Features
Home printmaking projects: eight ideas and source choices
Home printmaking projects built around eight source-based ideas, with practical notes on choosing images and understanding copyright questions.
Archive
September 2026
Reviews
Organizing home printmaking projects
Organize home printmaking projects by keeping the matrix, negatives, proofs, records, and marked archive copy together, then label and review the box.
Guides
Home printmaking projects: when to switch how you learn
Home printmaking projects: when to move on from workshops to fixed projects, books and study, with named public image collections and copyright basics.
Reviews
A no-marketing buying guide to home printmaking kits and courses
A bench-first guide to named relief, cyanotype and screen kits, what each one actually contains, and how to judge a printmaking course before you pay.
Guides
Documenting a home printmaking project from first cut to finish
Building a project record that other people can follow: process sequences, in-progress frames, a project page structure and the notice to put on published images.
Industry
4 points worth checking on home printmaking projects
Four checks that decide whether a home printmaking project holds up: time split, fault clustering, material shelf life and the rights on every source image.
Guides
Home printmaking bench setup: keeping ink, mixing and paper separate
A three station home printmaking bench layout, paper conditioning the day before, printed reference sheets, and how to design out the harshest cleaners.
Costs
Printmaking inks and paper: measuring coverage and waste
A practical guide to printmaking inks and paper: measure ink use, convert paper area, account for rejects, and note U.S. deposit obligations for editions.
Reviews
Anthotype Exposure Tracking: UV Dose for Plant Pigment Prints
Log sunlight minutes and UV index for each anthotype session, turn them into a UV dose, and compare plant pigment prints across weeks and seasons.
Reviews
Anthotype Pigment Testing: A Logbook Method for Comparing Plant Exposures
Build a repeatable anthotype logbook: coat test strips, score fade against a fixed patch, and compare plant pigments side by side before you coat a full print.
Reviews
Anthotype Prints Without Spinach: Testing Everyday Plant Pigments at Home
Testing beet, turmeric, berry and petal emulsions against spinach, with fade rates, a one-day test and coating tips for anthotype prints at home.
Reviews
Vinyl Stencil Screen Printing on Fabric: A Beginner's First Project
A first-timer's route through vinyl stencil screen printing on fabric: choosing stencil vinyl, weeding, sticking it to mesh, picking fabric ink and curing it.
Reviews
Printmaking inks and paper: how to judge labels and sizing
Printmaking inks and paper: learn how to judge sizing with a water drop test, test sample packs properly, and tell defined label words from marketing.
Reviews
4 parts of printmaking inks and paper, explained
A review framework for printmaking inks and papers: which specifications actually differ, what the labels are required to tell you, and what to test yourself.
Reviews
Shared print studio benches: choosing surfaces that survive other people
How to pick surfaces for shared print studio benches, label each bench by purpose and cleaning rule, and handle composite panel formaldehyde risk.
Maintenance
Mistakes before joining independent print studios
Before you join independent print studios, avoid the common mistakes: assuming a sale transfers rights, misnaming authors, and moving your practice at once.
Reviews
How to choose materials for independent print studios
How independent print studios standardize inks, papers and cleanup, read the labeling rules that carry legal weight, and check used furniture for lead paint.
Reviews
Paperwork for independent print studios
A practical document kit for independent print studios, with printmaking processes, safety rules, waste records, and emergency-plan requirements.
Costs
How Canada Council grants cover presses and rent for a home print studio
Canada Council grants for printmaking can cover presses, chemistry and studio rent; here are the programs, budgets and eligibility rules to know.
Guides
How cyanotype exposure times change across Canadian winters by province
Cyanotype exposure in Canadian winters shifts by province, from Vancouver rain to Prairie glare, with UV figures, snow multipliers and a table.
Costs
Montreal compared with Toronto for shared print studio costs and press access
Montreal vs Toronto print studios: compare Atelier Circulaire and Open Studio hourly rates, membership fees and press access before you commit.
Guides
Canadian print-shipping: customs, labels, and tax
Canadian print-shipping basics: classification, textile labels, GST/HST, and paperwork. This is not a full US Canada apparel customs labeling tax guide.
Guides
A checklist for shipping printmaking chemistry to St. John's and northern Manitoba
Shipping printmaking chemistry to St. John's or northern Manitoba means matching each solvent, ink, and etchant to a carrier that will actually accept it.
Maintenance
Solvent safety home print studio: small-space guide
Solvent safety home print studio guidance for small spaces, covering ventilation, storage, disposal, renter considerations, and cyanotype UV precautions.
Reviews
Used Printing Press Market in Canada: Local Channels
Used printing press market in Canada: local classifieds and studio networks in Halifax, Winnipeg and Saskatoon, plus inspection checks and moving advice.
Industry
Independent print studios: what to settle before you sign
Before you sign, join or take a commission at independent print studios: who owns the work, the admin hours, membership terms and renewal deadlines.
Industry
Do WorkSafeBC and Alberta OHS rules apply to a home print studio?
Printmaking studio safety rules Canada: when WorkSafeBC or Alberta OHS duties start in a home studio, plus ventilation, solvent storage and UV limits.
Industry
A quarterly watchlist of six items for member run print studios
Six watchlist items for member run print studios, covering waste, insurance, premises, shared equipment, membership economics and rights policy, and review dates.
Guides
Anthotype Process with Spinach Juice: Sun-Printed Photographs
The anthotype process with spinach juice uses fresh leaves and summer sun to make plant-based photographs, with exposure times and USD costs for US makers.
Guides
How to Dispose of Printmaking Chemicals in Canada
How to dispose of printmaking chemicals in Canada: household hazardous waste depots, WHMIS labels, ferric chloride handling and what provinces require.
Guides
Gelatin Plate Monoprint Recipe: A Reusable Printmaking Surface
A gelatin plate monoprint recipe in cup measures, using Knox from US grocery stores, with a press-free method and a reusable surface that lasts weeks.
Guides
Linocut Reduction Prints, Step by Step: Many Colors from a Single Block
Linocut reduction print step by step: carve one block down through each color, register without a press, and know when a pass is dry enough to overprint.
Reviews
Oil vs. Water Stones for Linocut Gouges: Which Cuts Better at Home?
Oil vs water stones linocut gouges compared for US home carvers: Norton India, water stones and hard Arkansas, with ranges and humid-climate storage.
Guides
Where to Buy Printmaking Supplies in Canada Without US Customs Fees
Where to buy printmaking supplies in Canada without customs fees: the Canadian suppliers in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal that price in CAD, plus what to check.
Features
Six studio projects for printmaking mistakes and filing
Six bench projects that turn printmaking mistakes into filed studio references. Five are printmaking, one is alternative photography. File by format first.
Guides
How to Screen Print at Home with a Vinyl Stencil
Vinyl stencil screen printing at home needs one screen, a sheet of Oracal and careful burnishing. Here is the step order, the edge test and the fix when ink creeps.
Guides
How to Wash Cyanotype on Fabric Without Fading the Blue
How to wash cyanotype on fabric without stripping the blue: cool water, pH-neutral detergent, a distilled rinse and a peroxide soak for a faded first wash.
Guides
Water-Based vs. Oil-Based Printmaking Ink: What Changes at Home
Oil vs water based printmaking ink: what changes on the plate, on the paper and in cleanup, with a criteria table and venting notes for home studios.
Reviews
Printmaking mistakes: what to keep, isolate, and discard
Printmaking mistakes leave rejects and contaminated materials. Learn what to keep, what to isolate, how to handle spent solvents, and when to discard.
Guides
Do deliberate mistakes really teach printmaking faster than caution?
A weekend plan for learning from printmaking mistakes on purpose: two days of deliberate print faults you can label, plus the boundary around chemistry.
Reviews
Printmaking mistakes worth avoiding early
Fault-finding tools compared for first-time buyers: loupes, raking lamps, step wedges, moisture meters and pH pens compared for diagnosing print faults.
Guides
Lighting and filing printmaking mistakes for an honest fault archive
How to photograph and document printmaking faults: lighting, framing and filing for a fault archive, plus how to present a failed print honestly in teaching.
Maintenance
Why do printmaking mistakes keep happening, and how do you find the cause?
What causes printmaking mistakes, and why it keeps happening: a working taxonomy of print faults, a diagnostic order that finds the cause quickly.
Industry
What to look for in a cyanotype process class
Use this cyanotype process class checklist to verify chemistry, safety data, wastewater rules, handouts, reference prints, and course format before booking.
Guides
How to run the cyanotype process safely inside a one-sink flat
A cyanotype process for a one-sink flat: coat, dry, expose and wash with chemical, PPE, ventilation, spill and disposal precautions.
Costs
Does a finished cyanotype print really cost what you think?
A finished cyanotype print carries paper, film, chemistry, failures and framing. Here is where the money goes and when a reproduction is cheaper.
Reviews
Sequence your cyanotype purchases so the essentials come first
The buying order for a first cyanotype setup, why premixed chemistry beats raw powders at the start, and the equipment not to buy at any stage.
Industry
Cyanotype process: negatives, toning and limited editions
A practical cyanotype process guide: making digital negatives, toning with tannins, and signing and numbering a limited edition, with the U.S. copyright rules.