Pulling the final impression of first 77x42 inch woodcut This morning I pulled the final impressions of my first 77x42 inch woodblock print using my new press... Not bad for a first attempt, actually, but I believe I can greatly improve with more practice! Registration appears to be pretty close to dead-on, thanks to paper maker Iwano Ichibei's having rocked the paper mold lengthwise so it is very stable in the long direction! Kinda amazes me to be able to maintain such tight registration over 77 inches of paper -- I had NOT expected this to be so easy and automatic at all! COOL! Here's a short (3.4mb) movie showing the last impression of the last print (8 blocks were printed on each of 5 sheets) -- ends with some dizzying (sorry) close-ups of the print showing rather intense detail:

pulling the final impression

Another brief movie shows the vacuum plenum on the press in greater detail. Rather than load it here, I'm providing a link in case you'd like to watch it (0.8mb)...

detail of final print (still damp!)

the completed prints in humi-drawer prior to drying

-- Mike

Labels: Woodblock

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