I have seen lovely textured and atmospheric prints made with the lino etching technique. When I tried this some time ago nothing happened – it was a total non event. I don’t like being defeated and I was keen to find out just what I’d done wrong.
I am a member of Inkers Printmakers, this gang of Yorkshire based printmakers exhibit as a group as well as getting away from it all once a year to spend time together. In April twelve of us set off for Barmoor at Hutton-le-Hole for a long weekend of sketching, walking, eating and printmaking. Our annual weekend away usually includes someone sharing a printmaking technique – this year Jenny demonstrated lino etching so here was my chance to discover how to do it properly.
Being rather impatient I struggle with the length of time it takes to cut detailed lino plates. Lino etching on the other hand, is relatively quick. You discover unpredictable lines and textures that are very exciting. The effect doesn’t resemble traditionally cut lino but you can add cut marks to the etched plates.
An added bonus is that anyone who suffers from arthritis or weak hands and wrists may find lino cutting too painful to enjoy. Lino etching does not tire out those muscles as you get the results by using various liquids rather than cutting tools.
Caustic soda decomposes proteins. Proteins are things that are (or have been) alive – for example plant and animal tissues, so natural oils and fats, hair, and skin. This also includes you! If you get it on your skin it will cause painful chemical burns.
It does not affect synthetic man made materials (but can affect aluminium,) so use plastic containers to mix it in, rubber gloves and plastic aprons, tablecloths etc.
Please see the ‘caustic soda’ post for more essential information about this chemical.
Put the water in your pot first, then slowly add the caustic soda, stir until it dissolves. Be aware that it gets hot and gives off fumes at this stage.
Sprinkle the wallpaper paste on and stir this till it is thick and even.
The mixture we used was like thick jelly – you could drop a blob a centimetre thick on to the lino and it would just sit there etching away.
If your mixture is too runny it will flow off the lino or dry out before etching it.
(Making the mix too thin was my original mistake).
You can simply apply the caustic solution to the blank lino plate. Coarse synthetic brushes (not hogshair as that will dissolve in the solution) make nice sweeping strokes. You can drop it on in blobs to etch random shapes. Also try scraping it with a plastic comb to make lines in it.
As it starts working you will see the colour of the lino change to a darker shade of brown.
To make more controlled designs you can mask areas of the lino plate to prevent the etching solution reaching it. As caustic soda dissolves natural materials you must use man made materials as a mask.
It takes a while to get the idea that the areas you mask will print black, etched areas will be white. This is the reverse of conventional etching – it all helps to keep your brain agile!
Once you have masked the plate and etched it as long / deep as you want all the caustic soda and masking materials must be removed.
Wearing gloves, scrub it with a stiff nail brush under running water. Keep scrubbing till the brown colour is gone. It is fine to put caustic soda down the sink as it is designed for clearing drains.
We used malt vinegar after washing to finally neutralise the alkali but not everyone does this.
Remove any wax left on the plate by laying a sheet of newsprint over the lino and ironing it several times. Other masking materials may need solvents like meths to remove them if they are still clinging on after the caustic soda has done its work.
The etched plates look exciting and are lovely objects in themselves. Enjoy feeling your plate before you print it!
Once the plate is dry take a simple relief print to see what has happened – you will no doubt get some nice surprises.
If you don’t have a press lay your paper on the plate, cover it with grease proof paper and rub the back evenly all over with a wooden spoon.
After your test print you might decide to carve more details into the plate, or etch some more areas.
I find the plates work well inked up as intaglio and then rolled over with a different colour as a relief print. As the plates have several distinct layers it is also interesting to try viscosity printing with them.
If you need more hands on instruction Jenny has a studio at West Yorkshire Print Workshop and sometimes runs lino etching courses there.
Have a look at my post about other artists who use this technique for more inspiration….
Inkers Printmakers at Barmoor
Speedy results
the plate turned 90 degrees and over printed
What is Lino Etching?
A caustic soda solution is painted onto lino – this eats away the surface creating interesting textures that often print in unexpected ways. You can control the process by masking off areas of the plate to prevent or reduce the effects of the caustic soda etch.Here is how we did it at Barmoor
Synthetic tools and brushes
Recipe for caustic soda lino etching solution
200 ml water 3 tbsp caustic soda 2.5 tbsp wallpaper pasteMixing caustic soda for lino etching
thick caustic soda over wax and stop-out varnish
Lino
Traditional lino is made from linseed oil and chalk – linseed oil is a natural protein so the caustic soda will dissolve it. Caustic soda etching will not work on vinyl based ‘soft cut’ lino as this is synthetic and doesn’t contain proteins.Etching
lino changing colour as it etches
Timing
The longer you leave it the deeper it will etch. It is good to start with some timed test pieces; 10 minutes will be fairly shallow, leave it for an hour and it will have bitten much deeper. You can create different levels of etch on a lino plate by adding more caustic solution part way through the etching process.Masking areas of the lino plate
Painting etch over a plate masked with electrical tape
Tape
Electrical tape worked well, making sharp edges and geometrical shapes. I guess other plastic tapes or stickers would also work well.Petroleum jelly
Vaseline (petroleum jelly) was excellent – smear it on, wipe off areas, scratch or comb into it to get different marks. If the Vaseline is thin the etch may start to bite through it at the edges giving lovely textures.Paraffin wax
We melted the wax and used tjantings to draw loose flowing lines on the plate as you would in batik. The layer of wax can be scratched into with a needle or drypoint tool – fine lines will etch where the wax is removedStop out varnish
This is a spirit based bitumen varnish used in traditional etching. Put it on thick and the etch will not penetrate it, if it is thinner interesting lacy patterns form as the caustic soda bites through it. There are surely lots of other materials you could try – I wondered about nail varnish? Leave a comment below to let me know if you come up with any others that work well for you.Cleaning the plate
lino etching made with wax resist
Printing the etched lino
black relief print
intaglio and relief print from etched lino block
Hi Emily
Glad to hear you’ve had some successful results with lino etching – it can become quite addictive ! I usually use stopout as a resist, sometimes candle wax. I did try wax crayon on a course but it didn’t really work. Often, I don’t use a resist at all, just work directly onto the lino with the etch solution.
I haven’t tried using intaglio inking and rollers, usually just use different soft and hard rollers, so will give that a try.
Some lovely examples that you’ve chosen. I found these sites helpful too when I was getting started:
– https://printmakingart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/etching-linoleum-with-caustic-soda.html
– http://linocutboy.com/steve-edwards-etched-lino-prints
Thanks for these suggestions Janice – I think there is loads of potential for experimenting here!
Thanks Emily, a good read ! and really lovely results with the technique. Shelley x
I just found this blog with an excellent post on etching lino
Hello, have you tried Marmoleum for this technique? This is what I have on hand and will give it a go. Here in Canada the Lino used for craft is so expensive. I must say a very clear instruction article with lots of creative options. I appreciate this.
I think marmoleum would work well – as long as it is made from linseed oil as the caustic soda will dissolve fats and oil so it will etch it. Just make sure you aren’t using synthetic material which the caustic soda won’t work on.
Hello Emily,
Thanks for the link to my blog post. I wish I had had access to your experiments before I tried mine! I love the idea of using vaseline as a resist, and will definitely try it out.
Best wishes,
Philip Hartigan
Hi I am glad you found something to add to your repertoire – if you have a spare 5 minutes you can amuse your friends and family by doing a face print using vaseline too!
Hi. What kind of linoleum do you use? I´ve been trying with a brazilian one, but the caustic soda doesn´t make anything to it. I have leaved the caustic during a hole night, but nothing happened. I tried a harder preparation, but same as before, nothing hapenned. I read that maybe the linoluem could has a protector layer, that must be quited, so I did it with sandpaper. but the same as before. I´ve been reading that maybe this is happening because there are a lot of types of linoleum, and I should use one made with natural materials. I´m using one that in it´s back side says supreme bfrazil.
So I would like to know what kind of linoleum are you using?
Thanks.
Hi Estefania
As the caustic soda dissolves natural proteins and fats it is really important that your Lino is made with natural products – this is usually linseed oil. This type of Lino has a backing of coarse fabric (hessian) as it is possible to break it, it is usually a grey or brown colour.
It sounds as though you are using a synthetic Lino – the caustic soda will have no effect on this. You have certainly tested it well!
You could try buying a piece of Lino made for Lino cutting from an art shop, to test it out.
I hope you have more luck next time because it is a great technique.
Thanks a lot for your blog and your answer. In my country is so difficult to find a natural linoleum. The firrst ones in wich i did the experiments were bought in an art store. It were synthetic. This week finally I found a place, a place for architectural importations that sell natural linoleum made with cork, woodens, jute. I´m making new experiments hoping that I could finally get it. But as i can see, there´s nothing like the image you show under “Cleaning the plate”. I just feel a little texture, but I doubt it would work.
Hope you´re ok.
Thanks again.
It sounds as though you are on the right lines Estefania – I hope it works. If you only get a little bit of texture you could try making your caustic soda mix stays wet and leaving it on for longer.
Dear Emily. Finally I get it. I´m very excited. now I can teach this technique in my classes. I´m an engraving teacher. Finally I feel great for everything, even the difficulties. As I told you before, I have no idea about this technique in my country, I think it´s not just that this is unknown, but also that is difficult get the materials, really, the natural lino. I feel great knowing that in my classes I´m giving this technique. Thanks a lot for your advices. For now, we are teaching virtaul classes, but we have some presencial weeks. Last presencial I gave to my students the lino. now I´m asking them to create the sketches and protect the plaque with judean bitumen, and the next presential week we are going to apply the caustic soda.
I don´t know if you already know it, but I think that it´s important to share something I learned from a chemical enginner: the correct way to clean the caustic soda is cleaning everything that had contact with ths substance, applying vinegar. The vinegar neutralize the caustic, so it´s the ideal way to clean it and stay calm because now it coudln´t hurt anyone or the planet.
Again, thank you.
I am really glad you have found a way to do the Lino etching – I am sure your students will love it!
I would advise anybody to take precautions not to get caustic soda on skin – you don’t always feel the burn till a few hours later, so may not realise that you were in contact with it. Generally the advice here is to use water to rinse it off.
I hope you will send pictures of the prints you make……
This is very cool. I’m in the printmaking class in New Zealand and I’m going to forward your link to my friends. Looks great!
Thankyou – I hope they all have a go!
I’m Looking forward to trying this technique. A couple of questions : Do you use a printing press with these Or print them as you would any Lino cut? Also do you soak the paper Or leave it dry? I can certainly try both and see what happens!
If you ink the plates up as relief you could print them as you would any Lino print. I like to play around with intaglio inking as well and use a press to print it on damp paper, as it produces a richer more layered effect and the pressure of the press gives the print a textured surface.