[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking.

Baren Digest              Tuesday, 20 January 1998      Volume 02 : Number 041

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From: Bill Mixon <bmixon@nine.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 10:25:17 -0500
Subject: [Baren 179] RE: handling prints

Hi, Ray,

About the handling of prints...

Of course some restraint is in order.  But when you 'just have to look
at them again'(!:^), those white cotton gloves that photographers use
can come in handy (as Graham pointed out).

Another simple way to keep fingerprints off the prints is to use
"printer's fingers".  I mentioned these before without defining them,
the term may not be familiar to all.  They're basically just a couple of
index cards, folded in half.  You hold them outside the fold and grip
the print inside the fold.  I don't know if they're common in woodblock
printing, but intaglio printers (who tend to get their hands quite inky
in the hubbub of printing) use them a lot!  The folded paper keeps
smudges and dirt off the print.  They are equally effective for handling
prints while viewing or whatever.

There are also some Japanese bookbinding structures that were expressly
designed for holding tipped-in woodblock prints, but that's a whole
'nuther ball of wax...

Regards,
Bill

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End of Baren Digest V2 #41
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