Posted on June 1, 2007 [Permalink]

Continued from [River in Summer - 12] - Printing to begin! | Starting point of the thread was [River in Summer] - How the print is made

Let's have a look at the printing bench - where all the action will be taking place for the next couple of weeks. Here's an overview:

It's too bad I didn't take this shot a couple of days ago ... before Tamura-san across the river blasted his hillside with a weed-eater, leaving nothing but brown wreckage. It'll gradually come back to life, and then, just when it starts to get nice and green - a most pleasant sight out my window - he'll tear it all up again ... Sigh ...

Anyway, we can't see many of the tools from here, so let's move closer:

Here's a shot looking down at the platform, showing my blue cushion, and the materials on my right side:

The paper waiting to be printed is in the package on the table directly in front of me (face down), and the sheets are moved one by one onto the block, and then into the package on the right (face up). When the batch is done, the position of the two packages is switched, of course ... ready for the next colour.

The block on the bench is a 'blank' block, and I am printing a beta-ban impression, with no pigment - just a small amount of paste and water. This is mostly for preparing the paper, giving it a nice smooth surface, ready for a clean impression of the key block, which will be next.

I am not using a real baren for this impression, but have pulled one of my 'bearing barens' out of the drawer. For printing a beta block like this one, no finesse is necessary at all, just basic power. (I also want to avoid wear and tear on my good barens as well.) This is the only impression on this print which will be done by the steel baren; all the rest will use my normal barens ...

The next shot shows the left side of the work area:

You can certainly get a good idea of the palette for this print! Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be working my way through all those greens ...

The thread continues in [River in Summer - 14] - Impressions 1~3 ...

Added by: Julio Rodriguez on June 2, 2007

Dave, the baren you have in this picture looks like my $5 pla-baren from the barenmall....or is it a ball-bearing baren ?

Added by: Dave on June 2, 2007

is it a ball-bearing baren?

It's the type of ball-bearing baren known as a 'Korokoro' baren ... (it's in the Mall, here).

Added by: Julio Rodriguez on June 2, 2007

Okay Dave...I see many green pigment cups ready to go, brushes, paper, etc....just have to ask...why two phones ? ;-)

But seriously, I seen you flatten the paper before

with a beta-ban block when you want smooth paper finish like for a female face....but why would you need that smoothness in a landscape ?

Added by: Dave on June 2, 2007

why two phones?

One is a 'telephone' phone (some people here in Japan still do have a landline!), and the other is the intercom from the front door ... two stories up the building.

why would you need that smoothness in a landscape?

1) There will be scattered spots in the image that don't get touched by subsequent printing, representing bright areas of direct sunshine, and if I don't do this step, the paper in those spots will bulge out in a strange way at the end of the process ...

2) Having the surface of the paper nicely smoothed, means that subsequent impressions can be printed smoothly with much less pressure and paper stretching trouble.

Added by: Diane Cutter on June 3, 2007

Dave...

The organization of your worksite is truly an inspiration. I love how you have everything at the ready!

Diane

Added by: Dave on June 3, 2007

you have everything at the ready!

Is there any other way? There are 120 sheets of paper in that stack, and there are going to be around 30+ impressions. I can't afford to be making too many 'extra' movements, or continually getting up and moving around ...

Added by: Patti on June 3, 2007

Ahh ball baring barens...I have fallen completely in love with mine! I can't believe it's taken me this long to give myself one. So how does the Korokoro baren perform compared to the other styles B and D in the mall? I know some students who could afford to treat themselves to your type whereas the others ones would bust their budgets...