Oil ink unspreadable ??

[littlethings]

Would some kind souls cast their thoughts here..

after realizing that I was using etching inks I've restricted to just using the oil inks I have... they've been fine but lately very difficult to spread...

could it possibly be the cold? or could it be my brayer be not picking up the ink for some reason?

I get the results but am wasting a lot of ink that I just can't move around on the glass easily enough.

[H2O_Baby]

Yes cold can affect oil inks. You can try working in a heated room but of course keep the heater away from the inks! There are various things you can add to make oil based inks roll out differently if your ink is too thick. Exact amounts are not critical unless you are doing viscosity rolls.

Burnt plate oil will thin the ink. It sounds like this is what you need. Just add a few drops at a time and work into the ink on your slab using a flat-edged palatte knife. Burnt plate oil is linseed oil that is specially made for printmaking as paper is more fragile than canvas (so is different than painter's linseed oil).

EZWipe will make it easier to roll as well, but is more often used for intaglio rather than relief printmaking.

If your ink has dried you just have to get new inks, nothin I know of that can be done. If there are tiny dried pieces contaminating your good ink you can pick them out with a palatte knife while mixing with the additive.

Hope this helps.

[fifthhorsm]

littlethings,
ditto on most all H20 said but first thing i'd do is move the ink to a warmer area of house , shop what ever.....
if the ink is starting to dry, has a film or a dried crust around the edges i'd toss it. just not worth the trouble the dried bits can cause.

the burnt plate oil will take care of most any seasonal or humidity problems. when i started out... i lived in an area that was very hot and dry in the summer months ie: 105F and all but no humidity. and snow in winter but it too often was very dry.... gets that way when it drops to 20F below zero. i'd put enough ink on the glass plate to print the edition but about every 5 prints i'd have to add a couple drops of plate oil to keep the ink loose enough to work. if you don't have any.... it's an absolute must have!
mike

[lovestofish]

Sometimes if there is any residual oil on your slab it impedes rolling out the ink (the high viscosity ink you are trying to roll out will not stick to the lower viscosity ink layer on your slab). As noted earlier warm weather is a factor at times which you can compensate in different ways including warming the slab and the area with a space heater.

You can use
-easy wipe (as noted earlier, designed more to make the ink easier to wipe for intaglio)
-miracle gel
-gel medium for printmaking
-setswell (designed more for litho, makes a run more receptive to the subsequent run)
-sureset (designed more for relief, acts the same as setswell)
All of the above serve to reduce the body and the tack of the ink in some fashion.

You can also use 470 Flash Oil (very low visc = very runny).
The Burnt Plate starts at No. 00 I believe and then goes up to No. 8. No. 8 is the thickest. I use Flash Oil and 00 for etching inks.

If you are using a roller you can also use Litho Varnish especially if you are modifying a litho ink to use as relief ink or....just modifying a relief ink . It starts at 00 and goes up to No. 8 which is the thickest. I use No. 3 and No. 8 and with those two alone I can get to where I want to go most of the time with my litho/relief ink.

[wretchedetcher]

I've had some luck with the miracle gel reducer.

[freedda]

Some people will use a hot plate to create a warmed surface to ink on. These can be regular hot plates placed below a metal surface or ones made specifically for printmaking like: http://www.takachpress.com/servlet/t...ntaglio/Detail.

I know people who do this regularly, not just in cold weather.

Best, David.

[fifthhorsm]

lovestofish,
where do you find the different grades of burnt plate oil????????
anymore it seems like i'm lucky to find any at all.
mike

[Heft]

Graphic Chemical sells different grades of burnt plate oil.

http://www.graphicchemical.com

JDH

[lovestofish]

yep, heft and mike, that's where I found them (online anyways)

one other thing I have seen folks use to loosen ink is a very old school material - vaseline

[fifthhorsm]

lovestofish and heft,
thanks... i never bothered to look there, have long had problems with them and some of their pricing.... somethings are outright obscene. also lack of any description or info about products have cost them many a sale. when last i looked at the prices of litho stones from them, i think i may have woken my neighbers, i was screaming and swearing so loud.....
thanks again
mike

[littlethings]

Thankyou everyone, this is great information. I will start with temperature.. soujnds like my hunch was right, but going to look into to products as well.

[H2O_Baby]

Also someone just told me that Akua inks get rock hard and unrollable if water hits it, I suspect but don't know if this is because of the cold.

I do top off my jars of oil inks with water to keep them from forming a skin. It works great.