block printing transfer method

materials

for transfer

• speedy-carve
  • I have since also used moo carve and been successful
• laserjet printed or xerox'd image, preferably something with high contrast
• acrylic gel medium - I use Golden Soft Gel Matte
• paintbrush
• brayer

for carving

• carving tool(s) such as speedball carving tool or flexcut carving tools
  • I use a narrow V tool from flexcut and large/small U tools from speedball at current

for printing

• my favorite stamping ink at current is VersaFine
• (edit 18 Sep 2023) I have since used Speedball fabric block printink inks. Preferable for fabric.

process

1. Cut printout and speedy-carve to desired overall shape
2. Paint an even layer of gel medium on both printout (inked side) and speedy-carve
3. Align the gel'd printout to the gel'd block, and press on using a brayer
4. Let dry. Really. Let it dry. Leave it be.
5. Dampen the back of the printout with a sponge or wet finger, then gently rub to remove paper
6. Done correctly, this should leave your image (and a thin layer of gel medium) on the speedy-carve

references

• 3 methods for transfer including PVA glue transfer
• gel medium transfer onto label paper
• 4 methods for transfer including gel medium transfer