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Marmoleum selection

8/18/2018

4 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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4 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.

Reply
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.

Reply
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.

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

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

Reply



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