Carborundum printmaking

Carborundum mezzotint is a printmaking technique in which the image is created by adding light passages to a dark field.

The carborundum collagraph creates the image above the surface of the matrix, which does not have to be metal.

Carborundum was originally used by printmakers to grind down lithography stones and is now used in collagraph prints to create gradients of tone and a sandy texture.

It can be applied in a number of different ways: To print a carborundum print, the surface is covered in ink, and then the surface is wiped clean with tarlatan cloth or newspaper, leaving ink only in the texture of the screen or carborundum.

Very large editions are not possible as a small amount of carborundum comes off every time it is wiped down.