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All you need for each printing session is:
- Styrofoam packaging tray(s) (Make sure these have been thoroughly cleaned before use).
- A blunt pencil, a “spent” ballpoint pen or a lollipop stick “engraving tool”.
- Some kind of “ink” - Water based block printing ink is best, but, as with potato prints, thick watercolour paints can be used.
- A smooth flat surface to spread the “ink” onto
- Something to spread the “ink” onto that smooth flat surface – one of those little rubber rollers is ideal, but you can improvise.
- Paper (or cloth if you fancy) to print onto.
- A tool for burnishing – a rolling pin or a large wooden spoon will do the trick.
- LOTS of newspaper!
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 Creating the “printing plate(s)” is a clean activity – it’s not until the “ink” gets involved that it may get messy and that’s where the LOTS of newspaper comes in J. If you want, you can divide the whole process up into two sessions, one which is all about creating the “printing plate(s)” and the second, on a day when you feel more inclined to cope with mess, which involves the actual printing. |
Get your child(ren) to engrave lines, dots, circles, squares, whatever they fancy into the Styrofoam, using the “engraving tool”. You could also get them to experiment with pressing small objects into the plate to make an impression – crown bottle tops make interesting crinkly circles – just make sure that nothing actually goes right through the foam.
g For the printing, prepare a "messy area" which is well covered with newspaper. Make sure enough extra newspaper is available to place each plate on while it is being inked and replace this with fresh newspaper for each inking. Use the smooth flat surface to spread the “ink” onto - If you use proper water based ink, remember that it dries and becomes unworkable very quickly, so only use the ink in smallish quantities and stop every now and then to clean dried bits of ink from the smooth spreading surface.
Spread the ink out evenly and thinly (a process best done with a roller) then take the “printing plate” and place it face down on the smooth inked surface, pressing gently, but firmly, so that the plate becomes nicely coated with the “ink”. When the plate is nicely “inked” take it to where you have the printing paper and place the printing plate face up ready to receive the paper.
Gently place the paper on top of the plate starting at one corner and "curling" it on, to prevent the paper moving in any way and smudging the image.
With a clean hand, gently press the back of the paper onto the “printing plate”. Then burnish the whole area with the rolling pin or the back of the wooden spoon to properly transfer the ink to the paper. (You can lift a corner of the print from the plate to check on the impression without removing it completely).
When you are happy with the print slowly peel it off the plate while holding down one corner with your finger. The whole process can be repeated as often as you like with as many colours and designs as you like, you are only limited by imagination, resources and by how much mess you can cope with!
NOTE: Styrofoam does not normally show up on X-rays, so please ensure no-one eats any of the printing plates.
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