Printable View
Any linoleum block printers out there?
I used to hand cut some true linoleum many years ago… When I was asked if I could cut them on my bot, I said “Sure!”
The “new” linoleum is a soft Polymer Sheet that really doesn’t want to be router cut! Actually, it cuts fine with a down cut bit… but trying to use a 30° V-bit and a v-carve toolpath for fine detail, results in tenacious fuzzies that don’t want to clean up!
Any insight would be appreciated!
SG
Hello Steve. I am interested in wood block printing. Here is a link to an Aspire video on woodblock printing: https://release.vectric.com/artwork-print-block/
I actually took a semester class in print making at our local community college. In that class, we used MDF as the wood block. It carves well and holds detail, since you don't need to carve very deeply.
I had a wood cut I wanted to make with lots of detail, more than I thought MDF could handle. So I tried using vinyl composite floor tile, and I used a v-bit, so I could get lots of fine detail. But all the fine lines would plug up, and the only way to clean them out required huge amounts of hand work to clean out the lines with an Exacto knife.
Mostly, as I had been spoiled by using a big press at school, I just couldn't get into making prints at home using a spoon to transfer the ink to the paper. IF I were more ambitious and focused, I would have figured a way to use the bed of my shopbot for a printing press...……. Chuck
Depending on the detail of the design, could it be possible to achieve your goal with a drag knife?
Have you tried real linoleum/marmoleum ?
-BQuote:
Difference between Marmoleum*and*Linoleum. In general,*Marmoleum*is a brand name of*linoleum*flooring, just like Armstrong.*Linoleum*itself is a fairly sustainable product made from solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate.
the industrial flooring should work.
I think old fashioned “real” Linoleum would likely work fine! The problem is that the term has been corrupted! Even if you find flooring that says “real” old fashioned Linoleum, the small print says things like “now with urethane wear layer” or “now formulated to stay soft and flexible”.
The craft suppliers are all concerned with “ease of cut” which in my case, prevents getting clean V-cuts…
I’m playing with end grain maple right now and will also try MDF.
SG