Printing with “glue”

Hey folks,

I have a crazy question (because my best friends has crazy requests….).
I need to print with some kind of light pasty glue, so she can put glitter on her wedding invitations while they’re still wet. It must be some kind of transparent glue, no color of its own.

Now while there seem to be plenty of “harmless” products available like “modge podge” (sp?) or maybe even bookbinder’s glue, I’m a bit scared it could dry on my rollers.

I have rubber rollers, not composite rollers. I guess if I would print with the modge podge stuff and crank out 70 invites quickly, then immediately clean the rollers, it could work out, right?

But I thought I’d better ask here about the whole endeavour before I’m running head first into a disaster with my rollers.

Do you have any better idea how to result in a sticky/gluey print? Mixing the glitter into transparent white ink won’t work because she has different glitter colors and wants to sprinkle a rainbow or something- don’t ask. I promised I’d do it for her but I don’t want to ruin my rollers in the process.

Thanks and kind regards!

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This sounds a little scary — if you do it, take pictures, I want to see!

I agree with your theory that if you clean up quickly it will probably be ok? But I’m not sure..you know when you have glue on your fingers and rub them together and it dries? Will the rollers rolling together have that same “rubbing” action? (i know the rubbing isn’t actually drying the glue, haha, but hopefully you get my point.)

I’ve used these powders on wet printing ink with some good results..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BGSZ3M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s...

Very shimmery and pretty! I sort of dusted them on with a soft brush, let the prints dry awhile, and then tapped/brushed the excess off.

maybe try it with a cheapo brayer? that’d keep your rollers and ink plate clean and it’s only a $10-20 loss if it doesn’t work.

I would definitely not use anything unless it is specifically designed to be applied on a letterpress (or offset litho press, since we often use litho inks). It isn’t obvious to the user, but printing inks are engineered to have many qualities which allow them to work on press as we expect them to. Other substances, even though they may look similar, don’t have these qualities. If you want the term for what inks have, it is called printability. Most inks have good to very good printability.

If you want a colorless material which has some adhesive properties which glitter should stick to, I would try transparent white printing ink. You may have to apply it a little heavier than normal, but it should work. Another advantage of using transparent white is that it is printing ink, so you know how to work with it and how to clean it up.

If you try using glue instead of printing ink, one problem you may very well run into is that the glue builds up on the rollers and the plate surface into a thick, uneven mess. It may also build up on the edges of the printing areas of the plate, making those areas larger. (This even occasionally happens with printing ink, and printers have a name for it. It is called piling).

Please, to avoid a high likelihood of problems, don’t try to use anything which hasn’t already been designed for application on a printing press.

They did this all the time back in the olde times, with bronzing powder, mica flakes, and later glitter. Any oil based ink or clear varnish is going to be plenty sticky enough to hold glitter. I would find a metallic ink that looks good with the glitter after you print, dust it on, the ink will look a mile deep.

I don’t see why most water-based glues would not work but as Geoffrey said, it might do weird things on press.

Rob

A stencil might work for glue application, just hand cut the pattern in vinyl or polyester film and use a brayer to apply the glue. Screen printing is another method which would work well.

John Henry
Cedar Creek Press

Hello folks,

a big thank you for all your comments and ideas!

I will probably use a combination of all of the above ;-)

I’ll surely try hand “inking” with a brayer first. I don’t worry about the printing plate, I have a plate maker and if the glue (water based) will mess up the plate, I’ll toss it, make a new one and try a different method.

I also have transparent white letterpress ink, however, it is the thinnest und least sticky-est of the bunch. I may give it a go but I know my regular printing inks are much more pasty. As we’re trying to work with colored stock, I’m not sure if regular printing ink (colored) would work - there should be no ink showing through. However, I am very interested about the clear varnish? What kind of product is that and do I apply it just like ink? Oh and I have rubberbase letterpress ink (Van Son). Is this a problem? Is this the reason why the transparent white is not very sticky?

I also thought about using a stencil or a screen to print, however, my friend would prefer a slight impression, so I guess I somehow need to print this with a press.

Blind print (no ink) then use the stencil.

Hey,

So… the first bit in me wants to scream from the rooftops that glitter has no place in the print shop (get ready to find it in places for years) and how much I hate it’s guts.

BUT.

The second half of me actually wants to be useful and you’re actually looking for thoughts… so…
If you want impression AND glitter, here’s how I’d take it on:

1. Do your regular printing first.
2. Apply a blind impression where you’d like the glitter/impression to be.
3. Using a stencil, apply spray adhesive or rolled glue via a foam roller.
4. Dip into bin of glitter
5. Shake off excess back into bin.
6. Hang in an isolated area with a covering underneath for any glitter that flakes off and floats down.
7. Clean the bajesus out of your shop.

Some notes:
1. This is B.S’d, I hate glitter in case it wan’t obvious enough. But it’s genuinely how I’d approach this project.
If you have a platemaker, it’s definitely worth some hand-printing techniques, but there’s no way I’d put glue on your rollers.. don’t risk that expense if things go wrong.
2. Glitter gets absolutely everywhere, get some plastic on the floor, create a very isolate workspace, etc for both application and drying. Understand that this method won’t perfectly adhere all glue and that some can and will shake off.
3. There are glitter stocks out there, would this work for something you’re looking to do?
4. Applying glue to a plate and then to paper won’t give you super great results unless it’s pretty wet.
5. Talk to your client, perhaps convince them to reconsider their seemingly appalling taste *written in the sarcastic typeface* and perhaps persuade a metallic ink etc?

Lastly, if it work, share with the rest of us, eh?

Best of luck to you!

Hey, thanks :D

I agree that the thought is appalling ;-)
But it’s not my client, it’s my best friend, and it’s her wedding, so how can I say no?

The glitter is not getting anywhere near my press or my workspace. The plan was actually that I print the invitations and she does the glitter thingie outside in the backyard at the same time. She can come and fetch the invites as I print them ;-)
I don’t want the glitter in my working area, and of course not on, in or near my press. Or my lungs.

Using metallic inks would lead to a similar problem in my opinion - the paper stock she wants is dark and my trials with Pantone Gold or Silver were not good - I would need bronzing powder. I guess that’s the same situation as with the glitter. I’d prefer not to use this.

Her only alternative wish would be glitter foil. However, I don’t have the option to do hot foiling with my tabletop press. So back to printing the glue. I’ll make a few tests soon, but with a brayer, not with my rollers.

Fair enough!

I will add, 3M’s Super 77 has been a mainstay in the shop, from duplexing smaller projects and such to more elaborate schemes. That may work if you made a nicer stencil too?

Cheers!

What about thermography? Just a good application of ink and then the thermography powder with the heating element to fuse the powder - solid colours, metallic and glitters available, better than bronzing powders.

Okay Guys, your all getting ahead of a very simple answer.

Today in the scrapbooking department of any reasonable craft store or Paper Plus store you will find little inexpensive jars of what they refer to as embossing powder. It is what us old timers know as thermography powder. It comes in clear, pearl, many colors and of course the all important glitter combination. You can use any printing ink you might typically use. If you print blue and use clear you’ll get blue. If you print varnish, transparent white, or opaque white and use glitter you’ll get glitter.

I have used the stuff successfully any number of times.
To do a home-made version of thermography with out the tunnel here is my process.

I take a galley tray and cover it with Glad Press and Seal plastic wrap, (grocery store item, also great for covering the ink disk if you need to leave ink on the press.)
I then print the piece, shake the powder on the sheet then tap the sheet on the galley tray so the powder falls off from the non-image area. I then use a paint removing heat gun to heat the powder. I wear gloves and only hit it with heat for 10 seconds or so. And there you have it.

check out the video here:

https://vimeo.com/user84346420/review/295506268/c4168c46fb

Okay Guys, your all getting ahead of a very simple answer.

Today in the scrapbooking department of any reasonable craft store or Paper Plus store you will find little inexpensive jars of what they refer to as embossing powder. It is what us old timers know as thermography powder. It comes in clear, pearl, many colors and of course the all important glitter combination. You can use any printing ink you might typically use. If you print blue and use clear you’ll get blue. If you print varnish, transparent white, or opaque white and use glitter you’ll get glitter.

I have used the stuff successfully any number of times.
To do a home-made version of thermography with out the tunnel here is my process.

I take a galley tray and cover it with Glad Press and Seal plastic wrap, (grocery store item, also great for covering the ink disk if you need to leave ink on the press.)
I then print the piece, shake the powder on the sheet then tap the sheet on the galley tray so the powder falls off from the non-image area. I then use a paint removing heat gun to heat the powder. I wear gloves and only hit it with heat for 10 seconds or so. And there you have it.

check out the video here:

https://vimeo.com/user84346420/review/295506268/c4168c46fb

Folks - this was a terrible idea.

I was running a few trials today. The results were.. mixed.. and that’s an enthusiastic statement.

Printing with the mod podge worked for a brief time. In the beginning, it was too runny, then, for like 3 prints, it was perfect, then it was dry. It was no problem to clean it off the plate and I did use a cheap brayer, but not convenient to print 70 invitations like this.

Printing with book binder’s glue was close to impossible. It would not stick to the brayer - period.

Printing with transparent white did print nicely BUT I had trouble with the glitter.
I don’t know if there are different glitter qualities but the stuff I had somewhere in my drawer was awful. It didn’t want to stick to the ink, but it stuck really well to the paper, my fingers, my hair, brushes, scissors, actually everything BUT where it’s supposed to stick.
If it did stick to the ink, it would rub off after drying. And it stuck really patchy. So either my glitter is not good or I did something wrong.

I binned the whole stuff right on the spot, so no pictures for you unfortunately but now after a shower, at least my nails don’t sparkle anymore ;-)

Anyway. I think the best way to get what she wants will be glitter foil. As I can’t do hot foil, I think toner transfer foil will be the next best thing. Lesson learned :-)

Cheers!

just like die cutting “dots”, Glitter is a mess, it never goes away….