Ink

Winner (Black) - Gamblin Drive by Black Textile Ink

This is a traditional oil-based ink, which means it's a real pain to work with and clean up (unlike the Caligo I mentioned above). I wouldn't recommend Drive by Black if you're printing in your kitchen or something. However, it's a really rich ink, rolls out beautifully and prints nicely on fabric. Once dry, it holds up to washing quite well. Cleanup is best done with vegetable oil and/or Gamsol odorless mineral spirits.

Winner (Non-Black) - Speedball Fabric Block Printing Ink

While also oil-based, it's made to clean up easily (like Caligo's ink) and comes in a wide spectrum of colors. Speedball rolls out nicely and produces crisp images on t-shirts and other fabrics. On the downside, I find the smell a little unpleasant while I'm working with it. After it dries (up to 7 days), it washes well but there will be some slight fading over time.

*2018 Update - I posted about the long-term permanence of Speedball Fabric Block Printing Ink.

Honorable Mention - Speedball Fabric Screen-Printing Ink

A lot of people use textile screen-printing ink for block printing on fabric, my favorite among those is probably Speedball Fabric Screen-Printing Ink. A couple tricks for using this ink: 1) let is sit on the slab for a little while to dry/thicken before rolling it out, and 2) use a foam brayer instead of a rubber brayer. Versatex Screen-Printing Ink showed promise too.

Least Favorite - Permaset Aqua Textile Screen-Printing Ink

This might be my most controversial pick. I really wanted to like it, I promise! Many people who print on fabric swear by it, but its results trailed far behind every other fabric ink I tried. I can't recommended it. Jacquard's ink didn't do itself any favors either by drying so fast on the slab making it difficult to work with when doing a print run of more than one item.

If you've made it this far, I'm impressed :) Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts!

This new linocut poster - "Adventure Awaits" - was printed from a hand-carved block of linoleum with Caligo oil-based relief ink on white Stonehenge printmaking paper. It's currently available in my Etsy shop.

"Adventure Awaits" - Lino Print