I was at a trade show in Salt Lake City the week of July 11th.\u00a0 During the time there I was able to walk the show floor in addition to demoing and otherwise working the event.\u00a0 One of the most fascinating things I saw involved as unlikely a combination of products as you’ll ever see: a Gel Press Plate, Alcohol Inks, and hand sanitizer.<\/p>\n
Sally Lynn MacDonald was demoing this technique in the Gel Press booth and I was fortunate enough to watch and pick\u00a0her brain during the show, and a little afterward.\u00a0 She’s an excellent instructor and I was immediately excited about trying the process.\u00a0 Of course that meant waiting until I was home, but once I was, this technique was the first thing I played with.<\/p>\n
The results can vary depending on how much of the hand sanitizing gel you apply to the plate.\u00a0 You can roll out a thin layer with a brayer or apply a heavier one with our plastic scraper\/spreader.\u00a0 With a thicker layer of gel, you can print, add more color, print again, and keep going until you exhaust the gel.<\/p>\n
Something else you can do is\u00a0spritz 91% Isopropyl Alcohol on the inks when they’re sitting on the plate.\u00a0 I like to do it when there is only a little left and then capture the pattern by printing on Strathmore Mixed Media Paper.\u00a0 You’ll also see me use Yupo, which provides a very different look.\u00a0 With paper, the alcohol ink cannot be manipulated once you pull the print.\u00a0 When you use Yupo, the opposite is true: the color can be moved by tilting the sheet or otherwise pushing it around.<\/p>\n
One thing you’ll notice is that the 6 new colors of Alcohol Ink that Tim and Ranger released in mid-July 2016 are not featured in the video.\u00a0 If I’d had them at the time I was filming I would have added the colors to the mix.\u00a0 Since I didn’t, you won’t see them today but given the bright, cheerful nature of those new colors, I know they’ll be fabulous when dropped and puddled on hand sanitizer and then printed from the Gel Press Plate.<\/p>\n