Waterless Lithography.docx

8/12/2019 Waterless Lithography.docx

1/39

WATERLESS LITHOGRAPHY

USING COMMON CAULKING SILICONEA new process of producing aluminium lithographic plates using

ordinary silicone rubber as an ink rejecting surface.

Developed by Nik Semenoff, June 1990, University of Saskatchewan,

Saskatoon

Historic background

Alois Senefelder discovered "chemical printing" nearly 200 years ago andsince then lithography has relied on the principle that grease and water do not

mix. While it has allowed lithography to replace most other media in thecommercial printing area, the use of water in the process has produced a

number of nasty problems for the printer. Because of this, printers have longdreamed of a system, which would completely eliminate fountain solutions

and all the inherent difficulties. In the late 60's, Harry Hoehn of Long Island,NY, experimented with the then available RTV silicones. A number of years

back, 3M had tried to develop a waterless system for the commercial printingtrade; but after investing a considerable amount of money, they sold their

patents to a Japanese company. Toray Industries, Inc., now markets a

waterless process that is capable of reproducing very high quality

photographic images. Since theirs is completely a photographic process, theimage must be first drawn on paper or other substrata and replicated with a

copy camera. Hand drawn images direct on plate are not possible, but imageson mylar can be exposed on their positive plates. The cost and availability of

Toray plates puts them beyond the reach of most artists.

Many years ago I became interested in the waterless concept and plannedsome experiments to try out some of my theories. My good intentions were

put aside for a number of reasons and only in 1990 I started my research. To


2/39

my amazement, the very first plate produced a very respectable print and

became the basis of my process.

While it is commonly believed that grease and water do not mix, lithographicink and water do in fact blend to some degree to make the plate work better,

but too much water in the ink produces a "short" ink which is difficult to use.

Some art printers believe that a small amount of water which becomes

emulsified with the ink will produce better prints, and control this in a numberof ways. The fact that water has less cohesion than ink, the separation of the

two takes place at the water layer, leaving a few molecules of water to betaken up by the ink roller. While water has been the basis of the lithographic

process, elimination of fountain solutions would be better for the media. Whatwas needed was a material on the non-printing area that would not be liquid at

the time of printing.

Another problem common to lithography is the chemical inter-action at thesurface of the metal plate. The sensitive metal surface will bond with any

carboxyl molecules that are present in many greasy materials and some gums,

thereby producing the areas of image and non-printing background. It is the

remaining portion of the molecules that either accepts or rejects grease orwater, depending on whether a CH (hydrocarbon) or OH (water) segment is

presented to the ink roller or dampening sponge. Because the metal will accepteither molecule, (as long as the carboxyl portion is present), the plate can go

blind, or become too dark, as the materials are disturbed and replaced by the

other type of molecule. If the two areas depended on totally different

chemistry, a more stable plate would be the result.

A process that would eliminate some or all of the toxic materials now used byprinters would certainly be highly desirable. Materials should also be easily

available and not too expensive. Anything that would simplify the processing

of plates and produce long running clean images from direct hand drawn

plates could become an important addition to the artists lithographic process.

Properties of silicon

Silicon is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. It is present inmany rocks and is the major constituent of sand. We have for centuries used it

to make glass and have manufactured lenses, laboratory utensils and otherscientific equipment from it. Science has converted silicon into many forms

ranging from a soft rubber-like material to hard-as-stone compounds. It is


3/39


4/39

you cut off about 1/4 inch of the tip. The inside thread of the Marr shell will

grip on the soft polyethylene tip and make an adequate seal.

Because the silicone is very thick as it comes from the cartridge, it must bediluted to a usable solution. I have found that odorless paint thinner is the best

solvent and easy to come by; it controls the rate of drying when applying the

silicone, making it perfect for the task. It also seems to do a better job of

diluting the thick adhesive in the initial stages. Start by adding only a littlesolvent and stir it in. Add solvent to mix into the proper consistency. The

viscosity of the mixture is a matter of taste but I think a thinner solution isbetter as it dries faster. The silicone should be diluted to the consistency of a

very light syrup. It is better to apply two or three thin applications rather thanone thick one to get the best desensitization. Some substrata such as coarse

ball grained plates may require a thicker coat with a more viscous solution, so

experiment for the best approach - which will only come with experience. Irarely need to apply more than one coat of Dow-Corning silicone onaluminium plates, especially when I use the back of my plates.

I have discovered that the supplier of the odorless paint thinner that I was

using, must have changed their formulation. The solvent had a much strongerodor, but it in fact seemed to break the silicone into parts that ruined my plates

before I realized what was happening. It seemed to separate out the rejectionoils from the rubber, allowing the ink to tint the clear areas; but more

important, it would blind the image as the roller when over it. I have found

another brand that works, but you should be aware that this sort of thing can

happen, as we are using common materials not intended for printmaking inthis way. While common paint solvents can dilute the silicone very

effectively, there are some toners that are actually dissolved in this solvent.Most are not, but the stronger odor of Varsol can be problem for some

printers.

Depending on the brand, the thinned solution can be placed in a container andkept for a long time. In schools, it would be more practical for a technical

assistant to make up the silicone solution rather than count on theundergraduates doing it. By using thinner silicone and applying two thin coats,

a sufficient layer can be built up quickly with the aid of a heat source such as a

hot air paint stripper; this overcomes any missed areas. I strongly recommend

Dow-Corning general purpose clear silicone sealant, if it is available. BecauseI can no longer get this silicone, I have taken to using Dow-Corning #999-A, a

professional material which is available from a building contractors supplier. I


5/39

am told by Dow-Corning that #999-A is the same material. You can purchase

a supply and keep the cartridges in your freezer, where it will keep for a muchlonger period.

Instead of glass containers, one of our masters student has found small

polyethylene containers with a squeeze on top that is perfect for mixing and

storing the silicone. Meant for keeping excess baby food, these small

containers can be reclaimed after the silicone sets up in them. Since nothingreally bonds to polyethylene, the silicone film can be stripped off the inside.

Drawing the image with water based materials (The simplest method to get

an image)

There are on the market a number of water soluble crayons and drawing

pencils that make perfect images similar to grease crayons. The best isStaedtler Omnichrom #108-9. Draw on the plate with these water solublecrayons, feeling free to remove mistakes with water if need be. As long as the

bonding agent for the crayons is removed, the plate will take silicone. If onlywater soluble materials are used, they can be removed (washed out) with

water after the silicone coating is applied. The plate is then ready for printing.

There are a number of other water soluble pencils that can work, but these

have to be heat set before they become insoluble in odorless paint thinner.

Even some washable children's felt markers will work if heat set. As you heatthese drawing materials, they at first will take on a glossy look, then become

dry as the image is bonded to the plate. Experiment with the pencils, crayonsand felt markers you have on hand, many may work. Neocolor II by Caren

D'Ache is another that produces a darker mark but is slightly affected by thecoating solution unless heated. Many ballpoint pens will produce a beautiful

thin line when used with the smooth backs of reclaimed plates. These imageshave to be heated to resist the application of silicone.

For solids and pen work, ink made up of glue and a coloring agents works

very well. I found dextrin better than gum or glues because of the fluidity ofthe adhesive. Make up a reasonably viscous mixture of dextrin in hot waterand let cool. Add cheap Sumi ink to give you a dense black. This ink can be

applied with brush or pen and can be removed if changes are needed. Unliketraditional processing on metal plates, silicone will allow you to scratch whitelines into solid areas, like into stone. By using water soluble drawing

materials, it makes this technique probably the easiest and best approach for


6/39


7/39

not have to leave a very large amount of silicone on the plate as a thin layer

seems to works as good or better than a thick one on most surfaces. It isimportant to buff the plate to an even layer using facial tissue, as streaks can

produce faint lines. I use a larger foam rubber pad as a backing to the facialtissue; this produces a smoother surface on the pad and makes a very even

layer on the face of the plate. Allow the silicone to cure at room temperatureor you can hasten drying with a hot paint-stripper gun. It is extremely

important that the silicone is properly cured as it can be damaged when you go

to wash out the toner image. If there is any doubt about the integrity of thesilicone layer, I would put on another coat after the first has cured. Do not

produce too thick a layer as it will be difficult to develop the image and you

will harm the silicone surface during washout. Too thick of a layer of siliconeis the cause for the loss of fine tints, producing very contrasty images.

I have found that the silicone becomes extremely durable if allowed to curefor some time; as my older test plates seem to resist all attacks on the coating.Although printing can proceed immediately, leaving the plate to cure

overnight might not be a bad idea.

Silicone Intaglio

While I have not discussed this simple imaging method in this paper, I haveshown it to printers at my workshops as it is a well know principle known to

printers from the early days of lithography. Even on stone, the printer wouldfirst gum etch a plate by add pigment to the gum so the scratches can be seen

much easier. After the surface is scratched with an etching needle, asphaltumwas rubbed into the image and roller up as a processed plate. Metal plates

worked the same way and many artists made simple additions to an image byscratching through the desensitized gum layer. Today, this technique is being

promoted as an original method, using commercial Toray plates and suitable

inks.

With the cost of Toray plates, I am surprised an artist would use them for such

a simple technique. In place of using Toray plates, one can use the backs ofused aluminium plates, which have been first coated with silicone. A number

of artists at my workshops have used the technique to produce beautifuldelicate images, that would print any number in the edition. See my paper on

recycling plates over and over again for the method of reusing plates. After theedition is printed, the silicone can be removed and the surface scrubbed with a

coarse 3M scouring pad to eliminate the scratched lines on the surface. I have


8/39

found any trace of a line will not become a problem, if the stripping and

cleaning was effective.

Stripping off the silicone for adding to the image

Because silicone sticks so tenaciously to the plate surface, it is more difficultto make image changes than counter etching a traditional gum plate. After

much research, I have found a chemical that works. While strong organicsolvents will dissolve and remove the silicone, it is difficult to eliminate all

traces of silicone from the surface. Even a very thin film will prevent the newimage to take hold, allowing for a possible plate failure during editioning.

What is needed is a solution that strips off the silicone cleanly and not dissolve

even a small portion of it. While strong acids could be made to attack the

metal under the silicone, experiments showed this was not a practical method.

In the end I have decided to use fluoride compounds as this element attackssilicon on contact. While a weak solution of hydrofluoric acids works, the

dangers of using this chemical goes completely against my search for lessdangerous materials. After some experiments, I have found that a very weak

solution of ammonium bifluoride and acid does the job perfectly and shouldnot be too dangerous in the concentrations I propose. A small amount of

ammonium bifluoride crystals are dissolved in water to form a solution. Dothis in a plastic container as fluorides attack glassware. To force students into

putting on rubber gloves and so prevent any absorption of the chemical, add alarge amount of a strong red dye which would stain the hands - it also aids in

applying the stripper. I also add a reasonable amount of acetone to act as awetting agent on the silicone and help remove ink. Wheat flour is added to

increase viscosity to reduce beading on the silicone surface. The formulawhich I recommend is as follows:

Ammonium bifluoride crystals oz. by volume

Hydrochloric or phosphoric acids -1 oz.

Water 8 oz.


9/39

* Add food coloring to make solution very red

* Add acetone if ink removal is wanted; dispense with the acetone if the image

is to be retained.

* Add wheat flour for increased viscosity

The amount of chemical can be varied according to your experience andnature of the plates. Use weaker solutions at first, or if you want to retain

some of the image. Because of the harsh action of this stripper, it is difficult to

hold the image. By applying rosin to the wet ink and heating the plate, more of

the image is saved. On an old plate, test the effectiveness of the stripper byapplying it to a small area with a brush or sponge. If there is a heavy coat of

silicone, the solution will likely want to bead and no amount of acetone seems

to help. Keep the solution moving over the area, this will have the desiredeffect on the silicone. You will notice a slight resistance to the movement ofthe sponge where the silicone is being removed. After a minute or two, take a

wet foam rubber sponge and wipe off the stripper. If the solution is strongenough, the affected area will become wet with water, indicating the loss of

the silicone layer. If an ordinary urethane sponge wet with water is rubbed onthe area, it is much more effective in removing the silicone as it acts like an

eraser. A stiff finger nail brush also helps displace the silicone.

Try to reduce the amount of ammonium bifluoride in your solution by nowtaking a small portion of your mixture and try diluting it with more paste.

There will come a point that the solution is ineffective even after leaving it onthe surface for a long time. Try for a solution that will work in about 5

minutes, and so reducing the dangerous chemical to the minimum. Theheavier viscosity of the solution is necessary to reduce the beading and allow

for more controlled stripping. Adjust all materials to conform with the typicalthickness of silicone you use on your plates. If you want to use a fine brush in

get into intricate detail, then a thinner solution would be needed. Larger areas

would benefit from a more viscous mixture.

In the end I have reduced the hydrogen fluoride content to about 3% or less.No fluoride gas would be escaping from this mixture. My test solutions read

3.9 - 4.5 pH on my pH meter. It is important that you use rubber gloves tofarther reduce the dangers of using fluoride compounds. Ammoniumbifluoride is also called ammonium hydrogen fluoride, which indicates that

part of the compound contains hydrogen fluoride, or hydrofluoric acid. We


10/39

encounter fluorides in toothpaste and drinking water everyday. At the low

concentration in the stripping fluid, and with common sense, I see lessproblems with it than many chemicals we use in printmaking, but special care

must be taken when working with an fluoride. Similar chemicals are used bystained glass workers to frost areas of their pieces. With extra care, there

should be no problem of using this approach to counter-etching your plates.

I have found on the market some effective products to strip of silicone. Sold inautomotive supplies shops, these chemicals are meant to be used as a cleaner

for magnesium wheels, and contain a small amount of hydrofluoric acid. Ontesting the solution, I found it had a pH of about 3.3, which is not that acidic

amongst the other chemicals one uses in traditional lithography. One productis called "Mothers Wheel Mist", and the other "Eagle One Etching Mag

Cleaner". I have used the Eagle One solution and found it can be diluted by

three parts water, and still be effective. I would suggest pouring on the liquidrather than spraying, so that the risk of inhaling the HF molecules iseliminated.

Because of many printers concerns about using any solutions containing HF, I

had the commercial cleaning products analyzed for the amount they contain. Ihave found that Eagle One has reduced the amount of the chemical to a degree

which does not require them to list it on the label. The original solutioncontained 1.7% HF while the new formulation tested at .9%. When diluted

with parts water and a small amount acids, the working solution tested at .36%

HF. I usually add some hydrochloric and/or phosphoric acid to help clean the

plate surface. The Mothers' Wheel Mist did not contain enough HF to registeron the test equipment, so the chemist checked the machine but found it

working properly. For some reason this product does strip off silicone, sothere must be a trace of HF in the formula, which means not much of the toxic

material is needed to destroy thin layers of silicone. If you are using thegrained surface, then these formulations may not be effective enough. I have

found that by the time all the silicone is removed from the grained surface, thegrain has been eroded enough to produce practically a smooth plate.

To help make the silicone bond better to this chemically eroded area, I have

found that an application of dilute sodium silicate is helpful. There must be

some fluoride molecules left in the grain of the aluminium which prevents

proper adhesion of the silicone over time. Since waterglass is alkaline, it reactswith any free hydrogen fluoride molecules; at the same time producing a layer

of aluminium silicate for the silicone better to adhere to.


11/39


12/39

from drying too quickly on a plate. If water based drawing materials are used,

the water wash will remove them also.

There is no need to apply vinyl lacquer or any other printing base. Where thesilicone rubber has been removed from the metal surface, the plate will print

as the ink comes in contact with the image area. After ink is left on the metal

plate for any length of time, a strong chemical bonds takes place which

becomes the permanent printing base. If the image rejects ink because ofresidual silicone oil, just wash that area again with acetone and continue to roll

up.

Because of the difficulty of obtaining diacetone alcohol or butyl cabitol, I

have recently been experimenting with a commercial cleaner and degreaser

that has the ability to dissolve type B toners. Called CITRA-SOLV, it is a

concentrated solvent that is miscible in water. Apply the cleaner full strengthand washout the image, then use soap and water to clean the plate. While itdoesn't affect type A toners, it should still be useful in most shops for other

cleaner functions besides image development. There seems to be a number of

solvents that contain these new citrus oil additives which may give

printmakers a washout solution that is less toxic. While these cleaningmaterials are not as good as the acetone/diacetone mixture, some may work

well enough for those printers concerned with the use of acetone. If the toneryou are using will not washout with straight CITRA-SOLVE, then use it as a

retarder in an acetone developer. Experiment the the percentage that will

effectively dissolve the toner, yet leave a moist film that can be removed with

soap and water. If someone finds a better development solution, I wouldcertainly like to hear about it. Your name can go down in history.

Using traditional grease materials

Since some artists prefer the effects of traditional tusche washes and grease

crayons; these materials can be incorporated into the waterless process.

Because of the nature of these materials, the process requires an additional

step or two to take full advantage of the technique. Vinyl lacquer base or othermasking material will be required, as well as gum Arabic.

The image is produced in the conventional way using stick tusche for washesand crayons for drawing. Any materials that will produce a impervious layerto the water based gum should work. Marking pencils with high wax content

and felt markers are also all candidates as drawing tools since no acid etch is


13/39

used.

Talc the image as usual and apply plain gum Arabic all over the plate. Since

we are not etching the plate in any way, other gums or water soluble gluesmay work. All that is needed is some form of mask to protect the non-printing

area from the vinyl lacquer which will be applied as yet another temporary

mask. Buff the gum down to a tight film and dry. There is no advantage to let

the image and gum sit on the plate as in traditional lithography, so as soon asthe gum is dry, the image can be washed out with lacquer thinner or an

acetone and odorless thinner mixture. Apply a coat of good vinyl lacquer andbuff to a slightly thicker than a normal film. After the vinyl has dried enough

to not be sticky, the gum can be removed with water. There is no need to letthe lacquer dry real hard because it could be difficult to remove. This is a

tricky step and experience will help you in determining the right state of

dryness.

If the lacquer will not come off with a wet sponge, proceed to roll up the plate

with a stiff ink. As the lacquer lifts off the non-printing areas, ink will be

deposited on the image. If you have to use this procedure, then gum Arabic

should have to be used for its slight etching effect. When the plate is clean,sort of wet wash the image with odorless paint thinner. This wash out

technique is only used when vinyl lacquer dries too hard.

After drying the plate of odorless thinner, but making sure no moistureremains on the surface, silicone rubber can applied as on a toner image plate,

then buffed down. From now on the two plates can be handled the same way.After building up the silicone layer, the plate is washed out with acetone

developer to remove the image lacquer and expose the metal. Printing canproceed from here.

Converting proofed grease and photo plates

Grease images that have been proofed as gum/water images can be converted

into the waterless process. Make sure that there is a good vinyl lacquer baseunder the grease image, reinforce it if in doubt. Remove all traces of ink witha suitable hydrocarbon. Wash off the gum. After drying the surface, apply the

silicone coating as before and cure. Remove the lacquer base with acetonedeveloper and roll up with ink.


14/39

It is very easy to convert both negative and positive photo plates to waterless

lithography. I have done this with a number of different products. One makeof negative plates I encountered would not convert easily as the image could

not be removed with acetone. By adding a very small amount of methylenechloride to the acetone, I was able to make that brand of plate work as well.

The procedure for all plates is to first remove the gum with water, rinse anddry. In fact, thin gum can be left on if multi color editions are to be made from

the one plate (discussed later).

After drying, apply the silicone rubber as if it was on a toner image. Uponcuring, the image is removed with acetone, alcohol or the developer used for

positive plates, depending on the make of photo plate. The plate can be rolledup with ink as before. If the image is not completely removed to the bare

metal, the plate should still work. As long as the silicone rubber is removed

from the image, the remaining developed photosensitive material will take ink.

Processing photo plates directly as waterless

I have been able to process both negative wipe-on plates and positive photo

plates directly as waterless. The acid gum etch supplied for these plates is notused as they would then have to be treated as a conversion. After exposure and

plate development, the surface is rinsed with water and dried. Silicone rubberis applied and buffed down. After curing, the image is removed with acetone

developer, methyl alcohol, or the plate developer, after getting a secondexposure to destroy the emulsion. The diazo wipe-on negative image does not

come out completely with acetone but the silicone rubber is stripped off,allowing ink to take hold. Fuji, DuPont and Hoescht positive plates worked so

well that one would think they were designed by the manufacturer for thiswaterless process.

Making reversals of any waterless image

Working with reversals in waterless lithography means you will have to

decide on the procedure before you start. Image making materials cannot bewater soluble as you will use Gum Arabic as a temporary base for the siliconecoating while printing the first color. While reversals in traditional lithography

call for the removal of the gum layer so that the plate will accept ink, siliconecannot be removed with even the strongest acids or solvents. It is a simplematter to set up the processing to allow for the removal of the silicone coating.


15/39

The image can only be done in toner or water resistant plastics such as Future

floor polish for this method to work. After the toner is set and the plasticdrawing ink has dried, a layer of thin Gum Arabic is applied over the entire

surface that is to be reversed. Silicone is next applied over the gum and cured,the image then developed with acetone and printed as a positive if so desired.

Water must be kept off the plate as it would remove the silicone coating.

For the reversal to take place, the image is first washed with solvent to removethe ink. Make sure all the ink is removed by washing the image area with

lacquer thinner if need be, as there is no fear of damaging the silicone, whichis to be removed later. Apply and cure silicone over the image area to be

reversed. Now take a wet sponge and cover the entire plate and let it soak intothe gum layer under the silicone. You may have to rub the surface with your

fingers to help lift the silicone, but this is easy to do if the silicone layer is not

too thick. After all silicone is removed, the plate can be printed when dry.Borders can be produced by applying masking tape before the gum is put onthe plate, or they can be covered with silicone later.

If there are areas of the plate that are not to be reversed, they can be protected

with orange shellac, which is applied like lacquer base. After applying siliconeto the original image to be blinded and after washing the silicone off the

surface with water, wood alcohol or acetone is used to remove the sealer andreveal the original protected image. No water must be present in these solvents

as it could damage the original gum still beneath the silicone that was

protected by the shellac.

Using this technique to print multiple editions from one plate

Our students have found that they can print many editions from one plate if

they first undercoat the silicone with gum. Some have printed as many as eighteditions or multicolor plates from just one surface. After printing their edition,

they don't reverse the image; instead they wash or counter etch the plate

lightly. This removes the silicone and gum at the same time. For multicolor

editions, the remaining ghost image is helpful to lay down the next color. Fora new edition, they disregard the old image like the ghost left on screens in

screen printing.

While the use of water is restricted in this technique, I have found that theOmnichrom pencil can be washed out with acetone, making it possible to do

crayon manner drawings. First cover the entire plate with gum. The drawing is


16/39

done with an #108-9 Omnichrom pencil, toner chalks or other materials that

do not require water in application. After curing the silicone, the image isdeveloped with acetone, but water is not used to clean the plate. You would

have to use pure acetone as the retarder prevents ink from taking to the imageuntil it is completely evaporated. After printing the edition, water is used to

strip the plate clean -- ready for another image. My only concern is thatsilicone does not bond as well to gum as it does to bare aluminium. This could

limit the size of an edition, but it is more than adequate for the small editions

required at schools.

During the fall of 1997, I have developed a method by which old used plate

can be recycled in this waterless process. I have found that the back of theplates actually produce a better image and have taken to using that side. I

found that common commercial aluminium from a metal supplier can be used

effectively for waterless printing; these much thicker sheets can be reusedmany times to save money. Look for my paper on this process.

Other substratum

While grained aluminium plates do present one of the better surfaces for thisprocess, I have been able to produce good prints from specially prepared paper

plates. Paper plates are difficult to make and would be best manufactured withbetter control than I could achieve in my studio. While not all paper plates

performed perfectly at this time, there seems to be enough success to keep meworking in this area because of the cost saving for students.

While regular litho stones can be used in waterless, they have to be first

coated with a waterglass solution to protect the surface from the acetic acid inthe silicone caulking. Dilute the sodium silicate so that it would produce a

good seal on the stone surface. Buff the waterglass with a cloth that is lint freeto prevent hardened particles after it dries. The drawing is done on top of the

isolation layer with any of the previously mentioned materials. The stone can

be grained after the edition is finished.

Another interesting surface is the use of common plywood's. The surface isfirst sealed with shellac. If a solid image is wanted, it is drawn with water

soluble materials. After the silicone is applied and cured, the wood can becarefully abraded to reveal the grain of the species. I have never tried to findthe total number of prints the plate may produce, but it should be more than

enough.


17/39

Glass sheets are another candidates for drawing surfaces. The glass has to be

3/8th to inch thick to prevent breakage. The surface is sandblasted orgrained with a small levigator. The new orbital sanders are a promising tool to

make the work easier. This technique has been perfected by Littleton Studiosin North Carolina. Other printers have learned the method from them.

Acrylic sheets can be grained in the same way but can only be used with

water-based drawing materials. Silicone does not adhere to acrylic as well as itdoes to other substrates, but is a material that would be very interesting to use.

There is on the market a special silicone caulking made for the acrylic plasticsign industry, which should be effective for waterless litho, but I have not had

the opportunity to get some for testing.

Printing and using a clean sub-plate

Method #1 To make the printing area cleaner, it is possible to produce asubplate covered with silicone which will reject ink. While I have used old

aluminium plates at first, common Masonite is much better. At first, it wasobvious to have the subplate on the press bed, under the printing plate.

Because metal plates in time will stretch in the middle under pressure of thescraper; where the smaller plates are placed, the edges of the subplate will curl

in time and will not lay flat on the press bed. Masonite is flexible and does nothave this problem. If you have the space, it is much better to establish a rollup

island next to the ink slab and press. Take a piece of 1/4" Masonite and cut itslightly larger than your inking table near the press. Use Masonite that has

pronounced grain on the back as this will become the upper surface and isnecessary to hold the silicone which will be applied to make the subplate.

Attach strips of wood around what will be the under side, to keep the subplatefrom moving while rolling up a plate.

Dilute silicone as if you were going to use it on a plate but use it to seal the

Masonite. Let it cure. Next use silicone straight out of the cartridge and put a

heavy bead across one end. Using a wide putty knife, spread the silicone as

evenly as possible over the entire surface. Work the material well into thegroves of the texture for a proper bond. As the silicone picks up broken strand

of wood fiber, it becomes contaminated; replace with fresh clean silicone andfinish coating the surface.

If the surface is very ridged, it has to be rolled smooth in some way. Take a

brayer that is about 6 inches wide and cover the surface with contact vinyl


18/39


19/39

will clean the surface very well with solvent, then apply a thin fresh layer of

silicone. This is the best of all subplates that I have made and tried and wouldrecommend it for a working studio, but not for a classroom.

Inks best suited for waterless printing

The ink that is needed for waterless lithography has to be of high viscosity,

non-greasy and with high tack to start with. Some black inks work very welljust as they come from the can but other will need modifiers. Some require so

much modifiers that it would be better to choose another ink for printing theedition. Because of the concern that commercial litho inks may not be

permanent, my early work was done with inks accepted by the art community.

I have now tested a number of available inks and have found Van Son rubber

based to be near perfect. They have much stronger pigmentation than some

other popular brands. My process works best with the new quick set inks thatare common on the market. Inks that were satisfactory are:

*Van Son Rubber-base inks. These stiff high tack ink printed the best rightfrom the can.

*Hanco CS series are made with quick set vehicles and will work quite well.

These inks need more modifiers than Van Son. Can be mixed with Van Son.

*Green Drop Ink Company. A waterbased ink made from plastic that becomes

waterproof on drying, but can be removed with soap and water. It has novolatile hydrocarbons and is considered none toxic. This new product has

great possibilities for artists worried about solvents in the workplace.

Unfortunately, this company has ceased operation and inks are no longeravailable. I have returned to research in this area, with very good success, but

the formulation is too complex to explain in this paper. I hope to find asimpler mixture of materials that will produce a modifier that can be added to

common printing inks. I have found that about 15% of my present modifier

will produce a good printing ink that becomes waterproof on drying, but can

be cleaned up with soap and water.

For those who do have a supply of the Green Drop inks, I suggest you use the

following techniques. While the Green Drop inks could produce prints onwaterless plates, it is not an easy ink to print with. One of their drawbacks was

their fast drying on the slab, that caused problems when printing editions all

day. The common practice has been to scrap the slab every so often and


20/39

refresh the ink. In January of 1999, I found that that a modified version of the

Green Drop ink produces much better printing results than what themanufacturer supplied. By mixing the Green Drop ink with Van Son or any of

the other common oil inks, they are emulsified together. This also reduced thetendency to tint a great deal. To slow the drying on the slab, addition of

Golden Acrylic Retarder did the job. I was surprised as to how much retardercould be added without increasing tinting.

Starting with a ratio of about 1:1 of Green Drop ink and Van Son, mix them

well together with a spatula. The ratio will make a difference in thecharacteristics of the ink, much like modifying any ink. Next add the retarder

and mix in well. The new ink will still clean up with water, but may requiremore soap if the ratio of solvent ink is increased. I believe this ink mixture can

perform better than either ink system and could become the material of choice

for printers, as well as for schools.

Modifiers for inks

If there is uncontrolled tinting, the Van Son ink should be made shorter with

the addition of epoxy hardener only, the resin is not used. Magnesiumcarbonate is also helpful in some inks. Take a very small amount of hardener

and work it into a small amount of ink, then add more and more ink toincorporate the hardener into the ink. While most work, I have found regular

Lepages epoxy was the best hardener for this purpose; do not use the 5 minuteepoxies. If too much hardener has been added and the ink does not want to

transfer, use one of the drying vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower orwalnut salad oil. For a less viscous ink I use these oils as modifiers over flash

oils and the like. I now modify some inks so that they practically pour off thespatula; this gives me greatest detail in the fine tints and keeps the darks from

plugging up. I have also found that the new alkyd gel in a tube, used by

painters, make a very good reducer. I like to print on soft smooth papers such

as Arches 88 to get the most detail, when having direct plate to paper contact.

Rollers best for waterless

I have developed a three part roller that overcomes 90+% of tinting problems.

This roller assembly consists of two smaller diameter rubber rollers (1.5 inch)that contact the plate, with a larger (2.5 inch) metal supply roller the contactsboth. The small diameter rollers provide a greater snap because of the sharper

angle of the roller to the plate surface. (See appendix of how to make such a


21/39

roller)

Good synthetic rubber rollers are the best to use. Leather rollers may deposit

the ink more even and bring up the lightest tints on the first passes, but theyleave tinting on the plate. Brisk rolling with a rubber roller will give you good

results. If there is tinting along the edge of the plate, use a small diameter

brayer and go over these area quickly to remove the ink. The brayer can be

rejuvenated for the next pass by rolling over an old telephone book page orother paper.

A very slow roll with plenty of pressure may be required at first for the ink to

stick, but a fast roll across the entire plate will lift the tinting. Do not stop or

change direction in the middle of the plate because that will leave a tint line

which may become hard to get rid of by rolling. While it is hard to over-ink,

don't, as this process does not release the excess ink as quickly as flooding theplate with water in traditional lithography. Over-inking has to be removedwith a sheet of newsprint run through the press.

Because of a very stiff ink and the thickness that results, darkening of the dark

areas can be a problem. This does not fill-in permanently on the plate and theimage there looks the same as before, but the pressure of the scraper has

forced the ink to spread and darken the passage. Use a softer ink to producethe lightest tints and the cleanest dark passages. I have found those papers

which are soft and can absorb ink under pressure, give the most accurateimpressions. Calendered papers can produce very fine impressions when the

pressure is adjusted properly.

Wash up solvents

In the past I use to remove ink from the image with acetone, when a change ofcolor was needed. It depends on the binding vehicle used to grind the ink, but

some inks can be removed with alcohol. While it may not take out the ink

right to the bare metal, enough is removed to provide a clean printing plate.

The residual ink within the grain of the metal act as a printing base and I havenever been bothered with it. The other advantage of the alcohol is in the waythe ink is removed. By using facial tissue and a liberal amount of alcohol, a

tight circular action will strip the ink from the surface as a gummy, tackyresidue. By not dissolving the ink, less alcohol is needed to clean a plate thanone would with lithotine; acetone acts the same way as alcohol with some

inks. Mixtures of the two is possible to nicely clean your particular brand of


22/39

ink. Try a 1:1 mixture of acetone and wood alcohol. By modifying the

commercial ink, you also change its solubility in alcohol or acetone. Anotherink remover is acetone with a small amount of ethylene glycol, available in

automobile antifreeze. Some of the new citrus type cleaners work well also.

While I have not been able to obtain Isopar, an iso-paraffin product from Esso,

I hear it washes out a plate effectively, without damaging the silicone coating.

Various grades of Isopars are available but I do not know which works thebest.

With the Green Drop/Van Son mixture, wash out from the image can be done

with water and a little soap added.

Adding more silicone rubber to the surface

If for some reason the ink starts to adhere to the plate, you may be able to

recover the image and save the edition. There could be a number of reasons

for the problem and understanding the process can help in determining theremedy. The surface of the plate may not have been clean enough for the

silicone to take hold, and in time has started to strip off the contaminatedareas. If the plate has a very rough texture and your silicone not heavy enough

to bridge the sharp points, this will cause tinting. In each case it is possible to

add fresh silicone, as long as there is some silicone still present on the surface

of the plate.

If some areas outside the image have not had enough silicone rubber or it has

been damaged, those areas should first be cleaned with white gas or lacquer

thinner to get rid of all the ink and clean the metal surface. Counter-etchingwith a strong solution is probably the best remedy but applying silicone rubber

without counter-etching may also work. If I want to prevent problems, I willapply a weak solution of waterglass (sodium silicate) to the area first. Next

apply silicone, buff the area and cure the rubber. If part of the image is to be

deleted, the same procedure can be followed. Waterglass produces a layer of

aluminium silicate, a good base for the silicone. To hasten the drying of thesilicone, I use a more diluted solution that is made up of camp stove fuel,which evaporates very fast. It can be applied in more than one application to

build up a reasonable layer of silicone.

If you want to apply silicone rubber over the entire plate, you must protect the

image from the silicone. What is needed is a material that will stick to the


23/39


24/39

start to take ink. If these are cleaned with white gas, the surface will be dry in

a moment and can be resurfaced with silicone. I think that it is a good idea toapply some sodium silicate until it takes to the surface, then flush with clean

water and dry. Prepare some caulking silicone diluted with pure white gasrather than odorless thinner, to produce a fast drying solution. Dilute the

silicone much more than for surfacing the plate and store in a tightly closingbottle; I keep mine in the freezer. Apply the deletion fluid with a Q-tip for

tight areas, or a facial tissue in the open sections. Buff quickly to an even film

and allow to dry for a little while, or force dry with the heat gun. In most casesthis will blind the offending area and you can proceed to print the rest of the

edition.

Putting the plate away and cleaning up

When you are finished printing or proofing, it is not desirable to wash the inkfrom the plate. On a number of plates where I removed the ink before storage,the silicone seems to have creeped into the fine image areas and prevented

reprinting of the plates. I feel that the ink protects the metal surface from

oxidization and it can be easily removed later with acetone or soapy water if

using the GD/VS mixture, if it hardens. The non-printing area is covered bysilicone which retains its rejection capability if not damaged in any way. I

protect the plate between 6 mil polyethylene plastic. This is available in rollsfrom the local builder supply who sell it for a vapor barrier.

Observations

Waterless lithography is very different than traditional gum/water printing.

Less chemistry is required as only a few store bought materials are needed.There is no real need for hard-to-get products such as Gum Arabic, the various

acids one may use, the soft cheesecloth or lintless wipes. All the materials Ihave used are available in town as household or everyday trade products.

None are toxic to any extent, and are inexpensive besides. The main

advantages over gum plates are:

1/ If toner or water-based materials alone are used for the image, there is noneed for vinyl lacquer base with its toxic solvents and strong odor.

2/ Acids are only needed for counter etching and then other commercial

products can be very easily obtained.


25/39

3/ Timing of the application of etch is not required to produce a stable plate.

Over or under etching is not a problem.

4/ Because the carboxyl radical is present only in the ink, while the non-printing areas are covered with silicone, a stable plate is the result. Blinding or

filling in is not a problem.

5/ The silicone rubber layer is extremely tough and bonds very well to propersubstrata.

6/ Stopping to print for any length of time does not require the plate to be

gummed up and later washed. Putting the plate away for later editioningrequires no special consideration.

7/ I have found the plates to take considerable abuse before problems arise.This happens mainly because I try to find the limits to the process and

subjected the plates to a variety of materials that would normally not be used.

8/ In traditional lithography, when printing color editions, wet ink maysometimes offsets to the non-printing wet areas of the subsequent plate and

takes hold. Silicone rejects the ink, preventing this problem.

9/ I have found that the lightest tints can be better reproduced with thewaterless process rather than gum/water plates. Because there is no acid to

erode the image, the light tints remain on the plate.

10/ Hot air from a paint-stripping gun can be used to quickly dry and cure thevarious materials used.

11/ Because the process is waterless, the paper stays dry and dimensionally

stable. Paper registration is more assured and colors tend to print clean andbrighter.

Disadvantages

1/ As in most cases, improvements are not without some sacrifice and this

process is no exception. While the technique has problems, they are of adifferent nature than gum/water lithography and have to be overcome. The

most important concern is the loss of making changes to the plate; by addingor changing the character of the image. Because the silicone layer holds so


26/39

tenaciously to the metal, it is very difficult to remove the materials to

resensitize an area for changes. The use of ammonium bifluoride solution orthe commercial magnesium wheel cleaners may be less desirable, but a very

effective stripping agent.

2/ Deletions are very simple to make. Just take off the image with solvent to

remove the ink, then apply some silicone rubber and let it dry. The strong

bond of silicone to the aluminium, while producing a superior plate, makeschanges to the image difficult.

3/ Buffing down of the silicone rubber has to be very smooth so that lines do

not appear during printing.

4/ The need to use acetone instead of a cheaper hydrocarbon such as Varsol

can make wash out more expensive. If you are accustomed to use commerciallithotine, then the cost is about the same or less. Acetone with other additivesremoves ink in a peculiar way by not dissolving it, but by lifting it very clean

off the surface. If you start to use the GD/VS ink mixture, then solvents arenot a problem.

5/ As in most cases, when a plate losses an image, there is not much that can

be done to bring it back. While more forgiving than traditional lithography,

the plate can become unprintable if one is careless with processing or use of

solvents. As long as the silicone rubber layer is intact, the plate should be ableto be brought back to a serviceable state.

Conclusions

Waterless lithography has been a dream of some commercial offset printers as

they saw advantages to get rid of the fountain solution that used chromate's orisopropyl alcohol. The ink water balance is a factor, which makes the

difference between an excellent print and one that is just passable. Humidity

and other factors make printing of traditional lithography as much an art as it

is a craft, as the printer bring his or her experience into the editioning. A stableplate is the goal of the printer and any technique that provides it, should be

accepted by the profession.

I have been asked, if a water plate is printing well, why convert it to awaterless one? If the printer is skilled enough to produce perfect plates every

time, then there is no need for change. But it takes many years of experience


27/39


28/39

the smell of solvent by eliminating the aromatic compounds. This changes the

liquid so that is has less of an effect on the silicone rubber and some tonerimages, than one gets from ordinary paint thinners.

Silicon: The 14th element on the periodic table, it comprises 25.7% of the

earth's crust and the second most abundant element in the universe. Never

found free in nature, it can be combined to form many different types of

materials.

Silicone: Silicones are important products of silicon. Technology canproduce polymeric products that range from liquids to glass-like solids.

Caulking compounds are rubber like materials that are useful in the waterless

process. Available in hardwares and paint stores.

Varsol: A high flash point hydrocarbon originally known as Stoddardsolution.

Stoddard solvent.Its toxicity level is given as 100 ppm3. Sold as a paintthinner and cleaning solvent, it has a number of other uses.

Vinyl Printing Base: This product will vary from one manufacturer to

another but they all seem to contain aromatic hydrocarbons and keytones as

solvents for the vinyl plastic. Considered a health hazard.

White Gas:An aliphatic hydrocarbon with a very low flash point. Sold ascamp stove fuel in sporting stores and hardware's.

Materials List and Formula For Various Solutions Used In This Waterless

Process - that are not available in a normal lithograph workshop

Drawing materials

Staedtler Omnichrom 108-9 pencil-a black water soluble pencil unaffected

by hydrocarbons. Sold in drafting supplies and some art stores. Used forcrayon drawing effects.


29/39

Sumi ink - An inexpensive black ink from the Orient. Can be modified with

dextrin or other water soluble glues to make it impervious to the silicone.Used for pen lines or solid flats.

Toner - Dry copier toner washes used for reticulated textures -- using both

water or solvent washes. Compressed toner can give charcoal effects. See my

toner paper.

Future drawing fluid-- Common Future Acrylic Floor Polish, diluted with

water and colored with Sumi ink or colorant, makes a waterproof image. Usedfor pen lines and solid flats where water-soluble materials cannot be used,

such as reversals.

Setting Fluid

White gas -- Common campstove fuel from sport supplier is used to settoner images sometimes. If type A toners are used, the white gas is used as a

carrier by adding 5-10% acetone or lacquer thinner to help bond the toner tothe plate. Test the amount of the stronger solvent needed for your toner. Some

toner require a slightly longer exposure to the solvent, so the addition ofcommon paint thinner will slow the evaporation.

Silicone coating

Caulking silicone -- Common clear caulking silicone in a cartridge is diluted

with odorless paint thinner to the consistency of a light maple syrup. This isdone in a small polyethylene container with a thigh cover so the container can

be reclaimed, or empty 4 oz. baby food jars. Add solvent a little at a time untilthe right consistency. Dow-Corning clear caulking silicone is the best I have

found, but seems to be no longer available. Instead, I have been using their#999-A, a professional product that is available through contractors building

suppliers.

Wash out solution(Developer)

Acetone -- Common acetone is used to wash out toner and Future polishimages. To retard the evaporation of acetone, diacetone alcohol is use by

adding about 5-10% to the developer. Diacetone alcohol is used in the screenprinting industry as an ink reducer. My supply is from Colonial Printing Ink

Corp.; sold as ST-212 reducer. Other retarders work. I have tried Butyl


30/39

Carbitol and Ethylene Glycol, but prefer the Diacetone Alcohol.

Citra-solve - a commercial cleaner and degreaser that seems to work well on

type B toners only. Can be mixed with acetone to make an effectivedeveloper. Use soap and water for the final cleanup.

Ink Stripper

Acetone/alcohol-- a 1:1 mixture of the solvents lifts ink without dissolving

it. This takes less of the solution to clean a plate for changing colors. While itmay seem slower than dissolving the ink with solvents or straight acetone, it is

very effective and safe. Modified inks may need a different proportion of eachsolvent. Other additive may be used as well. Use Kleenex or paper towel for

ink removal.

Soapy water -- When using GD/VS ink mixture, plain soap and water willremove the ink from the plate.

Image Protector

A waterbased relief printing ink with about 25% of a retarder added. This is

rolled on with a small brayer.

Silicone Stripper

Ammonium bifluoride -- Also known as ammonium hydrogen fluoride.Because it contains hydrofluoric acid in the compound, a weak solution of this

will strip the thin silicone layer effectively. Place a teaspoon of the chemicalin a plastic container and about 8 ounces of water to dissolve it. Add some

hydrochloric acid to improve chemical action. Next, add a strong liquid dyeand stir. Alcohol or acetone can be added as a wetting agent if the stripper is

not to be used on inked images; leave these out if it is to be used over images.If ammonium bifluoride is not available, use ammonium fluoride to which a

bit more of hydrochloric acid can be added to activate the stripper.

Ammonium bifluoride is used by stained glass workers to etch glass and

should be available from them, rather than a chemical supplier. Use thesechemicals with great caution.

Commercial magnesium wheel cleaners-- 'Eagle One Etching Mag Cleaner'

and 'Mothers' Wheel Mist' are a couple of products that contain a small


31/39

amount of hydrofluoric acid, along with some phosphoric acid. Dilute and put

into a plastic bottle as you don't want to inhale any of the mist. Chemicalanalysis has shown that under 1% of the solution is HF. When diluted to an

effective stripping solution, the percentage will be around .35%.

Odorless Paint Thinner

Odorless thinners are sold in art stores as well as most paint and hardwarestores. Use the cheaper paint store variety, but some will not work as they can

harm your plate. Remember that it is still a hydrocarbon and should be usedwith care.

Silicone Caulking

Dow-Corning clear silicone caulking in cartridges is the best material to use.In the small amounts used, the acetic acid used in manufacture is of littleconcern. With the disappearance of the Dow-Corning consumer material,

other suppliers will have to be used. Ask for DC 999-A at a buildingcontractors supply house. General Electric Silicone II is a good material for

caulking windows, but rather a poor silicone for this process.

Dry Copier Toners

Toners can be of various manufactures and should be tested to learn of theircharacteristics.

Some toners are not effected by hydrocarbons (type A), while the greater

majority are (type B). Since these designations are my own for classifying the

materials you may encounter, you will have to test the toner for yourself. Alltoner are usable, only that you will have to know their limitations. You should

be able to pick up discarded toners from a laser cartridge refurbisher or a copy

centre. Toner is basically plastics, the amount of acrylic, styrenes or otherpolymers is the manufacturers secret. See my toner paper for more

information.

Applicators


32/39

Soft urethane sponges are the best to spread the silicone over the plate

surface. They should be cut into small 1.5 inch squares. A much larger one isused to back the facial tissue used to buff the silicone to a tight film. Common

facial tissue are the best and cheapest to this purpose. The foam spongematerial can be purchased from a department store where it is sold for

upholstery. You should be able to obtain scraps from an upholstery workshop.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

1/ Silicone caulking products may change without notice. While most work,

the change may be enough as to cause problems. I have used many brands butclearly found Dow-Corning better than most. Dow Corning produces a

cartridge that has a screw in nozzle that makes it easy to dispense a smallamount and close it for the next time. It is also marketed under others labels.

Other cartridges need to have the nozzle cut which prevents tight closing and

subsequent drying in the tube. By using a Marr #2 electrical connector, the

opened tip can be effectively sealed. Keep the silicone in your freezer for alonger shelf life, as it deteriorates in time.

2/ Make sure the tops of the aluminium grain is covered by silicone rubber, or

tinting can be a problem. If coarse plates are used, two or more coats may beneeded. For the finest tints, use the smoothest grained plates you can acquire.

A slightly grained surface is better than a glass smooth surface to bond the

silicone to the metal. The slightly roughened back of plates make the bestsubstrates for this process.

3/ Hydrocarbons harm the silicone coating and allow the ink to stick to theplate. Acetone and alcohol's are better to remove the ink. Soapy water safest

of all for use on the GD/VS ink mixture.

4/ There is no need for a vinyl printing base as the metal will absorb the ink

molecules in time. While in gum/water lithography the strongest part of the

plate is in the vinyl base and grease image, in waterless the opposite is true.Because the silicone bonds so well to the metal surface, it cannot be displaced,

and it cannot move into the image areas.

5/ There are 3 possible ways to use this process:


33/39

I- Directly with a toner or water based imaging materials.II- II- Directly as a grease image or conversion of a proofed grease

plate.III- III- Directly as a photo image or conversion of a proofed photo plate.

6/ It is extremely hard to lose an image. As long as a thin layer of silicone is

present on the metal, an ink-rejecting surface can be produced with more

silicone rubber.

7/ An effective drawing ink can be made from Future Acrylic Floor polish byadding a coloring agent such as lampblack in cheap Sumi ink. This fluid can

be used also with brushes to cover large solid printing areas. Since only a thin

layer is needed to protect the plate surface, it can be diluted to just the right

consistency. Acetone can be used for development. A simpler glue based ink

can be made with dextrin or other glues, and Sumi for coloring. The advantageis that it can be developed with plain water.

8/ White lines and other changes can be scratched into solid areas, just like instone work. The silicone will protect the scratched area from taking ink.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Semenoff, Nik. "Superior Tusche Washes"

LEONARDO, Volume 20, Number 1, 1987, pp 71-77.

Semenoff, Nik. "ALithographer's Notebook", Saskatoon: Semenoff, 1989. Semenoff, Nik."Waterless Lithography Using Traditional Grained or Commercial

Photosensitive Plates", LEONARDO, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 303-308, 1993

Three Part Roller for Waterless


34/39

Lithography

Developed by Nik Semenoff during 1992 & 93

Here are pictures of the three part roller that I have developed to make

waterless lithography even easier to print. I was going to patent the roller but

had decided to just make the design available to all printmakers. This roller ismade from nitrile rubber rollers that have been ground down to 1.5 inches in

diameter. The steel tube that acts as a supply roller is made of DOM steel .125inches in thickness, 2.5 inches in diameter and 15 inches long. These are not

important dimensions as other prototypes have been quite different and all

have worked.


35/39

The support assembly is made from wood with one end block left free for

taking it apart. The end blocks are made together so that the holes line up

perfectly. The center support is made from two pieces of wood that is groovedin the middle before they are glued together. While this roller has had the

support lathed to close tolerances, other prototypes used planed supports.Plane the centre support until it is nearly a cylinder and cut to length, making

sure the ends are square. Leave about .125 inches clearance between the steelroller and the end blocks by making the inner support a bit longer. A threaded

rod is used to hold the unit together with the nuts at both ends secured withepoxy to the wooden handles. A third nut is used to keep the main assembly

together when the rollers are taken out for cleaning. This nut is recessed into

the end of the support so that the removable end block fits nicely. Glue can beused to secure these three pieces. In the ones I manufacture, the end block are

not glued to the inner support.

To make the end blocks, measure the diameter of the rubber and steel rollers


36/39

you intend on using. With a good compass, draw the inside and outside

diameters of the steel roller on a piece of bond paper. With the compass set tothe diameter of the smaller rollers, draw a circle touching the larger one.

Space the next small roller far enough apart to give the unit some stability.Next, draw the diameter of the end shafts of the small rollers. Indicate the

surface of the plate by drawing a line touching the bottom of the smallerrollers. Leaving between .125 and .25 inch between the shaft and the edge of

what will be the bottom of the end block, draw a line parallel to the plate

surface. This space may vary with the diameter of your rubber rollers. Thisline will become an important line of reference later. Now complete the

outside outline of the end blocks. This design has square ends that allow me to

put the roller on its side or top while printing or for storage.

The diameter of the inner support is slightly less than the inside diameter of

the steel roller, but placed in such a way that the all rollers are in contact whenrolling up, yet lets the steel roller fall away from the rubber ones duringstorage. This prevents flat spots on the rubber rollers. To get the proper

placement, draw in the diameter of the support so that it allows for some roomaround the top and bottom of the inside steel tube. This is usually right on the

centre point or just a little above. This hole will become the placement of thehandles. Don't make the centre support too small or you will have a weak

system.

From this template, transpose the centre points of the places where the hole

will be drilled, to one of the pieces of hardwood for your end blocks, taking

care that the reference bottom line is along one end of the long grain of thewood. Clamp the two small pieces of hard wood together with the bottom

edges sitting on a flat surface, then drill the three holes with the appropriatesize drills. The holes for the rollers should not be too tight. Once the two end

blocks are drilled, the clamps are removed.

Assemble the main units, then seal the surfaces with lacquer. Glue can be usedto keep the central support and one end block together. The third nut is

recessed into the inner support and tightened with the nut on the solid handlewhich goes through the support. Put the rollers in their place and fit the free

end block to the main unit. Before tightening the free end block with the

screw-on-handle, place the roller on your ink slab to make sure the small

rollers are flat on the surface -- then tighten the handle. If properly made, theroller moves freely as the steel roller revolves on top of the rubber ones by

pressure from gravity. When the assembly is turned upside down, the steel


37/39

roller should separate cleanly from the others. The other nice thing about this

roller is that you will never get blisters again, and it works perfectly fortraditional lithography!

The reason for this design is that the smaller rollers contacting the plate will

lift the ink tints off the surface because of the greater upward lift or snap for

any given forward or backward speed. Larger rollers have a lesser angle when

orientated to the plate surface and not as fast a snap. The total circumferenceof all three rollers turns out to be greater than for the average rubber roller, so

has enough ink to cover much more of a plate. Inking is also more evenbecause the pattern is not repeated with the different diameter rollers. I have

produced one model with different size rubber rollers to make the pattern evenmore ambiguous. I don't think there is enough difference to promote it other

than you could easily use different size rollers if that was available to you.

Cleaning is very simple. Just add cleaning fluid to the scraped ink slab andpass the roller back and forth until the ink is dissolved. Then pass the roller

over newspapers to get the rest of the ink off. If the ink from the newspaper

dirties the rollers, clean newsprint can be used, or blanket wash will leave the

surface clean for the next ink. The ability to take apart the unit is just to give ita very good cleaning every so often.

I see no reason to use any other material than wood for making the support

unit. Wood bearing have been used in the past with great success and shouldlast for years if not abused. Wood is light and easy to work with, keeping cost

down. For my manufactured systems, I have used soft metal sleeves asbearings. Rollers may be more of a problem. I found old wringer washing

machine rollers very good except for their shorter length. Since they may beold and not in good shape, most of the outer portions will be ground off on a

lathe to reveal a fresh inner surface. I have also used inking rollers from a

Multilith #1250 machine. These are 11 inch long and much smaller in

diameter than I would like. There are two reciprocating rollers about 2 3/4inches in diameter on each machine that can be used in place of the steel tube.

These rollers can be taken apart to reveal a nice metal tube that is coated withrubber. These rollers should be available from discarded machines.

My very first attempt (in 1992) to build a prototype used rollers from a surplus

supply. After careful construction and assembly, I was dismayed to find thatthese rollers were made of high silicone content as ink would not take to them!

By temporarily covering them with MacTac, I proved the concept and started


38/39

looking for pure rubber rollers. The designs progressed and I decided in 1993

on the simpler inner support system. I now commercially produce rollers 15inches long, made from LHB (HT) Nitrile to meet requests by printmakers for

a good working system. I gained a lot of experience in producing the 12prototypes while doing my research and know just where close or loose

tolerances are required. Good luck and I hope your rollers works as well asmine. The pictures of the roller are of the system I manufacture for sale, but if

you have good construction skills and have access to lathes etc., then maybe

you can produce a roller that will meet your needs. If you need moreinformation on making your roller, feel free to contact me.

Recent Developments

In the spring of 1996, I produced a system that allows me to print my editions

as offset by using my hand transfer press. I call the system linear offsetbecause the motion is on a flat plane rather that using any a cylinder to holdthe blanket. I have found the following many advantages to this method:

Much less pressure is required for printing even the hardest and more

textured rag papers.

There are no salt and pepper areas because the soft blanket deposits ink in

the hollows.

Flats are always flawless and even in color.

Registration is perfect.

Colors are rich and bright even with one pass through the press because asufficient amount of ink can be transferred from the plate and to the blanket,

then to the paper.

I now print all editions with my linear offset attachment. It is easy to remove

by the way it is secured to the present press bed; this allows for ordinarytransfer printing. A Lexan tympan is hinged to a inch aluminium plate in away to make removal easy for cleaning. An offset blanket is bonded to the

tympan and all is kept in registration by the precision hinges and tapered

registration pins placed at the foot of the aluminium plate. With this four-point

registration system, perfect color registration is assured. Considering I ink upmy plates on a subplate that is close to the press, printing is a continuous


39/39

process. As I have a motorized press, I ink up my plate while the sheet of

paper is being printed; no time is lost. Since I started to use the system, I havenot lost one sheet of paper in an edition due to variation of color or

insufficient inking.

Here are some quick sketches of the linear offset.

Permission to photocopy this document is given to help get dangerous

material out of our studios. Publication without the consent of the author is

prohibited as I would want the latest information published. Contact me for

publication.

Nik Semenoff, Artist-in-Residence, Department of Art and ArtHistory, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

S7N 0W0

e-mail address web page

Updated October, 1999

Documents

Waterless Lithography.docx