contract printing
Our contract printing program allows artists to work side by side with a master printer and receive personalized instruction, or to bring us existing blocks or plates for proofing and editioning. For information and project estimates contact Ningyo Editions.
Ningyo Editions offers artists an open and professional environment in which to develop their images in collaboration with Master Printer David Curcio. Consultation and contract printing in etching, monotype and Japanese woodblock printmaking are available. Artists new to printmaking who wish to find the processes best suited to their goals, or printmakers who are unable to print their own work or wish to broaden their knowledge of certain techniques will benefit from these services.
etching
Ningyo Editions is equipped for the printing of intaglio work up to 22 x 30” (full sheet size). Techniques include but are not limited to hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, aquatint (using traditional dust rosin), sugarlift, spit bite, white ground and chine-collè. Ferric chloride is used for etching on copper.
Japanese woodblock printing (moku hanga)
The Japanese process of creating a woodblock print differs from the Western method in both its materials and in the printing process. Ink is applied in the form of powdered pigment mixed with nori (a Japanese wheat-starch paste), which gives the ink elasticity and slows drying time. Japanese papers, or washi, are used instead of heavier Western papers for their ability to absorb color. Ink is applied with a soft, dense brush of hoghair called a hake (instead of a roller, which is used in the West to apply oil-based ink upon the surface of the block). The liquid ink goes on in transparent layers, allowing greater luminosity in prints created using this method. Separate blocks are used for each color, and a system of notches carved into each block (called kento) ensures reliable and incredibly accurate registration with each print. Using these traditional materials and methods, prints of unlimited colors, depth and luminosity can be created.
In 2005, Ningyo Editions’ Director David Curcio went to Japan to study Japanese woodcut and papermaking. Contract printing services also include the transfer of existing drawings to woodblocks, as well as the carving and printing of woodcuts using the Japanese or Western method.
monotype printing
Artists wishing to work in this versatile and painterly medium can work in-house with Master Printer David Curcio on monotypes individually or in series. Ningyo Editions has a range of European etching papers and Japanese washi to choose from, or artists can bring their own paper. A selection of colored etching inks as well as water soluble Akua-color monotype inks are provided, as are Plexiglass plates of various sizes.
