Leaf printmaking is classic, but how do you get high definition prints?
Inking your Leaf Substrate
The trick is to roll the ink out thin, and use it before it dries. This can be tricky if you’re printing multiple leaves, or if it’s hot and dry when you’re printing.
I find it’s best to ink the bottom of the leaf. Take a close look. If you ink the top the ink will go into the leaf veins. We want those to appear in the print, and the underside of the leaf is where they tend to stick out. Leaf prints are relief (releaf) prints after all, not intaglio.
Now that you’ve laid your leaves on your ink, carefully drape a piece of scrap paper over them and press down as evenly as you can with your hands. This flattens the leaves onto the ink. Now you can roll over them with your press or baren. If you’re using a pocket press, press evenly, so you don’t get banding marks in your leaves. Pressing the leaves onto the ink ensures that ink gets to the details of your leaves. The thin layer of ink on the plate allows for more detail than rolling over the leaves with an ink roller. But don’t press very hard. You’re just getting the ink on the leaves, not printing.
Printing your Leaf
Lay your leaf, ink side down on your paper. Please note that my leaf has ink on the top because I printed that side before making this tutorial. But it is still placed with the freshly inked underside down.
Now, gently lay a piece of scrap paper over your leaf.
Hold your paper firmly, and, using the felted side of your baren, rub the back of the leaf through the paper. You may begin to see an emboss through your scrap paper, but don’t press hard, just firmly, as you rub the back in a circular fashion. We’re trying for an even application of ink onto the paper, without smears or darker parts. Just gently, but firmly for a good 10 seconds or so.
Reveal your print
The detail shows well in this print, however, it’s a little dark because I rolled out the ink too thickly, and a little unevenly. But leaf printmaking isn’t about perfection, at least, not the way I do it. So many other things can affect our leaf prints, like the humidity and the temperature. But here you have some food for thought, and you know how to pick up the most detail, by rolling over (or rubbing) your leaf twice. Once on the ink plate, and once on your paper.