Pasta Maker Etching Press

Kozo Paper on left, Abaca paper on right

This experiment is with an Altas Model 150mm Deluxe Pasta Roller.

The pasta roller can accommodate sheets of printing paper up to 150mm wide by practically any manageable length. There are many you tube tutorials on using pasta press for printmaking. The pasta maker had its bottom plate removed and the maker was clamped to the work table (use padding to prevent table dents) with the hand crank to the outside of the table. The maker was set to the widest setting #1. The pressure setting may be modified to account for changes in the thickness of the press pack.

I reviewed 2 artists for this investigation:

Michelle Rozic and Janet Ballweg Part 1 and Part 2

Decided to use Michelle Rozic bed and blanket approach for this test.

For this test:

Printing plate is on 2in x 4"in thin (1mm) plexiglass with both drypoint and masking tape.

Akua Intaglio Ink was used.

Press package in bottom to top stacking order was:

3 pcs Manila folder or card stock

Alignment guide template on newsprint

Sheet of acetate film

Inked plate

Printing paper

Newsprint

2 pcs Kraft Foam Sheets

Note: Be sure to stagger top foam sheets a bit on initial feed end to ensure a sheets are compressed orderly wile entering press rollers

Dampened hand made kozo (l image) and hand made abaca (r image) 4’ x 6’ paper was used.

Hand made and hand dyed paper was chiné colle applied with methyl cellulose powder.

Assessment:

The environment was more controlled and the ink is slower drying than the speedball acrylic providing more prep time.

A small drop of water put under the center of the plexiglass printing plate for stability.

Overall, the best results so far. Images are crisp and look much better on a larger sheet of paper.