Making a Linocut Print From Start to Finish

Please watch the included video for a very brief overview of the steps included in this Instructable!

In this Instructable, I give a comprehensive tutorial in to create your very own linocut from start to finish in great detail, similar to how I learned in art school. I include tips for design, safety, printing, and cleanup. It is intended for beginner to intermediate printmakers, but I believe it could benefit anyone curious about printmaking!

What is a Linocut?

A linocut is a design carved into a relief block of linoleum. It is a printmaking technique similar to woodcut, but lacks the grain and tendency to split found in woodblocks. The print is created by carving away negative space, creating a relief. When printed, this relief—similar to a stamp—creates an image and can be printed multiple times.

I’ve made a very comprehensive list below of all the supplies you’ll need to get started as a serious linocut printmaker! Many of these supplies can last you many months/years. While I have linked to major online retailers, you can find most, if not all, of these tools at your local art supply store and they would love your business. Independent art supply stores, like independent bookstores, are threatened by large corporations and need your support to remain a vital part of your community. My favorite local art supply store is The Preston Arts Center.

• Linoleum
  
  • I linked a mid-grade linoleum that is easy to carve and still affordable. It can be carved on both sides for twice the fun!
• Carving tools
  
  • If you get more serious about printmaking, you will want to invest in a set of fancy Japanese woodcarving tools. For starters, the set I linked will work perfectly, and the interchangeable gouges are great!
• Ink
  
  • I recommend using oil-based ink because I like the richer quality it gives to prints. It also takes longer to dry out, making it ideal for long printing sessions. However, many beginners start with water-based inks since they are cheaper and easier to clean up.
• Pencil
  • Any old pencil will do! It will be useful throughout the process.
• Paper
  
  • You should use something cheap and readily available for test prints, like copy paper. For your final prints, I recommend Japanese Kitakata paper because it absorbs the ink beautifully.
• Wax paper
  
  • For burnishing (rubbing the print into the paper) you want something between the rubbing tool and the paper to keep from ripping it. Wax paper (yes, the kind you use for baking) is perfect for this task!
• Painter’s tape
  
  • First of all, you should just have painter’s tape. It comes in handy. For printmaking, I use it to keep the linoleum from sliding around while I’m carving it, reducing the risk of cuts or scrapes!
• Sharpie/magic marker
  
  • You will use this to make your design on the linoleum before carving it.
• Roller/brayer
  
  • This little rubber contraption is like a tiny steamroller for your ink! You use it to spread the ink across your carving when you’re ready to print.
• Wooden spoon/burnisher
  
  • You use this to rub the ink into the paper. Many serious printmakers use burnishers that are specific to printmaking, but many still use a simple wooden spoon to press the ink into the paper. I use a squeegee for applying vinyl wraps on cars/screen protectors on phones. They work like a charm! However, your burnisher is up to you—find what works!
• Glass/acrylic
  
  • You need a sheet of glass for rolling out the ink with the roller/brayer. This helps apply the ink evenly across your print for a better end product. I got mine from a picture frame I bought at Goodwill. If real glass isn’t your thing, you can buy plexiglass that’s less likely to break.
• Long metal ruler
  
  • A ruler is used to tear printmaking paper to size. That’s right, no scissors!
• Bandaids
  
  • For beginners, I recommend keeping bandaids handy in case you manage to slice yourself accidentally.
• Cleaning supplies
  
  • Because oil based ink is, well, oil based, it requires special chemicals to clean up. I prefer mineral spirits because it doesn’t dry out the rubber in the roller, but it is highly flammable! Make sure you read storage and disposal directions closely and never pour it down the sink! You should use disposable cotton rags or industrial towels to apply it. I also use glass cleaner to clean my workstation and the glass plate.
  • If you’re using water based ink, you only need a rag and water to clean up!

After you’ve gathered your supplies, it’s time to start brainstorming your design. You can do anything you can fit on the linoleum, also called a “block”. I recommend sketching out an idea on a piece of paper first to give you a better idea what the final product might look like. You don’t want to waste ink or linoleum, if possible!

It’s important to remember that your block will be the mirror image of your final design. Basically, that means you have to carve everything backwards! For most things, this won’t matter too much, but for words and letters, it’s important to remember that you have to carve everything backwards to make it readable for your final print.

Tip:

Take a photo of your sketch on your phone. Open your favorite photo editing app and reverse the image. This gives you a better idea of what to carve into your block!

Take your drawing and lay it on the linoleum. Mark out the general size of the image in pencil on the linoleum, leaving some extra space. After you’ve marked the rough size you want for the block, take a box cutter or the blade shaped carving tool in included in your set of carving gouges and cut your block out from the rest of the linoleum.

Cutting away a smaller block from the entire sheet of linoleum to carve reduces waste of linoleum and ink once you print!

Tip:

Place your sketch near a corner when you’re marking out size. It’s easier to cut 2 sides than 4!

Tip 2:

Try bending and flexing the linoleum after you’ve made a few good cuts. Many times it will break free without the need for further cutting.

Safety tip:

Work slowly—it’s not a race! Never make a cut towards your free hand. This helps reduce the risk of cutting yourself if your blade slips!

Using a pencil and a sharpie marker, draw your sketch onto your block, leaving a few inches of space at the top (you can always cut away excess after carving, if desired). I sketch everything out roughly with the pencil then follow up with the sharpie. Use the sharpie to fill in blacks until you have a very strong image.

Tip:

This isn’t your final product! If you don’t like the look of your sketch on the block, flip it over and try again. Remember, it’s not a race!

Now that you’ve drawn on your image onto the block, use painter’s tape to secure your block to the table. Taping the block down keeps it from sliding while you’re carving it. Because the block isn’t sliding around, you’re less likely to make a mistake that will effect your final print or to cut yourself while trying to hold the block down. It also frees up your hand from holding down the image so you can have greater control of the cutting tool once you start!

Tip:

Open the handle of the cutting tool by unscrewing the bottom to checkout all the blades. You’ve likely already used the cutting tool while cutting the block down to size. Take a moment to look at the others and select one you’d like to try on your block when you start carving!

Now, using your carving tool and whatever gouge you selected, begin carving your block! You want to carve the parts that ARE NOT black. This creates the relief, or negative space, in the image. Anything you carve out will appear white/blank in your final print.

I like to start with the smallest gouge and work my way up in size, if necessary. My favorite part of printmaking is creating texture, so, I leave some space between my cuts. Remember, work slowly, and take your time!

Tip:

You can always take more out, but you can’t put the pieces you’ve carved out back! It’s best to proceed with caution at first and carve out as little as possible.

Tip 2:

You don’t actually have to carve very deeply! For hand printing (what I’m guiding you through today), even shallow cuts will show up well on your prints.

Tip 3:

Little shreds of linoleum are messy! Make sure you pause regularly to clear your gouge of any little scraps of linoleum that might impair your ability to make clean cuts. It’s a good idea to keep the little bits of linoleum off your block as well. Just sweep them to the side with your hand if they start to pile up.

This is the longest step, so take a moment to read all the way through. There are additional pictures of the ink rolling process in “Prep for Your Final Print”, so look ahead if you want more hints!

Making a test print is important for 2 reasons:

1. It helps you see if your carving is going as planned and where to make changes if you need to.
2. It keeps you from wasting expensive Japanese Kitakata paper.

I know it may feel like a waste of time, but it will save you time (and money!) in the long run.

First, peel the tape off your block. Once it’s free, shake loose any scraps of linoleum or wipe it clean with your hands. Once your block is free of debris, it’s time to prep your ink!

To prep the ink, grab your glass/plexiglass. Make sure it’s free of dust/dirt by wiping it with a rag or towel. My design is about 8 inches by 6 inches, so I’m using about an 1-inch long dollop of ink, squeezed directly onto the cleaned glass (as you can see from my photos, the glass does not need to be pristine). If your print is bigger, you will want just a bit more ink. Learning how much ink to use gets easier with practice.

Next, using your roller/brayer, begin to roll the ink in short strokes in one or two directions. I recommend only rolling in a 5 - 8 inch square so that your ink doesn’t get too thin and dry up. Continue rolling the ink until it is even and smooth looking with an almost stippled texture. Doing this ensures that your ink applies evenly to the block. You can roll backwards and forwards, but I find that rolling only forwards or backwards tends to work best, but you’ll have to find what technique works best for you. There’s no right or wrong way to do this.

Once you’ve rolled the ink on the glass smoothly, begin transferring the ink to the block by rolling the brayer through the ink on the glass, then rolling it across the block. Repeat this back-and-forth rolling process until the ink is smooth and dark on the block and you can’t see any linoleum under the ink. I would say that between 10 - 25 rolls, depending on the size of your block, should work just fine. Again, you’ll get better at telling when the block is inked enough to print with practice—thus the importance of a test print!

Now that the block is inked, grab your test paper. Gently lay it onto the block, taking care not to wiggle it once it’s made contact with the block. Then gently press straight down with your fingers to adhere it to the surface. Take a piece of wax paper about the size of your block and lay it on top of the test paper (which is on top of your block). Once your wax paper is in place, take your burnisher (a wooden spoon, squeegee, etc) and rub it firmly across the wax paper. You’ll want to rub evenly and firmly across the entire block-test paper-wax paper sandwich to ensure the ink fixes to the paper. Depending on the size of your print and the paper you’re using, this will take anywhere between 1 and 10 minutes. For this print, 2 minutes was plenty of time.

Finally, set the wax paper aside (we will reuse this wax paper, so don’t throw it away!). Gently (and I mean gently!) rub the back of the test paper with your fingers, especially in any areas with very fine details that may not have taken up the ink. With printer paper, you should be able to faintly see the image through the back of the paper. Take a corner of the paper and gently peel it away from the block. It should stick just a little bit to the block, but not too much. When you’ve peeled the print completely off the paper, lay it with the inked side facing up to dry.

You did it! You just made your print! Congratulations!

Tip:

Inked paper has absorbed moisture, making it prone to tearing. Be very careful with any rubbing you do after you’ve removed the wax paper so you don’t puncture your print!

Most printmaking papers, like the Japanese Kitakata paper I recommended, are torn to size and not cut. The paper is very thin and therefore easy to tear. Tearing the paper also gives it a lovely feathered edge that I quite like.

When you touch the paper, one side feels smooth and the other side feels rough. The smooth side is the “front”, which you will print on, and the rough side is the “back”. The paper is easiest to tear with the smooth side down, facing the table. However, it won’t make a huge difference, so don’t stress if you can’t tell the difference.

Measure out a section of paper slightly bigger than the block. I measure straight across the entire sheet, allowing me to tear multiple pieces of paper. I measured three 6.5 by 8.5 inch sections, going across the entire sheet of paper. In printmaking, there’s traditionally a blank edge or “margin” around the outside of the printed area, which is why you measure the paper to be larger than the block you are printing from. Mark off your desired size faintly with a pencil on the rough side of the paper on both right and left edge of the paper, then make marks for additional pieces.

For example:

I measured 8.5 inches up from the base of the paper on the right side and then the left side. I then made a mark every 6.5 inches across the paper.

Once you’ve marked out the size you would like to tear out of your paper, lay it smooth side down on the table. Align the metal ruler to the marks you measured on the paper, gently pull, taking care to press the ruler firmly into the table so that the paper does not slip. The paper will tear where it meets the downward pressure from the ruler. Don’t pull too fast, or you risk ripping the paper inadvertently. Now that you have a long, narrow piece of paper, go to the 6.5 inch measurements and repeat the process to pull off individual sheets.

Tip:

Practice tearing with copy paper. The copy paper is more difficult to tear, but it will help you get a sense of how firmly to press the ruler into the paper.

Now that you’ve torn your paper, closely examine your test print. Are there any areas that need work? If there are, take a rag with a little dab of mineral spirits (maybe half a table spoon) and wipe the excess ink off your block, then set the rag aside to use again during cleanup. (If you’re using water-based ink, simply wipe it with a wet rag). This helps keep you from getting ink all over your hands when you return to carving. Don’t forget to tape the block back down before you start carving!

Repeat the carving and test-printing process as many times as required until you’re happy with your design. Once you’ve finished your edits, repeat the ink rolling process from the test print section to prepare to make your final prints.

With your block inked and ready to go, lay your Kitakata paper onto the block and gently press it down with your fingers. You will notice right away how much thinner the Kitakata is than the copy paper because you will already begin to see the image through the paper without even rubbing it! Carefully place the wax paper across the back of the Kitakata, take your burnisher, and begin evenly rubbing the ink into the paper just like you did for the test print(s). You should be able to clearly see the ink absorbing into the Kitakata through the wax paper.

Once you’ve rubbed the ink thoroughly into the Kitakata, remove the wax paper and gently use your fingers to rub any remaining ink into the paper. The Kitakata is very delicate at this point, so take great care not to accidentally rip through it.

Since I prepared 3 pieces of the Kitakata, I re-inked and pulled 2 more prints, using a little more ink from the tube each time, except for the last print (see if you can guess which print I didn’t use more ink for). You can see all the prints I made, including test prints on copy paper in the 2nd image above. The Kitakata is the warmer, cream-colored paper.

Tip:

When you remove the Kitakata from the block, make sure your fingers are free of ink. You don’t want to get inky fingerprints on a finished piece!

With proper care, your tools and supplies will last for years!

Crack a window or open the door to increase ventilation. Some brands of mineral spirits can release toxic fumes that you don’t want to breathe in for extended periods of time. However, if you purchased the Gamsol mineral spirits I recommended, it is much less toxic than mineral spirits for industrial uses.

Take your mineral spirits and slowly pour about a tablespoon directly on the glass where you rolled the ink. Also pour about a half table spoon on the roller/brayer (resting on the glass plate), and another half table spoon onto the block (also on the glass plate). With a rag or towel, rub the mineral spirits into the rolled ink to remove it, using as many rags/towels as necessary. Wipe the roller, then roll it in the mineral spirits to loosen the ink. Continue wiping and rolling until the roller is mostly clean. Then wipe the block mostly free of ink. It’s okay to not remove every bit of ink, but you do want to remove 90% of it at least. The mineral spirits will also partially remove the sharpie, in some cases. When you’re done with the mineral spirits, I spray class cleaner across the glass plate to remove any remaining debris.

I use a small vacuum to sweep up the remaining fragments of linoleum on the table and floor. However, a broom and dustpan will do the job just fine!

Dispose of soiled rags immediately and DO NOT leave them near candles, fire places, or open flames. Mineral spirits are highly flammable. Check the label on the container for guidance on proper storage and disposal.

Tip:

Be stingy with mineral spirits. It takes less than you think, and may take less than I recommended!

Tip 2:

Mineral spirits WILL melt acrylic/fake nails and nail polish right off. If you are wearing them, I highly recommend wearing chemical resistant gloves!

Tip 3:

Ink (especially oil based) can be hard to get out of your fingers and nails! I recommend a high-grit soap like Lava Soap or Fast Orange if hand soap isn’t getting the job done.

Congratulations! You’re now a printmaker! The best part is that your block will be good for years to come, so you can continue to make prints of it long into the future!

Prints make excellent gifts and look great framed. I find they look especially good in floating frames.

Contact me for further instructions/clarification. If you complete a linocut using this Instructable, tag me on Instagram or TikTok @redallaboutit and I’ll be sure to like and comment!