I learnt a lot about mono printing through this project, its limitations, capabilities, how layering works. It took a LOT of trial and error to get any half decent prints and it admittedly got quite infuriating and tiresome at times, BUT it paid off.
Here are a few misprints when trying to get my final prints.
I discovered a faster way to print my postcards, by using an A4 plate I could fit both designs on one and so print two in one, as long as I was conscious of which was the templates were when over printing the second layer.
The same printing problems were occurring with my posters as with the postcards. No matter what I tried I just couldn't seem to get the finer details, specifically the dotted lines, to print sufficiently. I tried more ink, packing out the press with paper for more pressure, rolling the press twice, yet they still weren't coming out very clear.
One cause was that when inking, I didn't re-ink the roller after it had done a full rotation, so the tops of the plates had less ink and so didn't print as well as further down.
In the end I cut the dotted lines on the stencils bigger and on the poster I sized up my templates from A4 to A3 to allow more space for the ink to come through. Couple this with different blankets on the press and sufficient inking and I started to get some decent prints.
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