Opaque white printing yellow
Wanting to print with a blind impression, but give it a little more pop, I tried printing with Mixmasters oil based opaque white on Reich Savoy #118 lb brilliant white paper today. I’ve had luck printing this way with opaque white rubber based ink in the past, but this is my first try with oil based.
The Mixmasters oil-based opaque white ink that I just started using prints with a light yellow/cream color on the brilliant white Savoy paper. Has anyone had this problem with oil-based opaque white, or is it possible the Mixmasters opaque white isn’t as neutral as other brands? Has anyone used Van Son or Gans opaque white with the Savoy brilliant white paper for this purpose and had better luck? Or is are there any other ways to print something that looks like a blind impression but has a little more pop to it, without using opaque white?
I’ve tried adding a little black to the opaque white thinking it would give a very light gray, but all that results is a darker cream, then eventually a yellow hued grey color—it just isn’t coming out neutral as I thought. I am fairly new to letterpress and I’m not sure what I am doing wrong … or if I just need to get a different opaque white.
Thank you for any help you can offer!
Unfortunately ,white is a matter of the viewers eye for what white is …
If that makes no sense then buy twenty different makes of white paper and lay them out in daylight and all will become obvious !
you could try using transparent white but that may not look so white on a brilliant white stock either as the clear ink may not show as clear on the paper ! High gloss varnish may be your best bet but at different angles that may appear also to have a tint depending on how the light catches it .
Different inks may produce differing shades although have not tried rubber based white in your type of printing it may be your best option ,it will take longer to dry than oil based ink though .
The cream color could be coming from the ink on your press still. DO several color washes and see if that helps.
Yes it’s worth noting that if you wish to print a ‘whiter white’, often you must ink the press UP in white, wash it up, and then re-ink the press. If still printing gray or yellow or reddish or whatever, keep inking up and washing up until you get clean rollers. Sometimes they hold ink in little cracks or pores in the rubber if they’re old, ink is like a disease it just hangs on.
Of course, your can could be contaminated and your ink knife could be contaminated AND your mixing surface could be contaminated. When working with white all these things need to remain very clean.
However, you could also have a bad can of ink. I’ve used Opaque White oil based and it is indeed white not cream, but I’ve also had cans of ink that were a little yellowed.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
I thought at first that it could be the press or knife, but I tapped out some ink directly from the can and it was the same cream color on the paper. It was a new can of ink, too, so it seems more likely to be a contaminated batch or a more off-white ink.
I’m glad to hear that a more neutral oil-based opaque white exists. I will contact Mixmasters to get their thoughts, and will probably also try another brand to see if it’s more neutral.
I might also try using transparent white and/or varnish to see if it works better.
I really appreciate everyone’s help.
You should talk to Mixmasters about whats going on, they are very helpful and i’m sure they would have some ideas.
titanium white is brighter,zinc whites tend to grey a little-with etchings often it is necessary to spray the plate with silicon I find
I think it’s best to have two sets of rollers. One for dark colors and one set for the lighter colors.