My “Auto Mono” prints:
This has been something that has made me curious for a while. So, after making a group of linoleum cuts with some rhombus shaped concepts, this seemed like a good time to try and make a way to print at home without a press.
After a bunch of conceptual drawings of how this could work, and then some searches through my garage for scraps of wood that could be utilized, I made a small “print-set-up” template. The important aspects of this design are the sizes of the wooden base, the cross pieces and their placement to allow a type of “ramp” up to height. Then the top board, which registers with the outer cross boards so it won’t shift. By not shifting it allows the direct downward-printing action. I did not expect to have a ton of success with the foam that I found, but the cushioning seemed to be enough to really help the transition of the tire across the printed surface.
This is built to work with an 11×17 dry sheet of paper using an inked linoleum cut. I tried soaking some of the paper, but it seemed to be to fragile, since I wasn’t using my best printing paper for these initial tests. The setup worked in one pass, but I also experimented with two passes (by slowly driving the front of the car over forward and backward) without noticing a big difference in the print quality.
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| 1×12 plank, 2×2 redwood scrap, 1×2 fir scrap. A layer of mat board with acetate for registration. place linocut and paper, then put another layer of mat board, then the foam, then the top 1×12 to fit it all together. |
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| The bottom board allows the tire to be completely on the top, and then each cross bar allows a 1/2″ step up to the next level. Once the tire is over the highest part, the weight drops down to print the image. |
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| This printed piece will work in an 11×14″ frame. |
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| Contrasting grid and growth rings concept |
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| Graphic dot pattern with organic concept |
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| Graphic dots and growth rings contrast. |