Coloured woodcuts for Djilpin Arts, Beswick

We have been doing some editioning for Djilpin Arts recently. The woodcuts were carved at a workshop earlier in the year and some prints were commenced then. Now we are completing the editions of 30. This involves hand-printing the inked images first onto Japanese Iwaki paper. When these have dried, the papers are pre-glued with rice paste and once again allowed to dry. At last the printing day arrives, and coloured pigment is applied to the glue side of the images. They are then run through the etching press to adhere them to a sheet of slightly damp Magnani. The moisture releases the pigment into the Iwaki from behind, making a beautiful wash-like effect. The technique was pioneered by Paris-based printer, Jorge de Sousa, and is known as the “JDS process”.