Printing with Tetra Pak and my Sizzix big shot

For a while I’ve been planning a printing day and today was the day. Using the kind of packaging that juice cartons are made from I made some plates. It’s quite a simple process, which can even be done without a press, using the back of a spoon. As I have a die cutter I reckoned it would make a good press.

Print of dog graffiti from the Colosseum

My first print is probably my best one, perhaps because it’s so simple. I used watercolour paper, which is a good weight and is fine with being soaked.

Packaging printing plate

I did a second print where I used a cotton bud to add highlights. This technique is going to take practice.

Second print with highlights

My next two prints were of windows I sketched when we had a holiday in Vienna.

Windows in my sketchbook

The prints were a bit dark and the plate has suffered a bit so that the lines bled on the frame of one. This plate is white and sort of waxy in feel. I’ve got another carton with a silver lining, which is easier to work on.

Window print

Window print with bleeding

I’d made these plates a while ago. For my last one of the day I used a sketch I’d made a few years ago when we were stuck in a traffic jam on the A1.

Sketchbook image

First print

Second print

Third print

This print was made using the silver lined packaging. It got better as I went along.

Browsing through my sketchbooks has given me lots of ideas for more plates, but first I need to get some intaglio ink. I was using printing ink as that was all I could find locally. It worked ok, but was not ideal.

Eventually I’d like to be able to make prints, which I can colour.