Ok so I attempted my first color separation the japanese style today. The image I am doing is a field in the snow and doesn't have a traditional keyblock. But I needed to know where the edge of the image was and the registration. This is the separation I didn't end up using. And you can see there are some pretty bad printing issues here. Overinked and underinked all at once. Also I think the pigment was too light. I was grinding solid sumi ink. It was the only decent black ink I could find in my house and I don't think I ground it enough.

At least all my blades of grass printed. I was getting worried about that.

This print is only 2 blocks

I was able to cut the outlines of the color shapes and the kento registration before the paper started peeling up. So I am just going to sketch directly onto the wood for the details in my color block.

Oh and this is the nori paste I found in my art supply store.

It was $2 and is a bit stickier than what you describe but I was able to water it down. But it didn't have the hold to keep the separation glued down. I had a lot of difficulty laying the separation down. I assumed you have to glue it wet otherwise the paper would change size and registration would be off.

Looks interesting!
You say that the paper for the colour block was 'peeling up' ... but that glue looks as though it should be able to do the job. Were things maybe too wet when you pasted the sheet down, and the glue was weakened? And did you wait until it was dry before carving?

When making the transfers like this, we usually try to keep the printing paper not too wet, to try and keep it as stable as possible ...

Everything was wet. The paper was pretty wet and I may not have used enough glue. I had this idea that if I used too much I wouldn't be able to wash it off later. But apparently that was a mistake. Also the paper was a little moist when I started carving. I got impatient! But I will wait next time.

But by the time I figured that out there wasn't much I could do change it. So I carefully cut the outlines because I could do that without pulling up the paper. And my color block is pretty textural and not so dependent on the key block.

So when you are pulling the separation papers off the key block you keep these thin gampi papers less moist? Does that help with stretching and shrinking registration issues? I feel like I am all over the place with moisture. I know it is just a matter of practice. But I am used to being in control with western printmaking. So I have a tendency to go too fast and resort to western print habits.

When making the colour separation sheets, I don't use thin gampi. It's simply too liable to become distorted. As I describe in the book, I use a paper that is fairly stiff, yet which allows me to peel it off from the back so that I can see the carved lines. Actually, any typical Japanese paper will work for this job, as long as you don't get it too wet (and thus expanded overly).

I just re-read that part of the book and the paper could have been a factor. I have a couple different kinds of Japanese papers I can try in future separations. But I think in this instance it was more an issue of not enough glue. And wetness.

I also may have been using the word "thin" inappropriately. I have been looking at Hiromi paper and compared to the other gampi they have mine was kind of normal. I didn't realize how thin this stuff could get. The Minogami runs at 20g/m2 while my paper is a hearty 33g/m2 I can't find a weight for the hodomura I think that paper is harder to find.

Thank you for taking the time to help me out on this. I will post some more pictures soon. Hopefully of a lovely finished print. Without any printing issues. Crossing my finger on that one.

PS. This nori paste smells really good. I didn't expect that.

We look forward to seeing it!