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Marmoleum selection

8/18/2018

19 Comments

 
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Perhaps it’s the shortening days, but well – here I am after several months away from writing blog posts. I will try harder!

I have written before about my preference for using Marmoleum commercial flooring lino for my linocuts. It is a little thinner but much firmer than anything else available; crisper and more durable, but still carves like butter when warm. It does require some preparation before use, but like many similar tasks in printmaking, I have to say I quite enjoy the process of turning a sheet of flooring into a lovely firm prepared printing block.
I like a light coloured lino (white would be good, but they don’t make it); the surface of which I can stain (usually red). This is in order to be able to both draw on the surface with pen and pencil and then be able to clearly see the cut marks I make in positive -  i.e. how they will print.

Two years ago I bought, via my local carpet shop, a 2m wide roll of the then palest cream colour Marmoleum I could find. I chopped it into large pieces and stored it flat. I have now used nearly all of this and the remaining pieces seem to have begun to harden; which of course will happen if stored where the linseed oil used to make it can dry out.
An initial search showed that in the meantime, Forbo the international company that manufactures Marmoleum, had not surprisingly, updated their range. Forbo and their suppliers are very good at providing samples, so after a little research I ended up with four pieces of the palest colours I could find. They were: Real ‘Edelweiss’; Concrete ‘Moon’; Walton ‘Titanium’; Fresco ‘Moonstone’.

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​All Marmoleum comes with a semi shiny and very slightly textured surface. So as normal I then lightly sanded the surface with a fine grit paper until the satin gloss and slight texture had visibly gone. 
I had cut the generously sized samples into four small blocks (small enough to also enable me to test another little ‘mini press’ I’ve been asked to look at – watch this space!)

​I mounted these on to 3mm hardboard/Masonite with carpet spray glue.

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​This leaves a lovely matt surface, which, when stained with a thin coat of acrylic ink, is perfect to draw on both with pen and pencil and to transfer images to with carbon paper etc.
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So I proceeded to do just that - and then set to work with the gouges. This was of course the crucial test to decide which one of the four gave me the best tonal contrast with the surface and its guidelines. The small scale work required by these little images also helped to illustrate the fine detail that is possible with crisp lino and a clear idea of how the cut lines and textures will print.



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There was actually very little to chose between them. All were paler and therefore preferable to the grey of ordinary ‘artists’ lino; which, as I have written previously is perfectly good if you do not want the trouble of preparing and mounting your own blocks.
The two best both have a slight ‘ripple’ colour to them; whereas the ‘Titanium’ is plain. This makes no difference at all when carving. All have a slightly darker under-layer, which is useful as a guide to your depth of carving.

So the verdict?
  1. ‘Real’ range ‘Edelweiss’ Code: 3257
  2. ‘Concrete’ range ‘Moon’ Code: 370135
  3. ‘Walton’ range ‘Titanium’ Code: 336935
  4. ‘Fresco’ range ‘Moonstone’ Code: 3883

P.S.
I am still in the process of making a small edition from these four little blocks, which will appear in due course!
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19 Comments
Andrew Neagle
11/12/2018 02:04:35 pm

Thanks for sharing this idea, I just bought some from the local art college here in Calgary, ACAD, they use Marmoluem exclusively they say for printing. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

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Jenny Butler
3/18/2021 03:41:59 am

Hi Colin - thanks for this information about marmoleum as an alternative to buying linoleum from our local art supply shop. My samples arrived in the post today and am keen to give them a trial.

Thank you for sharing your expertise in your blogs with all of us. I suppose it must feel like that at times you are operating in a void but know there are a lot of people out there that appreciate the effort that you go to in sharing your many years of experience with us, especially those of us that are relative beginners to relief printing.

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Private Person
6/20/2022 08:50:11 am

Hi, thank you for this info. I just watched 2 YT printmakers Emils Salmins, and Emil Underbjerg. I hope I spelled their names correctly. They both used marmoleum. I tried to find some last year after watching Chris Pig (not certain about 1st name, but certain about last name) carving with it. I found some at a hardware store, but had no idea how to prepare it, and if it was the right kind. I kept coming across 78 inch planks, and a type of marmoleum flooring designed to click into place. If you have a specs, or U.S. sources for "plain" marmoleum, I would appreciate it. 12 x 12 tiles would be preferable. My space is limited. I only have scissors, and any sanding will be done by hand. Thanks again. Will check out your other entry on marmoleum.

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Pearl Fulton link
8/4/2022 11:26:40 pm

Really appreciated, keep up the good work. Thank you so much for sharing.

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Suzanne Lafontaine
2/18/2023 11:59:59 am

I got samples from Forbo directly (very small pieces) and it convinced me to buy larger pieces. I then bought - at a flooring store - a box of 10 or 12 tiles, the 'click' kind. My husband sanded or planed the backing off of them (a sort of cork) and I was left with nice thiner tiles to work with. The surface does need light sanding to get rid of finish and texture. But I absolutely love the crispness of it. It doesn't 'break' like lino. I find it a little tougher on the tools that need sharpening more often. But is it well worth it. Marlomeum, bought in that format (tiles) becomes quite cheaper than linoleum in my part of the world (Canada).

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Colin
2/18/2023 03:15:57 pm

Thanks Suzanne. I’ve not tried theses, but interesting that you bothered to remove the backing. I actually always glue mount my sheets to Mdf or similar to give me a solid block to both carve and register more easily.

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Suzanne Lafontaine
2/20/2023 11:45:02 am

The 'clik' type of tiles are roughly 6 mm in thickness total :2 mm of Marmoleum (1 mm of the color + 1 mm of grey underneath). Then 4 mm of MDF and 1 mm of cork. It makes for a very stiff tile.
The MDF part, because of the 'clickable' nature of the tile is not even all around. Two sides have grooves, and two sides have a lip to be inserted in the grooves, as flooring is assembled. Those might be the only part I would need to get rid of, in the printing process. I found that the small samples that one can get by just asking Forbo, or that one can get at flooring stores that carry Forbo, are a little softer, and a little easier to carve, and do not have that MDF+Cork backing, Just jute.

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Suzanne Lafontaine
2/20/2023 11:46:31 am

(Erratum : that is 2 mm of Marmoleum + 3 mm of MDF + 1 mm of cork.)

Jasmine
3/1/2023 06:46:40 am

Hi Suzanne, are you in the province of Quebec? I ordered samples from Forbo and I am quite please with it. Can you tell me in which store you found Forbo products? I found other products, similar to Forbo in local stores, but no linoleum from Forbo. Thanks!

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Suzanne Lafontaine
3/1/2023 07:48:35 am

Found them at Emard Couvre Planchers in Laval(https://emardcp.com/) They were most accomodating in fullfiling an order of just 1 box of tiles. The funny thing is they thought I had installed flooring and came short of one box. So when they learned it was for engraving, they were tickled to death about it. They have a great display in their store where could can see, touch, feel, and get small samples.

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Jasmine
3/1/2023 09:08:11 am

Merci Suzanne.

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Suzanne Lafontaine
3/1/2023 09:15:44 am

My pleasure. Good luck and have fun!

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Kate
6/28/2023 09:43:16 am

I purchased the Dot Tool ( Karol Pomykala) and when it arrived I realized that the lino I have been using was just too soft to properly utilize this great tool.Your article has pointed me in the right direction, thank you.

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