Do you already know our Gel Printing Plate? This versatile product has not gone unnoticed and there are more and more questions about how to use it and what to do with it. That's why, in this post, we give you all the necessary tips to use your gelly.
What is the Gel Printing Plate?
A gel printing plate is a clear printing plate, made of gelatine and water, which is used to create textures, prints and mixed media backgrounds. It is a tool that will provide hours and hours of creativity and fun, as it allows you to experiment with an infinite number of applications using acrylics or inks. With it you won't need presses, presses, or other tools to apply pressure. This new printing medium will be much easier to use.
How do I use Gel Printing?
Quite easy!
1. Prepare the materials. To work with the gel printing plate you will need:- Gel printing plate in any size. On our website you can find them in three sizes: rectangular 20x25cm, square 10x10cm and circle.
- Acrylic paints. They do not need to be multi-surface, but they do need to be of a certain quality (medium-high), the superwashable ones for children are not suitable as they have excess water, which will cause the paint not to adhere correctly and create marks or open spaces.
- Rollers for inking and pressing. It is important that their cores are not made of wood, but of a non-porous material, as when they come into contact with water-based material and are washed afterwards, they can swell and will stop working.
- Other tools and materials to create textures: magazine cut-outs, stencils, stamps, paper, leaves, natural elements, spatulas...etc. Total freedom to create.
- Paper weighing more than 180g. It is necessary to use a Bristol type paper with sufficient weight so that it does not tear or wrinkle with humidity and pressure when the plate is peeled off.
2. Prepare your workspace. The gelly needs to be free of dust and grease, and dry if you have cleaned it.
3. Start stamping:
- Apply a thin layer of the colour of your choice. Dark colours or black are usually used to create a greater contrast and to make it more visible.
- Do not roll the roller too fast so that the paint does not dry too quickly and you have time to work.
- Place the desired materials on top to create textures. Apply pressure with your hands or use the roller. You can place a piece of paper on top so that you can apply pressure without smudging.
- Wait a few seconds and lift the elements before the paint dries completely. The drying time will depend on each material, so we recommend that you check it by lifting the materials slightly.Let it dry completely. Until you can touch it with your finger and it won't smudge.
- Apply another layer of paint, this time thicker, in the colours of your choice. You can use several colours and create gradients or other mixtures, using the roller, brushesā¦
- You can also use a transparent medium.Then, while the paint is still wet, place your Bristol paper on top. Apply pressure with your hands and the roller all over the surface to make sure there are no loose areas.
- You can put weight on top of it while it dries for safety.
- Wait 20 to 45 minutes before peeling the paper off the iron.
- Once dry and peeled off, your print is ready.
One factor to take into account is the mirror effect. All our creations will be reversed in the final result. This product is not only suitable for paper, but also for textiles.
Other aspects to take into account
It is not recommended to wash the gel printing plate after each use. The applied paint is completely washed off when it adheres to another medium. If there are any remaining dirty areas, you can use a damp cloth or wipe to remove them.
In addition, we recommend using warm water and soap from time to time to clean them, but too much can cause them to lose their adhesion or damage their finish more quickly.
It is also important to use water-based materials. The use of oils, solvents or other ingredients may affect their composition.
We recommend that you experiment with it and try different papers, elements and materials until you find the one that works best for you and that you like the most. With each of them you will achieve a different degree of definition.
Enjoy the process.
If you still have any doubts about how to use the gel printing plate, take a look at our Youtube video.
