In the top photo of this post, the one with the block yet to be touched with pigment, we can see that there is a large 'island' area left uncarved around the outer part of the block.

I guess you've sanded down the edge of this, but doesn't that edge still leave marks on the print?
 

My gosh, that video was amazing. Good Job, what an ordeal to get a print. Glad your machines are all working as they are supposed to! Hard to keep such a large block damp in all the printing areas.
Barbara
 

Dear Dave (and Barbara),

The blocks contain 'islands' for paper support around the outside and also in the center (hard to see the center island in the photo). I do sand them so that the edges are very smoothly beveled and there is no 'edge' to leave any mark. Far as I can see, there is not going to be any impression from these islands in the finished prints, but the wrinkles caused by the paper buckling under the roller are the sort of problem which would make YOU crazy! To me, they add an interesting kind of texture and don't detract from the object. BUT I'd rather those accidents of process didn't occur -- so I'll try to design the next block set to prevent wrinkling (may have to eliminate the perimeter paper supports to do that, but must keep the center supports or I'll have registration problems out the wazoo).

Barbara Mason asked about keeping the large blocks dampened -- that's not a problem at all -- the trick is to keep the blocks from becoming TOO damp (in order to avoid squeeze out at the edges) -- the blocks print very well even when the surface appears to be way too dry!

A related problem which DOES bother me is blotching! It is VERY difficult and time consuming to keeep the paper evenly dampened! When the paper is not evenly damp, I get some buckling in the drier areas which makes the paper WANT to dip down into the inky carved-away perimeter around certain of the printing areas and I've been getting some blotching as a result. Sometimes I can easily wipe those blotches (and any squeeze out) clean with the edge of my palm immediately after printing, and sometimes not. So far these blotches don't detract TOO much from the image as a whole, but I'd SURE rather they not be there at all!

The sheets are so large and the humi-drawer so small and handling so difficult) that it is next to impossible to 'crawl' or otherwise arrange the papers so that just printed / damper areas are adjacent to less-damp areas (although I can accomplish this to some degree by shifting the prints laterally in the take-up drawer it's insufficient). So every two or three blocks (so far only AFTER it has already become a noticable problem, but I'm becoming more and more sensitive to this, and so catching it earlier and earlier), I have been using a 2nd large mizu-bake to redampen the areas no-longer being printed. Obviously, this slows down printing to a great degree, and just as obviously I need to do it more frequently.

I brush the water onto the (gasp!)inky side of the sheet and this seems to work well enough -- the pigment, even immediately after printing, seems to have no desire to run or bleed into the just-dampened areas, nor to accumulate in the brush, but it still makes me nervous as hell to do it!

-- Mike
 

Fantastic print! No question.
 

Rather than a brush have you thought about a ultra fine misting sprayer? I was having lots of trouble with evenly wetting papers until I started using a dahlia sprayer.
 

Hi, Lee!

I use both misters and the brush (6" mizu-bake) -- the brush gives me MUCH more control, so I prefer it. I do dampen my blotters with a HUGE 3 gallon garden sprayer -- I add some formalin first, then fill with water and pump it up -- that's quicker than brushing and works OK for blotter dampening, but even the finest mister is too slow and too 'gross' for the printing papers.

-- Mike
 

Mike, you have a remarkable achievements, both in your beautiful exhibition of large-scale prints and drawing, and also in your illuniating web site.
Jean Womack