Simple guide to rollers for printmaking
This video compares hard and soft printmaking rollers, varying in price and size from comparatively cheap to mid-range, to suit different budgets. I'll cover the difference between roller surface, handles, which ones disassemble, and demonstrate them in action printmaking. Stick around for the end where I suggest a good compromise on a soft roller for those on a budget.
The types of rollers I am comparing here are the japanese soft rubber rollers, and essdee range, found in most art supply stores. Japanese rollers range in price from £25.00 to £50.00 and sizes 30mm to 210mm. Essdee rollers range in price from £7.00 to £23.00, sizes 50mm to 300mm. The soft rubber roller demonstrated first in the video has a wooden handle and can be used with water and oil based inks. The handles are on the small side, and I have seen some printmakers replace them for their own comfort and ease of use, they work well for me personally though as they fit comfortably in my hands. You can see in the video when I apply pressure to the surface of the roller that is has some sponginess, I find this excellent at picking up ink and adapting to carved lino surfaces which I demonstrate later. Be careful how you store these soft surface rollers though, don't crush the roller under weight or store it with any sharp objects, as it will easily damage it. A great perk of these rollers is that you can take them apart to clean them more easily, unfortunately you can't do the same with the Essdee rollers. Just a note, that whilst most Japanese rollers have wooden handles, some of the smaller ones have plastic handles, similar to the Essdee ones, this does not affect their performance.
In the vide I demonstrate the soft japanese roller in action, with a close up showing how quickly and easily it picks up ink from a glass surface. If you have ever had problems rolling out ink or transferring it to your lino, it is probably because you are using a hard roller on a smooth surface. The ink transfers well onto any type of lino, I normally use Japanese printmaking vinyl, and the roller adapts to the surface well. I use these soft rollers frequently and find that I get a good even finish often.
Next I demonstrate the Essdee hard roller in action, I used these when I first started printmaking, as you often find them in beginner kits at art stores. Whilst they are a budget friendly option they are not the best in the market. They do not have a sponginess to the roller and are very rigid so it is more difficult to pick up ink from a smooth surface such as glass. As you can see in the video the edges of the roller are actually scratching into the ink. When I try to apply the ink to the lino it is a bit more patchy and does not spread quite so evenly and easily. With a bit of extra work on the lino you can get a decent coverage though. So I would not rule it out entirely.
The last roller I share is the Essdee soft roller. This is my compromise option. It is more budget friendly but still has some sponginess and softness in the surface. You can tell the difference between the Essdee options by the handle colour. Red is hard and blue is soft. You can see in the video that it does a decent job of rolling out and picking up ink from the glass surface.
To sum up, invest in a soft rubber roller, it is worth it if you are interested in printmaking, there is plenty of size and price options out there for every budget and need. I hope this has been helpful, thank you for reading and watching my video blog below. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel for future video blog posts and to leave any questions in the comments section, or follow my blog on this website.