Artists ranging from school children to Picasso have used linoleum as an alternative to wood for block printing because of its soft, easy-to-carve surface. Using knives or chisels, they cut a design into a thin layer of linoleum mounted on wood or particle board. The raised, un-carved part of the design represents a mirror image of what the print will look like.
The finished linoleum block carving is inked with a roller or by hand and the ink side applied to paper with a press or by hand.
Linoleum, perhaps best known as a floor covering, is made by oxidizing linseed oil until it becomes thick and then mixing the cooled paste with pine resin, wood flour or cork dust, limestone and natural pigments, according to India Crafts.
Linoleum's softness makes it easy to cut. Unlike wood, linoleum has no directional grain, giving artists the ability to carve in all directions without risk of splitting or breaking. It also allows for more intricate designs and detail, according to the Printmaking Dictionary.
Linoleum remains supple when kept at temperatures between 68 and 77 degrees F, according to the Printmaking Dictionary. The product also is waterproof, making it less prone to warp, swell and distort the carved images than wood.
Linoleum was invented and used as a floor covering in the late 1800s. As printmakers using wood blocks looked for easier and less expensive ways of block printing, they turned to the new product, according to the Printmaking Dictionary. The word "linoleum" dates to 1863 when Frederick Walton of England combined the Latin word for flax, "linum," with the Latin word for oil, "oleum," according to India Crafts.
In the late 1800s, linoleum was considered a poor engraver's wood and often used by amateurs or as a teaching product in schools, according to the Printmaking Dictionary. But when artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso started using linoleum in the early 1900s, its popularity grew.
Linoleum becomes brittle when cold, so it should be used in a warm room and allowed to warm up to room temperature if stored in colder areas, according to the Printmaking Dictionary. Printmaker Sam Kerson recommends warming linoleum blocks in the sun or simply working outside in sunshine to keep the linoleum malleable.
Many artists today use "Battleship Linoleum," which is gray in color and backed with a burlap-type cloth, according to Kerson. Premade linoleum blocks are sold at most art supply stores, with the most common sizes being 6 by 8 inches or 9 by 11 inches. Sheets and rolls of linoleum also are sold for printmakers to create their own blocks. Linoleum can be carved without any preparation.
Some printers use nitric acid or sodium hydroxide to etch linoleum. The solutions break up or burn away linoleum. They must be applied carefully, in well-ventilated areas, and are not recommended for use by children.
In its early days, most linocut printing utilized one color on a light-colored background. If an artist wanted to use different colors in one design, different blocks needed to be cut for each color. But Picasso developed the "reductive" print method, in which the block is cleaned after each printing and then the artist cuts away parts of the design that will not be printed with subsequent colors. In that way, color can be added to the exact same design several times from the same block.