Hello,

Though probably I won't be using the rest of shina plywood I have at home because the warpage problem. Do anyone have any tip/trick to try to "save" the carved blocks?

Of course, the warpage comes because of water. Having take care of that:
a) block is wet not damped
b) there's no free water on the block surface
c) pigments are thick rather than running (water excess)
d) using the proper part of nori paste (I use wheat paste, the one used in bookbinding)

My blocks still warp in ~1 minute or so. In my site there's a photo of that ( http://esorigami.net/mokuhanga/blog/?po ... ctosfaults ) and of an inner wooden layer crack too.

As solution, I tried:
a) using paper strip inlays (to avoid contact with the pigment)
b) using a smaller brush just to apply pigment to the places to be printed

That led to a bigger problem found after making the kyogos: the paper strips displaced the paper plus the woodblock warpage while printing ended with the print ifself distorted (small distortion) and the kento marks in all color blocks misplaced.

The second problem is not a true problem at all (just adjust the kento marks). The true problem arise from the print distortion.

So, if anyone else has another tip/trick to use when warping is present, it's truly welcome. Though I hope no more block warpage (which probably was because it's a cheap 4 mm shina plywood).

Sincerely,
Franz Rogar

Franz, I'm sorry, but that type of very thin wood is totally unusable for (water-based) printmaking. There is no power on earth that will keep them flat once you apply the pigment. And on a print as large as the one you tried, the warping makes the whole surface unusable.

The only way I myself could possibly print off those blocks is by nailing them down to the workbench to keep them flat.

Just write this one off to experience, and please try again with either a much thicker shina, or some real cherry wood.

Thank you David,

I feared that. I was tempted to nail them down as you suggest and taking a few good prints; but after rezising the design, I'll probably won't be printing from them anymore so they'll might end as wood for the fireplace.

The blocks I've requested to my carpenter will be better ones (as I wrote, I probably use the other shina blocks I have for marquetry or as cutboard). They will be a 15 mm heart of birch and sided with a 6 mm cherry layer on each face. So the total width will be ~27 mm.

If those blocks warp, then, I'll create a new style: dry mokuhanga...

This is very close to what I am using; I think mine are 5mm cherry facing. I think you will find these to be very stable, and you shouldn't be having any problems with warping at all.