Monoprinting Process

Step 1 – Designing Your Monoprint

Step 2 – Preparing Surface To Monoprint

It’s important to clean your sheet of glass/Perspex before applying any ink. Apply a small blob of ink to the sheet then roll it with a roller/wooden spoon until the ink achieves a velvety texture and makes a slightly sticky sound!

Tips to avoid making a mess:

• Make sure your inked area is same size or slightly smaller than your chosen piece of paper to be printed on, so you don’t end up with ink on your work surface!

Monoprinting techniques/ideas:

• Once you have applied ink to your sheet of glass/Perspex with the roller you can smudge the ink using a rag or your own fingerprints to create patterns
• A ‘subtractive’ method can be applied where ink is removed from your inky palette before you transfer the print over; ink can be removed using items such as bubble wrap or cotton buds to create interesting textures
• ‘Masking’ creates a blank space in your print and can be achieved by putting another material in between your inked sheet and the paper, such as mesh or flowers
• You can also experiment with watercolour paints and wax crayons as well as the ink
• Why not stitch your print onto a cushion cover or lampshade
• If you created your monoprint on tissue paper, you could decoupage this onto furniture

Step 3 – How to Monoprint

Lay your desired paper on top of the inked area and rub the back very lightly so that it is in contact with ink and does not move. Lay your scanned design or original sketched design on top of the paper. Carefully draw over the lines of your design; this will transfer it onto the paper.

Tips for printing your monoprint:

• If you leave a little space around the edge of your paper you can tape the edges down, so it does not move
• Try not put heavy pressure on the paper with your hands as it could smudge the ink
• Use a lightweight paper for monoprinting to ensure your marks / lines are picked up

Step 4 – Revealing Your Monoprint

Slowly and carefully peel back the printed paper to reveal your unique monoprint art! Keep your print away from an open window or any liquids that could be spilled and make sure you let the ink dry thoroughly. Now you know how to do monoprinting!

Negative Monoprints

Before you wash away the ink after creating your monoprint you can create another print with the left over ink that captures the negative space, this can be used to create some interesting prints which can also be worked with a variety of other materials such as water colour or pastels. Simply place another sheet of paper on top and gently rub the back with a roller or wooden spoon, this will print the negative image onto the paper. You can check out some examples of negative monoprints below. I would advise using a lightweight paper for this, heavier papers will make it harder to capture the details without smudging the ink.

Step 5 – Clean Up

Hopefully you found the monoprinting process easy to follow and are proud of your very first monoprint art! Clean your cutting tools immediately after use to keep them in prime condition. If you have any queries about how to monoprint or need any troubleshooting help, please do contact me via the about page.

Monoprinting History

The origins of monoprint art are unknown, however, Dutch painter Hercules Seghers is one of the earliest artists known to use monoprinting techniques in the 17th century. He created landscapes by combining line work with coloured inks and dyed paper. French artist Edgar Degas was responsible for a resurgence in the popularity of the technique in the 19th century; his work used rags, plates and his own fingers! Famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was also known to dabble in monoprinting.

Enjoyed Our Monoprinting Guide? Explore Lino Printing!

If you enjoyed learning about monoprinting, why not take the next step into the world of relief printmaking? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Lino Printing for a hands-on approach to creating bold, textured prints using easy-to-learn techniques. Perfect for both newcomers and experienced printmakers!

Comments & Notes