Art Articles & Reviews

} Safer cleanup Printmaking Series - Part 10 of 21 By Nik Semenoff After trying a number of water based inks for lithography, I am convinced at this time that oil based ink produce a much better print. The big problem is the use of solvents normally required by printmakers. Hydrocarbons can be toxic if used in a not well ventilated studio and it is best to reduce their use as much as possible. I have found that there are a number of commercial cleaning solutions that will eagerly attack the grease in the ink and so solvent use is reduced. Surfactants and specific solvents are mixed to make good grease cleaners. The new citrus d' Limonene present in many of the recent industrial and household cleaners is less toxic than hydrocarbons, and smells pleasantly of oranges. One of my main ink slab and roller cleaners is made from common Pine-Sol to which I have added about 25% turpentine. To keep the mixture as a useable emulsion, original Palmolive green kitchen detergent is added in small amounts, then shaken until the mixture turns a clear green and stays that way. Another effective commercial cleaner is Castrol Super Clean, which is available in department stores. All chemicals are dangerous and one should use these with rubber gloves and in reasonably ventilated studios. There are many other good commercial cleaners - or mixtures of several - to get the results you want. I have not used solvents in my studio for many years to clean up as the two above mentioned ones work well for me. To give any non-solvent cleaner a chance to dissolve ink, it is possible to mix waterbased ink into the regular oil based ones from well known manufacturers. I find that about 10-25% of Daniel Smith waterbased relief ink greatly increased the miscibility of the regular ink. The print will be completely resistant to water after a few days as the oxidizing starts in the inks. With experience you can find the best modifiers to help make the ink easier to remove with the emulsions now available in the stores. Another suggestion is to scrap off as much of the ink from the slab as possible, then roll again to remove more ink from the roller. Use a sharp blade scraper to get practically all the ink off. There is a wider and more expensive model at paint stores, but this is very effective and worth the price. While this procedure may take more time than pouring on solvent and using a rag, it is safer for you and only takes a bit more effort. I could list a great number of products that work but they are out there and you only have to try the most likely prospects. After rolling off most of the ink from the roller, I scrap and then place wet strength paper on the slab. I pour some of the emulsion on the paper and roll over it to dissolve the ink off the roller. With rubber gloves I pick up the paper and scrub the roller if there are stubborn areas, then go over the slab to dissolve any ink. Soapy water will clean up both, as well as any ink knives or other tools. I dry my rollers by going over a piece of recycled newsprint that has been reserved for that purpose. There is no need to use any hydrocarbon solvents for cleanup, if you are diligent on keeping up to having things clean before the ink dries. Then there may be no recourse but to use the toxic solvents that will dissolve dried ink. ________________________________________________ Copyright © 2004 Nik Semenoff Nik Semenoff Artist-in-residence University of Saskatchewan Visit Nik Semenoff's website at duke.usask.ca/~semenoff/ for more information.