How to Start

1. Draw your picture on the foam, using a #2 pencil.
2. Next, put ink out in a plastic tray, about 1″ long squeeze to start! Take the brayer (rubber roller) and smooth the ink out on the tray. This also coats the roller with a thin, even coat of ink.
3. Roll the ink-y brayer over your foam “printing plate.” The ink should look velvety and smooth. Hint: if you can still see quite a bit of white foam through the ink, the ink may be too thin. Now, Let’s Print!
4. It’s nice to do a practice print or two on scrap paper before using the print papers included in Binky’s Print Pack. This will help you see your design in print and you can adjust your ink if necessary. Take the inked foam and turn it face down onto the paper. Position carefully and don’t slide once it touches the paper. Now, press firmly all over the foam to transfer the ink. You can use your hands, or the back of a large spoon works too.
5. Once you’ve pulled a proof or two, then proceed to print onto the heavier print stock. Add more ink as needed.
6. Everything washes up with water when you are finished. The foam printing plate can be used many times. The inks go a long way, and it is best not to put out too much at once as they air-dry and become stiff.

Tips For Success

• Everything you draw will be reversed! Since the foam transfers your design to paper, there is the element of surprise to our eyes. Most importantly, if you use writing, you must write backwards!
• The drawing pencil included in Binky’s Print Pack is quite blunt, to create bold lines in the foam. This works well, but you can try drawing with finer pencils.
• The proofing step (see #4) allows you to see if your lines are heavy enough. Should you need to add anything to your design, or to makes lines more bold, just wash the foam, dry it carefully, and draw some more!
• Using average pressure will let you use both sides of the foam and that means twice the drawing space!
• Draw fairly slowly to prevent the foam from looking ripped or “pucker-y,” the result of drawing rapidly (a tendency of smaller children and harried adults!).
• If your lines fill with ink, you may be over-inked and need to wash off or lightly rub off the excess.
• Yes, printmaking can be messy! All the inks are water-based, but it’s good to put down newspapers on your work table.
• Have fun and experiment with mixing colors in one tray; try other colors of paper too. No two prints will be alike; pull an edition, then sign and number them!

Order your Scratch Foam Printmaking Kit here

Binky’s Barn Print Pack includes everything you need to make beautiful scratch foam prints. Here’s what’s included:

• Assorted press-quality sheets, cards and envelopes
• 8 sheets of 6 x 9″ scratch foam (may be cut in half for printing onto cards)
• Two tubes of water-soluble printing inks (one black, one color of your choice)
• One brayer
• Two plastic mixing trays
• One No. 2 pencil
• Printing instructions

For more information, or to order, email info [at] binkysbarn [dot] com.