reduce drying time and improve mark and rub resistance of the dried print surface. Test for suitability Humidity and temperature will also affect the drying time of oil-based inks. It can help to place the prints in an area with good air circulation and lower humidity. They’ll dry faster at warmer temperatures as well. I’ve read that you can speed up the process somewhat by using a hair dryer on low, but I’ve never tried it. Oil-based ink for all relief techniques including woodcut, linocut, monotype, engraving and Solarplate

If the fabric has a rough, woven texture and you want a more solid ink coverage that reaches ‘into the dips’- then you may need the help of a mechanical press with higher pressures. We would recommend you use our Safe Wash RELIEF Inks on fabric as these have some driers already added. If you need to speed up dry times, then you can add a drop of cobalt or manganese driers to your ink and mix well. Printing – with or without a press ? Once fully dried you can wash the printed fabric and the image should stay fast and not wash out. Our own tests on cotton and poly-cotton fabric support this. If the image washes out excessively or bleeds then your inked image was either not completely dry or it may be that the textile was not suitable. A small addition of driers may help.We’ve also hand printed successfully (on a hard surface) with a simple ‘traditional’ Rubber Stamp. Drying / Washing

Some printers like to wash and dry their fabric first to give the most receptive surface for printing. Printing with a press will always give the densest, most even ink transfer for your fabric prints but you can still achieve pleasing results printing by hand. Yes, it's an intaglio ink but it works just fine for relief printing right out of the tube. Similar to Caligo but a little more expensive and smelly.

Hello,

I haven’t been really happy with the water-based printing inks I’ve been using. They’re way better than traditional oil-based inks. They’re non-toxic, much easier to clean up and you don’t need to use solvents, which makes them much safer, particularly in a home-based studio. When applied in very thin layers, this ink works alright with linoleum. They also sell an extensive array of ink modifiers (transparent base, mag mix, etc.) to work with. I could see using this on a case-by-case basis, but it wouldn't be me goto linocut ink. Anyway, I highly recommend Caligo Safe Wash Relief inks. They’re a fantastic alternative to traditional oil-based inks as far as safety and clean up goes, and superior to water-based inks in their working properties. The only thing I Really wish for is for Cranfield to add some metallics to their Caligo Safe Wash line. They have a gorgeous oil-based gold ink in their traditional oil-based line and I’d love to be able to get it in a water clean-up version. This post is all about choosing the best ink but I've got lots of information if you want to learn some specific techniques and tips for lino printing on fabric.